Anyone have a fix to make the doors open easier？
Ive lubed all the accessible joints and.latches
but from time to time the door requires alot of force
to open...

 

Does the window drop a little like it should?

 

Clean and condition all the rubber seals! Sometimes they get sticky and grab the door jams.

 

+1. Is the door also hard to open with the window down?

 

yes, even with the window down
difficult to open, the.handle itself
feels stuck at times

 

Has the vehicle had any body work done to repair damage?

 

Yep, that's where I was going next. Also how about some pics of the door gaps if you can?

 

no bodywork to my knowledge,
the difficult in opening is in the latch and handle
itself, not so much the door, the initial pull is difficult.

 

Does it pull hard from the inside handle as well or at least feel different from the drivers inside handle? If the same condition exists from both locations I would suspect the door latch since it is common to both. I'm pretty sure cables are used to operate the door latch from each of the handles.

Though I have no experience in dealing with this issue, it may be an indication the latch unit is wearing out. There are also electrics and solenoids assosicated with the lock system but I don't see how that would have an effect on latch release.

 

Does it close easily, with just a light push? Or does it require some effort to close? Compare it to the passenger side door opening and closing.

If closing is OK then there is probably an issue with the release mechanism or sticking to the weather stripping.

If both opening and closing are difficult look for evidence of wear on the striker on the door jamb. That indicates a door, latch, or striker alignment problem, which is a sign of bodywork and can be a real PITA to solve.

 

If the latch won't physically release easily I'm going with misalignment of the stud to latch or gummed up latch. Inspect the stud. If it's wearing heavy on one side it may need adjusted or the hing pins may have worn.

It's kind of funny / sad that the passenger doors take a beating but the drivers stay OK in spite of being opened more often.

 

Inevitably I have to remind passengers to desist from using the door window to close the door. Years ago my daughter had a Subaru Outback with frameless windows when she was in college. Eventually every window mechanism had to be replaced at a total cost of $900 on a $22K car. Lesson learned by all involved.

 

Mine has the same issue on the drivers side. About 3 out of 5 pulls on the outside handle is hard. Locked or unlocked, same deal.. The rest of the time it's smooth as butter. Inside handle opens easily with no extra force every time. I was actually going to take off the door panel and look inside today but got sidetracked...

 

Shemp, any luck on pulling off the door panel?


Im having the exact same problem as you.


thanks

 

My 2007 XK Coupe was the same. Silicone spray on the "leg" at the rear of the outside door handle would ease it for a while but not completely solve the issue:

Non Keyless door handle



Keyless door handle



I just put it down to infrequent use of the passenger door.

Graham

 

Mine is on the driver side so it's probably not from infrequent use. The passenger side is still perfect, go figure.

Anyways, no I haven't got the panel off yet but I did spray some lithium grease in and around the inside of the door latch. Seems to be better but it's only been a few days...

I'll try Graham's solution as well.

 

Was this car possibly owned by Roy Moore?

 

please save the political comments for the off topic section. It's depressing enough in day to day. This forum is my happy place.

That said - good one.