A frosty winter is a serious challenge for a car, especially if it sleeps in an unheated garage or on the street. At this time of year, the vehicle needs special care, otherwise it will be more of a hassle than a benefit. One of the most common winter problems is freezing door locks and seals. Drivers who are in trouble should know the correct algorithm of actions so as not to cause additional damage to the car. And if you do not forget about preventive measures, then winter will pass without such incidents at all.
Causes of freezing car doors
The doors are blocked due to freezing of water that has got into the lock and on the seals. She can penetrate them for the following reasons:
- poor-quality car drying in a car wash;
- condensation formed due to the temperature difference in the cabin and on the street;
- a sharp drop in air temperature after rain;
- temperature jumps when thaws are replaced by severe frosts;
- falling on the compactors of snow, which first melts under the influence of heat from the passenger compartment, and then freezes.
Therefore, in winter, the seals should be thoroughly wiped off after washing, as well as opening doors in rain or snow.
And to prevent condensation, leave the doors open for a few minutes before closing them completely. This will allow the temperature in the cabin to approach the outdoor temperature.
If the castle is frozen
When the castle freezes, the main thing is not to aggravate the situation with the wrong actions that first come to mind. It is categorically impossible:
- try to turn the key in the lock by force, risking breaking it off and disrupting the design of the lock;
- pour boiling water on the lock, as the paint on the door will crack from it;
- breathe on the lock, because this will only increase the amount of moisture in it.
Also, do not resort to the very common but ineffective advice - heating the key with a lighter. In severe frost, the key will cool down even before you have time to put it in the lock. From such actions, you would rather freeze yourself than defrost the castle.
As an alternative to lighters, it is better to use a specialized defrost keychain... The device is equipped with a retractable pin that must be inserted into the keyhole. 
When pulled out, it automatically heats up to a temperature of about 150 degrees, and the ice in the lock melts in a matter of seconds. The keychain is powered by AAA batteries, the charge of which is enough for about 10 defrosting. A similar device costs about 500 rubles.
In the absence of such a defroster, you can use the tools at hand by analogy. An extended hairpin or tie clip is suitable for these purposes. Insert them into the lock with one end, and heat the other with a lighter. Just do not scorch the paintwork of the door, it is better to protect the area around the lock from fire with ordinary foil.
Defrosting liquids for locks, which must be poured into a frozen keyhole, show no less efficiency. 
Preference should be given to the form of a spray, since such products show the best performance, ridding the lock of ice within 10-15 seconds. Another advantage of defrosting liquids is their budgetary cost, which starts at 30 rubles.
Special products have a defrosting effect due to the presence of alcohols in the composition. Therefore, in case of emergency, you can pour any alcohol-containing liquid into the castle. Just do not transfer perfume to this business, since the concentration of alcohol in them is too low for a defrosting effect.
Actions in case of freezing of seals
If you managed to turn the key in the lock, but the door still does not give in, it means that the rubber seals also froze. 
It is not worth pulling the door with force, unless you are late for the plane or have extra finances to replace damaged seals. Warranty service does not apply to this type of repair.
When pulling out doors by force, it is better to do this on the rear passenger door. So it will be possible to drive for some time with damaged seals, which you can try to glue and not use again. After entering the interior, the remaining doors can be warmed up with a stove.
For those who are not ready for barbaric methods, a more gentle and lengthy procedure is suitable. It consists in the following:
- Leave the lock open.
- Remove ice from the door and surrounding area. To do this, use a special scraper or any plastic object of a similar shape. Scrape off the ice carefully so as not to damage the paintwork.
- Knock lightly on the door, walking around its entire perimeter.
- Push down on the door.
Such actions may be enough to break the ice on the seals. If the trunk is not locked, you can additionally close it forcefully several times. If not successful, coat the door edges and seals with an alcohol-based liquid or water-repellent grease such as WD-40.
Problem prevention
In order not to have to face the above problems, it is necessary to prepare the car doors for winter in advance. First of all, inspect all seals for cracks, and also clean them of contamination. Dirt and debris in the seals compromises their sealing, allowing water to enter the doors.
Next, you need to protect the seals with grease. A multipurpose silicone grease with good water repellency can be used. 
The composition just needs to be applied to the rubber door elements and wait for it to dry completely. As a result, a strong elastic film is formed on them. It not only protects the seals from freezing, but also extends their service life. It is worth treating the door lock with the same lubricant, applying a small amount to the key and turning it in the well.
