My 2017 CX-9 doesn't like the cold

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Winnipeg Canada
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2017 CX-9 GT
I bought my 2017 GT on January 5th of this year, and I noticed that on the extremely cold days, my passenger door doesn't close. I mean, I can slam it shut, but it kinda opens again and the door shows as open in the instrument cluster. It's kinda annoying as I've had to drive around with the passenger holding the door shut. Once the weather gets nicer, it closes just fine. Anyone else run into this? I sprayed some light, silicone based lock lubricant on the door latch mechanism, but it didn't seem to do anything. I can see that there is a bunch of white lithium grease on the locking mechanism already. Doing some quick research I see people recommending lock deicer, which makes sense, but lock deicer contains alcohol and that will likely remove even more grease. same with WD40 which technically isn't a lubricant anyway. I'm just wondering if spraying more white lithium is what's needed or do I need to take the door panels off to lubricate from the inside?

Also, my gas tank lid wouldn't close the other day (something like -23C). The little black push rod (not sure what it's really called) wouldn't bounce back to catch the gas cover lid. So I guess that will need some white lithium as well, or perhaps some other type of grease? Anyone else experience this on a cold day?

Today seems like a warm day, I might try and add some lube to those areas. See if it does anything.
 
I have experienced the driver's door needing to be "slammed" shut once or twice so far on my 2018. It only seems to happen when its really, really cold out, like earlier in the winter when we (Winnipeg) had that cold snap and it was -45c. But in my case, the door never opened again once it was closed. I haven't had any issues recently, and I've never had any issues with my gas door.

I just went out to my car and took pictures of both of the areas you mentioned.

IMG_20210302_135041.jpg

IMG_20210302_135117.jpg


I would just try some while lithium grease on the door latch, then close and open the door a bunch to work it in. For the gas door "pin", I'd just try some silicone lubricant. Good luck!
 
Ya, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Mine looks like yours in that you can clearly see the white lithium grease on there. So it seems that it's lacking grease somewhere deeper in the mechanism. I should have some time later today to clean that out and re-apply some fresh grease. I hope that does it, although judging by the forecasts I might not get a chance to test that until next year (not all bad really).

As for the gas door thingy... Has anyone ever removed that nut? I'm tempted to remove that so I can put down some grease deeper in there, where it's probably getting stuck. My thinking is dirt got gunked up in there and it needs a cleaning. I'm just not sure what's gonna pop out (or fall off inside the car body) if I take that nut off.

Btw, thanks for taking the photos, I should have done that from the start.
 
The fuel door holder looms very similar to the one on the older models. See this thread.

If it is the same then you can only remove it from the inside. But it is very unusual for it to start sticking that soon, it usually happens after 8-9 years of use.
 
The fuel door holder looms very similar to the one on the older models. See this thread.

If it is the same then you can only remove it from the inside. But it is very unusual for it to start sticking that soon, it usually happens after 8-9 years of use.

Thanks! So that tells me that I should not bother to take that nut off unless I'm prepared to rip apart the interior panel. That's kinda what I was thinking. For now I think I'll just clean what I can and re-apply some white lithium which should be safe for the plastic.

And ya, the car is a bit young for this. I think that's the first car I've experienced this kind of sticking gas lid.
 
2 thoughts on the passenger door....

The striker on the B biller/door jam might need to be adjusted inwards. Not sure why it might be affected only by the cold but adjusting it might help it to close more securely.

My other thought is the plunger switch might need to be replaced. I‘m not near the car so I can’t confirm what type it is but cold weather could affect it. It could be loose, needs greased or needs replacement. The door might be latching ok but if the switch is faulty it will seem like it’s not shut.
 
"Not sure why it might be affected only by the cold"
Parts contract in the cold. The dimensions change. Different materials contract or expand thermally at different rates. It's no surprise that adjustments are needed in frigid conditions.
 
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