Post-storm, sliding doors frozen shut

jandree22

Member
:
2007 Mazda5
Hey guys, after this winter storm which dumped ice all over my area, my sliding doors are frozen shut. I cant tell if its the door frame, the sliding track or both that are frozen. Any tips at getting these open without forcing the handle or messing up the paint? I dont really have access to anywhere that I know of above 32*F until the forecast for Tuesday and not enough extension cords for a hair dryer ;)
 
Get some deIcyer at any autozone or wal-mart.. sprey all over it.. if you can't do that get a bucket of "COLD!!!" water and poor on them.
 
Duh about the deicer spray. I suppose I can pickup some of that.

With the water, why do you say to use cold rather than hot?
 
ya dude.. He is right.. adding hot water to cold surface = bad experince. If applied to a windshield any little rock chip.. crack would spread.. to a door i don't know... but cold water at say.. 50 degree's will melt 32 below ice.. But i'd go with the DeIcyer sprey .. that s*** works like a charm!
 
(iagree)
Also, if at all possible, push from the inside instead of pulling hard on the outside handles.
 
I'd feel safer usinghte heater method rather than the deicer. I'd be afraid of the possibility of paint or rubber gasket damage from the deicing spray.
 
well then just use cold water then.. poor it around the door outside.. then just blast the heater .. it will come unstuck
 
the_saint said:
I'd feel safer usinghte heater method rather than the deicer. I'd be afraid of the possibility of paint or rubber gasket damage from the deicing spray.


most de-icers use alcohol as their main ingredient which would be safe for paint and door seals.
 
Well, I guess I lied to you guys I did have access to somewhere above 32*F, my parents garage. I stopped over last night, pulled into their garage (probably about 40*F) and hit the doors with an ceramic space heater. Both doors finally opened up. It seems to have been the door latch at the bottom front of the door, and I think I at least contributed to the problem. When I began initial digout, the snow was up to the door level. When I opened then shut my front door, I think I wedged some snow in the jamb which mustve gotten to the rear door latch. Regardless, its fine now. Hopefully this was just a freak incident because of the combination of snow/sleet/freezing rain we got.

Oh, on a different subject, after digging out yesterday and then driving on the cleared interstate at about 65mph, I realized my wheels were out of balance as my steering wheel was vibrating pretty bad. Well, thankfully before I made an appointment to get this checked resulting in me looking like an idiot, I realized duh, there were ice chunks frozen to my front drivers side wheel. Chipped the ice off the wheel and voila! Smooth steering wheel. This is the first car Ive had with respectable alloy wheel spokes, so the snow/ice never had enough room to get in there and get clogged before.
 
jandree22 said:
Well, I guess I lied to you guys I did have access to somewhere above 32*F, my parents garage. I stopped over last night, pulled into their garage (probably about 40*F) and hit the doors with an ceramic space heater. Both doors finally opened up. It seems to have been the door latch at the bottom front of the door, and I think I at least contributed to the problem. When I began initial digout, the snow was up to the door level. When I opened then shut my front door, I think I wedged some snow in the jamb which mustve gotten to the rear door latch. Regardless, its fine now. Hopefully this was just a freak incident because of the combination of snow/sleet/freezing rain we got.

Oh, on a different subject, after digging out yesterday and then driving on the cleared interstate at about 65mph, I realized my wheels were out of balance as my steering wheel was vibrating pretty bad. Well, thankfully before I made an appointment to get this checked resulting in me looking like an idiot, I realized duh, there were ice chunks frozen to my front drivers side wheel. Chipped the ice off the wheel and voila! Smooth steering wheel. This is the first car Ive had with respectable alloy wheel spokes, so the snow/ice never had enough room to get in there and get clogged before.


lol I had that happen to both my car and the CX-7 I drove wednesday... it does eventually shake itself loose... what sucked is I couldnt really stop bein as though I was on I-95
 
Hi Jandree22,

Few years back I also had that ice stuck in the wheels making the car feel misaligned. Luckily I left it at the parking lot on a sunny, warm day and was all set in the way back (silly)

So you also seemed to have had a share after the snow/freezing rain storm in the region. Coming back from neighboring NJ today I found out that parts of I-78 were still closed (due to fugly ice on the road) so traffic was pretty bad down at the PA turnpike and I-76.

Hope things are OK for you now!
 
It is well written in canada.... find a heated garage if you ever dought frozen locks or ice on rims.... saves lots of money in the long run.

Yup yup yup(group)
 

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