The ideal protection of the car from winter freezing is a garage or a heated parking lot. But not all car owners have the opportunity to leave their vehicle in such conditions. If it is necessary to put the car in the cold outside, there is a need to provide it with additional care. Timely preventive measures to protect car doors from freezing will help to avoid a lot of inconveniences during the onset of cold weather.
Winter is a special season for every car enthusiast, when the operation of the vehicle is accompanied by numerous difficulties. After all, it is impossible to predict what other whims of nature the car will be subjected to in the coming days. Frozen doors are a common problem. What to do if the lock in the car door is frozen, how to open it? In particular, this unpleasant situation often occurs after washing. But a problem may arise due to long-term parking in conditions of low temperatures and high humidity. Let's figure out how to fix it.
The most effective methods of opening a frozen castle
What to do and what to do if the lock does not turn. How to open? First of all, you should not panic and go into hysterics, since there are a huge number of solutions to the situation. Let's consider the most effective options.
The central lock can be opened by using a liquid key (or a lock defroster).
Another effective way (if there is no special tool at hand, or for some reason you do not want to use winter car chemicals) is to use an open fire - ordinary matches or a lighter. It is necessary to carefully warm up the key with the lock and, having inserted it into the hole of the lock, try to twitch a little. This must be done very carefully so as not to break the key itself. 
Attention: if the lighter has a directed flame, then there is a possibility to heat up not only the key, but also the lock itself, and this is very dangerous.
You can also use any product containing alcohol, such as eau de toilette or cologne, as well as the alcohol itself. This method is effective due to the properties of such organic compounds. Alcohol is able to dissolve ice due to the active release of heat.
Another way to defrost a frozen lock after washing is to use windshield washer or anti-freeze. When using such a modern remedy, do not forget that in its composition it contains a particularly aggressive substance - isopropyl alcohol, which is harmful to the skin.
You can also use products made on the basis of kerosene, designed to loosen the nuts. But there are some nuances here. Such substances are hygroscopic (by analogy with brake fluid), in fact, therefore, along with their effectiveness, they can only aggravate the situation in the future, since they draw in moisture.
Of course, if none of what has been listed helps, it is necessary to transport the car to a warm place. There, both the door seals and the lock itself will be able to thaw.
Attention: under no circumstances fill the door well with very hot water. Such actions are fraught with liquid entering the electrical wiring.
What to do to keep the castle from freezing?
In order to keep neither doors nor locks from freezing, it is important to adhere to some rules. Let's consider them in more detail. Have you noticed that car locks systematically freeze through? Just try to dry them more thoroughly. What can be done for this? Leave your vehicle in an insulated box or garage for literally a day, until all moisture in the door wells evaporates.
In the case when the lock has already thawed, but the door of the vehicle cannot be opened in any way, there is only one reason - the door is frozen. Never pull it towards you, as you will tear off the seal or the handle. You need to push from yourself, back. Pressing on the door will be more rational actions. This will slightly deform the rubber of the seal and ensure that the ice begins to crumble a little and eventually stops blocking the entrance.
When clearing snow from your car, be sure to carefully brush over the driver's door from the top and bottom. Otherwise, the snow will be able to get inside, it will then quickly melt and then easily freeze again in the cold.
In order to avoid freezing of the car doors after washing, carefully wipe the gum of the seal and be sure to lubricate them with a special water-repellent liquid.
Before parking at night, in order to prevent the glass in the car from freezing, it is necessary to ventilate the interior. If freezing, nevertheless, could not be avoided, and the car is equipped with power windows, do not open them under any circumstances. In this case, damage to the electric drive cannot be avoided. First, warm up the interior of the car, and only then, when the window is thawed, can it be opened and after that, it can be treated with silicone-based lubricants.
In order to reduce the humidity in the car, place several layers of ordinary newspaper under your feet. They will actively absorb excess moisture, respectively, its level will not be so significant. As a result, nothing will freeze in the car.
What to do if the car door is frozen?
You left your car literally for two or three hours in the cold, and when you try to open it, you realize that the door is frozen almost "tightly". What to do? How to fix it? If the car door is frozen, you can do this:
using a brush (or any other tool available to you), carefully remove snow from the edges of the car doors. If the brush is not at hand, and your tool is a knife, an ordinary screwdriver or some kind of key, then you should act very carefully and carefully. Pull the car door very carefully. She didn't move at all? Then apply a little pressure and tap gently around the edges. Then pull the door out again. Repeat this simple procedure a few more times until you manage to open the doors.
In the event that one of the doors is very cold, you can try to open the trunk of the car or the second door. In addition, you can use all kinds of alcohol-containing liquids. With such means, it is necessary to coat the seals and the edges of the door. An excellent effect is achieved using a regular hair dryer. But, of course, if the door is frozen in the parking lot, then this method will not be available for use.
