I have noticed that the my driver's door has become quite hard to open and close after the winter has started. You have to push real hard to get it to open all the way as well as need to push the door to close properly. Can't even slam it, but rather power it to close It is not a problem with the locking/latching mechanism of the door handle (cause you can't even get the door to it ), but I am suspecting it has to do with the black bar-slider that connects the door to the frame. I had sprayed the bar with lubricant and tried to get as much in the actual passage in the door but still the problem persists... Now, we also had some warm days with 50-60F weather and the door was just as PITA to open/close... Anyone else has/had the same problem? Any suggestions are welcome

 

Maybe the hinges have dropped? I was gonna say it sounds like it needs lubrication, but you said you did that already. Any of the other doors doing this in the cold weather?

 

I dunno, I'd try more lube? Are you using the lithium grease?

 

I have some heavy duty grease I could try, I think it may very well be lithium. I had used some silicone lube as well... The passenger door is harder to open/close as well since winter started...

Oh, and I hate cold weather...

 

I used white lithium on all my doors, but don't forget that the driver door is used more than all the doors! Don't forget to keep the seals well lubricated, for that good seal.

 

I forgt to mention that I didn't put it on the actuall doorhinge but on the black thing that holds the door open, (sorry that I forgot the terminoligy ).

 

Thanks guys... Will give it a shot over the weekend with some heavy duty grease on "black bar thingy" and hinges...

 

at my work, we use silicone spray on customer weatherstripping and white lithium grease on all door hinges and DOOR CHECKS (term you were looking for) you could try cleaning the latches out with brake clean *watch not to get on your paint* and then spray the lithium, but it sounds to me like your hinges or latches may have dropped a bit, it tends to happen over time. just loosen them up, dont take them out, then crank them down finger tight, close the door, then open door and tighen them down to spec. should be an easy fix

 

I had the same prblem on my wife's 96 Camry last winter. I used lithium grease on the hinges and door checks, then opened/closed the door about a million times. That seemed to fix it.

I have the same problem this winter on my Max's front passenger door and I'll try the same thing this weekend.

I would strongly suggest NOT using silicone of any kind on weatherstripping. Over time it will deteriorate it.

 

Thanks for the tip! When it comes to silicone, many recommend that it to be used on the door window slider channel... In my mind, that is also a weatherstrip material... Will keep that in mind next time my window squeeks...

 

Silicone was widely used on weatherstripping years ago. I'll admit I used it back in the day. But over time it was discovered that it was harmful to those types of materials. That's why many companies have removed it from their products. I have used 303 for weatherstripping. Most rubber/vinyl dressings are now made without silicone.