Has anybody had an issue with their door locks/latches freezing? It has been a constant battle with my ride. I have sprayed inside the latch with a lithium grease with no success. I guess the next step is to take the door panel off and spray around in there. It seems to happen any time we have a thaw followed by a quick freeze. Sometimes I can't get in, sometimes the door doesn't want to latch after it is opened and sometimes it doesn't want to open once I am inside. If I take it to a heated garage and thaw it out it will open up just fine. I believe water is getting in there somehow. It's a major pain and always strikes at the worst time. What is strange is that is only does it to the drivers side door. I'm getting really tired of crawling out the passenger side.

 

That used to happen to my tail gate on my 1999 Rover. Same deal after defrosting in the garage no problem. On mine the button on the outside was the problem.

 

Wd 40

 

WD40 was my go to and didn't help.

 

After re-reading this I also remember having a similar issue and I replaced my door lock actuator.

 

Lithium grease gets pretty thick in the cold. WD-40 is good for shovels and non-moving parts because the mineral oil in WD-40 dries and gets gummy.
The easiest way to clean the gum and goo out of a lock is to use liquid wrench. Follow this with a light machine oil on the key and use that to transfer the oil to the lock cylinders.
I'm having great luck using silicone spray instead of oil in this type of application.

I also spray silicone on my door seals and since then I've never had ice freeze the doors shut in any of my cars. Armour-All also works okay on door seals as well but I think it wears off faster as it is in a water base.

 

i have a '97 RR 4.0 and the passenger side door handle takes a weightlifter to open from the outside. i've disassembled this door handle and striker and greased it. it did not help. i fear the only solution to our problem is: replacement of the whole mechanism. they seem to have a limited life (like our window regulators).

 

Clean locks out with a good spray degreaser. Apply graphite lock lubricant. Never have trouble again. Graphite never thickens.

Make sure the lock is clean first.

 

I found a great deal on a replacement latch/lock and installed it tonight. I was very surprised at the amount of moisture inside the door. No wonder it was freezing up. I'm wondering if it is coming in around the window seals? They appear to be in good condition though.

 

Condensation perhaps?