Frozen Locks

K

Kricho

New member
I’ve been enjoying my new F-Type this year but, now the frost has come, I am having issues with my doors.
Harwoods keep telling me they have “never” seen this before. Looking for some advice on how to prevent the freeze!
When the car gets frosty, I can open the doors but then not close them. The doors just bounce and the locking mechanism won’t engage at all. If I hold the door shut, the window bobs up and down but the lock itself doesn’t engage at all.
Most of the time it makes no sound, this morning it was clicking so sounded like something was trying (unsuccessfully) to do something.
This morning I poured room temperature water over the door - this was top of the panel up and around the handle. To my surprise this did the job and I was off and away, just managing to catch my train.
I was surprised this worked as I had assumed something inside the door was freezing but it worked immediately after I chucked the room temperature water over it.
Separate problem jaguar have been trying to work through for two weeks is my In Control account not being set up so I can’t even get the car warmed up before try the doors.
Any ideas??
 
The locks freeze due to moisture in the lock mechanism. I had exactly the same on an Audi. I wouldn’t put water on it directly as this just introduces more moisture for future problems. Try to dry the lock with a hairdryer or similar then apply some light spray grease to prevent moisture getting in again. Good luck
 
And I strongly recommend you to put some rubber conditioner "Gummipflege" or lightly smear Vaseline around all the door rubbers - if not you'll find yourself nearly pulling the door handle off trying to open the doors too!
 
I've had this on all three of my previous Jaguars (XK8, 4.2 XKR and 5.0 XKR) but haven't had my F-Type in this situation yet. I've found I could eventually fix it by repeatedly slamming the door until it decides to stay shut.

Not surprised dealers haven't come acros this since I doubt owners would want to shell out their labour rates to be told "it's fine in our workshop", and it's a self-fixing problem after a few minutes. Just very inconvenient.
 
"Gummipflege" - Forgot about that just done it!

Thanks for the reminder.

Freezing locks used to be a regular occurrence on my Vantage - as said above hot water may solve the immediate problem but if we have a stretch of freezing weather will only make things worse, I think WD 40 do a lock de-icer?

Never used it myself.
 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/De-ICER-DOOR-LOCK-SPRAY-FAST-SMALL-WORK-UP-TO-60-C-DE-ICER-SAFE-PROTECTS/193199895292?hash=item2cfb9c72fc:g:AscAAOSwWy5dxfxD
Lock de-icer spray, small keep in your pocket
 
Kricho said:
Looking for some advice on how to prevent the freeze!
When the car gets frosty, I can open the doors but then not close them. The doors just bounce and the locking mechanism won’t engage at all.
Click to expand...

I use a pre-icer ‘night before’ anti-icing spray (see photos).

If the forecast is for freezing temperatures I apply a few squirts of this thick liquid along the bottom of the window glass where it meets the rubber seal and door panel moulding. This helps prevent the area from freezing up which makes it easier for the window glass to drop down slightly (as it should), when you open the door.

If your having problems with the door lock/handle freezing up, you could try applying this anti-icing spray on that area the night before.

Never try to force the door shut if your door window glass is frozen and it doesn’t move freely. This is because it will not drop sufficiently enough to clear the moulding on the roof/windscreen pillars (coupe) and you could end up smashing the window glass or damaging the window mechanism.
 

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Few comment on above

Never use Vaseline on seals. It’s petroleum based and will destroy the seals. Gummipfledge is the correct product
Don’t use WD40 on the locks. While it’s a water dispersant (WD) it sets like tar over time and will gum up the locks

As above water not good as that’s what’s causing the issue. I’m many cars it’s the Bowden cables between lock and handle mechanisms. Only real fix is a strip down and replace or lubricate properly

Sorry but struggled with these exact issue on 2 BMW’s for a decade
 
SWC said:
"Gummipflege" - Forgot about that just done it!

Thanks for the reminder.
Click to expand...

Well I mentioned it, but haven't done it :lol:
Must remember at the weekend!


And yep, not sure where the Vaseline idea came from - ignore that one.
 
I've always sprayed my rubbers with silicone spray, a few times over the winter, keeps enough water out usually to save thing freezing solid.
 
Philskill said:
I've always sprayed my rubbers with silicone spray, a few times over the winter, keeps enough water out usually to save thing freezing solid.
Click to expand...
OP’s issue has nothing to do with door seals, but what you do is sensible maintenance

Given the door opens but the lock mechanism doesn’t set itself to latch the door then the issue is inside the door, either the lock or a bowden cable
 
Yes - door opens, window still moves properly and freely. It’s just the latch which then doesn’t engage. I thought the cable might be freezing inside but now not so sure... room temperature water shouldn’t have any impact surely? It’s a 19 car, it’s first winter...
 
It's not the using of warm water to defrost your initial problem thats the issue, as GusA said (Note i've re-read the thread thanks CJ10Jeeper) if you introduce more water into the cable and lock you risk it being a bigger problem the following night as it's unlikely to have dried out.
 
Another solution is to use one of the many universal car covers which just go over the roof and all the windows and are secured by plastic
hooks on elastics, which can be attached to the wheels, etc. Aldi and Lidl do very cheap ones. They take minutes to put on or take off. I have used them successfully many times - but not on the f-type, which resides in the garage!
 
You can also try with a plastic bag full of warm water. Just hold the bag gently over the doorhandle area for a few minutes.
 
I have had a similar problem with my 2017 F-Type. Even in moderately frozen conditions the doors would freeze, "bounce" once opened etc. Fortunately it was still under Jaguar warranty. Apparently there was a now deleted Jaguar service bulletin on this problem advising the dealer to change the door mechanism. My local dealer couldn't find the bulletin but I insisted they replaced the mechanism which they eventually did. The new mechanism has an additional grommet that prevents water ingress and therefore, prevents the frozen door syndrome. I can now get into my car without any issues, it was a battle with the dealer but it was definitely worth it!
 
I used to use a small puffer bottle of graphite powder in Switzerland blown into the key slot.

There certainly seem to be a few issues with the F - window seals / door seals / mechanism that can all gang up on you.

Had to go out this morning to drop the wife's Aygo off to have warranty work put right - so not just JLR then!

I used a hard nylon bristle cleaning brush (about 2"x1/2") along the window seal to remove all the granular snow and small lumps of ice and that worked very well.

However, although the windows dropped and the doors shut without bouncing, the driver's side door handle didn't retract - no warning message and no joy with the interior lock button, although you could see it was trying.

...I had to put the roof down to take my mind off it and enjoy the drive :D
 
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