How to Repair a Car Door That Won’t Close

“My car door won’t close completely.”

Have you ever been in this situation? It is frustrating, not to mention, dangerous. After all, who wants to be driving 70 miles per hour down a highway with a door that might fling open at any minute?

There can be a variety of reasons this is happening. It could be your car’s lock, it could be from closing your door incorrectly, or it could be from the weather.

How to Fix a Car Lock That’s Not Working

If your car lock is not working properly, it can prevent your car door from closing all the way. The good news is, this can typically be fixed one of four ways.

• Replace a battery - As silly as this might seem, if your keys are auto-locking, check to make sure that the battery in the key fob is working. If it needs a new battery it might be affecting the lock.
• Check other locks - It is also important to make sure that the issue is the single door rather than the whole system. If none of your car’s locks are working correctly than it would be useless to rip off a door to fix it. This would likely be more of an internal problem such as a blown fuse.
• Manually - If your key fob is not working, maybe you should try to work the lock manually. If the door has a key slot, try to lock and unlock the car with the key rather than the electronic fob.
• Check the door latch mechanism - if none of the above options work, it is time to check the car door’s alignment. Move the door back and forth in order to ensure that the door is properly aligned, as this might be affecting the lock.

If none of these options work, it might be time to call a professional locksmith to repair the car’s broken lock.

If You Slam a Car Door Shut, Can It Cause Damage?

Sometimes it just happens in the heat of the moment, sometimes the wind catches it. Regardless, at some point in a vehicle’s life the doors will be slammed. Unfortunately, if this is done enough times with enough force, it could begin to disrupt the alignment of the vehicle’s doors. This could cause the door to no longer shut or lock properly.

My Car Door Won’t Shut in the Cold

In colder months, moisture can get into the lock socket and freeze. This can cause the lock to freeze, and this might prevent the car door from closing or locking properly. In these cases, it is best to apply heat to the door’s lock, and try to maneuver the door into place.

There are few things more frustrating or scary than a car door that will not shut properly. If you believe your car door locks are malfunctioning, and this is the reason your door won’t close, it is important to get this situation handled by an expert as soon as possible so that neither your or your passengers get seriously injured.