Frozen slider doors

[Tom Trueb]

Hi, I have a new sport model with less than 3000 on it. We have been enjoying it's versitility until yesterday when the temperature got below freezing ( a mere 25F) and the sliding doors wouldn't open until we drove a while-lucky it was just two of us at the time. I of course will take it to the dealer, but has anyone else had this problem? Is it the latch, lock, what? Is it a design/build flaw? If the doors don't work at a balmy 25f, I fear the possibility of subzero temperatures we often have here in northern Indiana. Tom

 

[J.P.]

Did the doors not unlock, or were they just frozen shut? If the power door locks were not unlocking, that is not normal (unless you washed it or drove in heavy rain right before the temperature dropped).

Spray silicone works well for doors freezing shut. I spray it on a rag, and wipe down all the door seals with it when I wash the car (front doors, and hatch too). It makes the seals more resistant to freezing, and slippery (easier on the power closing motors if yours has them). You can use it on the window run channels too, so they won't freeze shut. Sometimes you can find silicone lube in a tube, or a bottle with a brush which lasts better. I have had a hard time finding it that way recently, but any auto parts store or Wal Mart have it in the spray.

 

[Tom Trueb]

It rained during the day, and it seemed like the locks frozen, but not sure. Will try the silicone spray. Just hoping this is not a common design feature. Tom

 

[cclngthr]

25F degrees can freeze the locks and latches. I had a car which the door latch froze and although I could open the door, it would not latch shut. Spray some penetrating oil on the latch and it should work fine.

 

[was98strat]

The real problem is water getting into the seals. When that happens jus pour some washer fluid onto the door. As the fluid gets into the same places the water did, it will unfreeze the door and you'll be able To open it with out having to force it. Use some silcone spray in the seals to prevent refreeze and some spray grafite On the mechanism and your good again.

 

[kyoshiro]

you can also spray some 303 protectant or apply 1z gummi on the seals. both products should add a layer ontop to prevent freezing.

 

[thaxman]

I thought there was a tsb on the freezing lock mechanisms and that it was fixed by MY08.

 

[Perro del Sol]

a light coating of vaseline petroleum jelly on the seals will do quite nicely as well.

 

[food_yum]

The side door on my 2007 is stuck in the open position, unable to latch shut. It worked fine all day, then nothing this evening. It was around freezing all day, colder now, so it might be water in the latches.
but HOW to get the latches to close again? I will try that idea of pouring washer fluid down the door, but that's a pretty slow fix, it seems to me.
For those of you putting lubes in the latches of the slider doors: How are you getting the lube in? Are you pulling out the plastic liner of that "pocket" that catches the Nader Pin (The thick threadless bolt, sticking out of the "B" pillar) and then spraying into there? Or are you shooting it aimlessly into that opening a few inches above that, where one can manually activate the Child-Proof Locks?

I have a heater set up in there right now, so we'll see if that helps.

But fer cryin' out loud, it shouldn't come to this to be able to use a vehicle in North American winters! What am I to do tomorrow, when I'll be in another town with 3 kids in tow, at a hockey game? Bring more fluid to pour over my vehicle? What if I can't get IN the vehicle to get at the fluid?

Mazda better get it's act together, pronto. The idea that they'd sell a car with doors that fail in the cold, to a climate that has freezing temperatures for 4 or 5 months of the year, boggles the mind!!

We also had issues with that same door not opening very well earlier in the week. Again, it seems related to the colder air that showed up recently. We just bought the van 2 months ago, so winters with it are an unknown.

(And I don't have a warranty, nor a dealer in my town, so I'm up to my own resources on this one!)

 

[thaxman]

It gets really darn cold in Japan, too. My guess is that your car, food_yum, didn't get the tsb resolved. I wasn't able to find the thread w/all the tsbs listed. Anyone??

 

[food_yum]

I set up a heater in the van for an hour, and that did the trick. So I suppose it's truly a heat/cold issue. Still not impressed, however.

And I looked through a list of TSB's in this thread:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123724110-Mazda5-TSB-resources
but I don't see anything covering this frozen lock issue.

[as an aside, I do see an item for a "chime that wont stop", which I occasionally have when I park my 2007, but that's for a 2006. And my cheap fix for that has been to turn the key to on and then off, which seems to shut it up.]

 

[thaxman]

Yeah, the chime issue appears to be ignition-switch related. We've had it before - the ignition thinks its in the ACC position even though you have the keys in your hand...outside the car. Don't know how I found that lock tsb. Basically, it said that Mazda knew that moisture was getting inside the door actuator and freezing in frigid weather. The fix was to take apart the door skins and enclose the actuator area in some type of plastic bag that would keep the actuator dry. Anyone else remember this?

 

[flcruising]

...For those of you putting lubes in the latches of the slider doors: How are you getting the lube in? Are you pulling out the plastic liner of that "pocket" that catches the Nader Pin (The thick threadless bolt, sticking out of the "B" pillar) and then spraying into there? Or are you shooting it aimlessly into that opening a few inches above that, where one can manually activate the Child-Proof Locks?

FYI - The 'bolt' you are referring to is for collision purposes only. The latch is actually at the rear of the sliding door. Take some spray lube and shoot it at it. It works the same as hinged doors. WD-40 is a deicer. Though I wouldn't know as I live in Florida (wink)

 

[food_yum]

FYI - The 'bolt' you are referring to is for collision purposes only.

I know, but I'm not thinking of lubing that. I was thinking of getting lube into the inside of the door, thinking that the latch mechanism was hidden in there. But now that I know the latch is at the back (how did I not notice that?), I'll have a look at that next time I'm dealing with the van.

And I'm not a fan of WD-40, as the de-greaser elements of it tend to stay around long after the temporary lube aspects of the product have long evaporated. Makes subsequent lube attempts with longer lasting stuff less effective.