Electric Locks - Frozen?

[Y33TREKker]

Anyone ever tried one of those little aerosol cans of lock de-icer in those situations? It's simply pressurized isopropyl alcohol that melts and evaporates any ice in the tumblers that may be keeping the lock cylinder from operating, and prevents the lock cylinder from refreezing because the alcohol evaporates with no residual moisture.

[atilla_the_fun]

Here in Minneapolis, it has been below 20F for about a month and a half. Its gotten down to -10F, and the VX still opens fine (using keyless entry). Sometimes the rear door sticks, but a jiggling of the key sets that right.

[RickOKC]

LOL - thanks for all of the recent responses. I'm not quite having problems with the lock cylinder actually getting frozen and/or not being able to open/close the door using the key.

It's really an issue w/ the electric motor for the power locks not working on the drivers side when really cold. Basically I can't rely on locking the door w/ the keyfob/alarm since its not consistently working.

Oh wow... at least you can still unlock & and get in using the key. If you get in a situation where you have to get in the wrong way, you can turn off the alarm by turning the ignition key on-off-on.

Hmmm - long shot... any chance that water isn't draining out of the door (clogged weep holes)? The electric lock mechanism is the lowest item within the door and very close to the bottom.

[MsConduct]

Holy cow... makes me appreciate being in So Cal! At least when I decide to experience sub-freezing temps, it is by choice! Spraying ether to get it started? Yikes.

[vxaddict]

Oh wow... at least you can still unlock & and get in using the key. If you get in a situation where you have to get in the wrong way, you can turn off the alarm by turning the ignition key on-off-on.

Hmmm - long shot... any chance that water isn't draining out of the door (clogged weep holes)? The electric lock mechanism is the lowest item within the door and very close to the bottom.

Thanks for al of the suggestions - I'm having her checked out this week for a full fun-down (fluids, alignment, etc). I'll have them check out the door actuator when they pull off the panels.

[wekilled]

After several Winters in WA state and no issues, I got restationed down here in Monterey and now the door is jammed shut.

Are there any adjustments for the door locking mechanisms? My passenger door suddenly decided to not open (either with a key or with the electric lock)

I need to take the door panel back off and check on if anything is misaligned or stuck. First I need to actually get my door open).

[RickOKC]

After several Winters in WA state and no issues, I got restationed down here in Monterey and now the door is jammed shut.

Are there any adjustments for the door locking mechanisms? My passenger door suddenly decided to not open (either with a key or with the electric lock)

I need to take the door panel back off and check on if anything is misaligned or stuck. First I need to actually get my door open).

I don't remember seeing anything that could be adjusted, but something could become misaligned or broken or maybe one of the plastic link rod clips could break off. I replaced my driver's door lock assembly recently and kept the old one so I could post a photo of it this evening.

I broke mine when I was too rough taking off the interior door panel and pulled part of the lock assembly out of place. I could not open the door from either side. Fortunately, the door had not shut completely so I had room to pop all the clips around the edge of the interior panel. Then I crawled into the back seat and slid the panel toward the back. That also required moving the driver's seat forward & back and adjusting the backrest to get all the right angles.

It should not have made any difference, but after removing the panel (and doing nothing else) the door would then open from the outside at least. Go figure.

Between this and a window issue, my door panels have been off quite a few times. Lemme know if you need a more detailed "how to."

[RickOKC]

1 - Interior Handle (link rod not shown attached)
2 - Exterior Handle
3 - Interior Manual Lock Knob
4 - Electric Lock Actuator (link rod not shown attached)
5 - Exterior Key Lock


When I was unable to open the door from either side, I could look through the gap in the window frame and see the problem was the door wouldn't unlock - not with the key, the knob or electric. It just wasn't turning / releasing and I could see the difference between the driver's and the working passenger's side.

[Bulldoggie]

If the plastic rod holder is damaged; the rod falls off.
A lot of owners have experienced this.
cheap repair but the panel has to come off.
The outside handle rod and the inside handle rods to both fall off at the same time?

[wekilled]

Thanks guys, when I get home I will pop the door panel back off and take another look.

I know it isn't the plastic loop that the holds the wire pull for the inside door latch, as that did break awhile back when I was taking the panels off to paint them. I used a zip tie and ran it through the hole, making a loose loop the same diameter as the original piece.