Never pour boiling water over car doors, as it can easily damage the paintwork. Do not use extreme force when opening the door, as this may damage the handles or the door itself. It will not be a good idea to tear off the frozen seal from the car door using coins, keys or knives.
Not the most pleasant procedures for dealing with a frozen door take time, effort and nerves. Moreover, all these problems can be successfully avoided. How to do it? Simple enough. Before long-term parking, it is necessary to lubricate all the insides of door locks with specialized fluids designed to effectively protect car parts from icing.
Once you turn off the engine, open all doors. Thus, warm air will come out of the passenger compartment, and the temperature inside the car, in the passenger compartment, and on the street will become almost the same and you can avoid the appearance of condensation inside the car. This procedure must be followed after every wash.
We start the engine in the cold
Starting a vehicle engine in severe frosts should be taken very seriously, since in this situation it is quite difficult to do it. From the very beginning, you need to think about how to warm up the battery. To do this, turn on the ignition and dipped beam for just a couple of minutes. This will quickly warm up the battery.
Before turning on the ignition, carefully check whether all devices that take energy from the battery are turned off. And only when the battery warms up, you can start the engine. To do this, squeeze the clutch and then turn the ignition key, turning on the starter. All this will take literally a few seconds. As a rule, such operations help to start the engine. But in severe frost, they may not provide the desired effect, which will require repeating the above algorithm until the desired result is obtained.
But if nothing happened, that is, the car could not be started, and the lock was opened, then it is better to contact the specialists directly, who, through the use of special means, will be able to warm up your transport literally in 15-20 minutes.
If the lock in the car is frozen and the door cannot be opened, this is not a disaster, but a completely normal situation that requires quick and effective solutions. In this publication, we have presented the most effective ways to fix the problem, one of which will definitely help you.
Winter is a difficult time of the year for a car and its owner. Many people face such a problem as freezing of locks and doors near the car. Care for their prevention in winter should be constant. The car enthusiast should be familiar with the methods of opening a frozen door or car lock. Otherwise, he cannot avoid troubles and spoiled mood on the road.
Imagine that you are skiing in the forest. Time moves towards evening. Having "satiated" after rolling, you go to the car, try to open the doors with the key, but it didn't work. The lock is frozen, and the key does not turn in any way. The picture is not funny ...
Prevention of freezing of car locks and doors.
In order not to get into a similar situation in winter, take the following preventive measures:
Apply a few drops of engine oil or brake fluid to the wrench. Activate the lock several times. Try to get enough lubricant. There is a special anti-freeze liquid on sale - WD-40. You can grease it, and if the lock is still grabbed, then the "vedashka" will defrost it.
Manufacturers write that such a bottle should be in the glove compartment of a car.
Nothing like this! You should always have a bottle of liquid with you - in your pocket! Then he will be able to help you out in an unexpected situation.
If there is a plug with a lock on the gas tank of your car, lubricate it too. Otherwise, until the first thaws, you will be left with an empty tank.
Door seals also require lubrication, for this they use:
- Silicone - For example: a shoe polish impregnated with silicone. Rub the seals with it until they shine.
- Glycerin (regular pharmacy).
- Regular baby cream.
- Solid oil. It protects well from freezing, but if it gets on clothes, it can stain it.
After washing the car from freezing locks and doors, do the following:
With the engine and the stove turned on, open the trunk and all doors in the car. Let the machine sit for a few minutes in this state. This is necessary in order to freeze moisture on the seals and locks.
Open and close all locks and doors several times. The resulting ice will crack and fall off. This means that the next day you will get into your car without any problems.
An effective method of blowing out door seals and locks with air under pressure, which is used to inflate tires. Then immediately lubricate with anti-freeze liquid.
However, let's remember about a car in a dark forest with an icy castle. How to get out of an unpleasant situation?
5 ways to open a frozen car door lock
1) Heat the key with a flame. Insert it hot into the lock. Hold it there for a while. Try to open. Repeat this procedure several times. Usually the result is positive.
2) Open the hood. Soak the key in the brake fluid, from the brake system reservoir, or in the “anti-freeze”, which is located in the washer reservoir. Insert the key into the lock and work with it. Make the ice dissolve.
3) The hair dryer will ideally warm the lock or the frozen door. But in the forest, he is not your assistant.
4) Pure alcohol gives off heat when used. He will also be able to melt ice in the castle.
5) You can warm up the lock with the gases of another car, if, of course, its owner gives the go-ahead. Fit a hose of the correct size to the exhaust pipe of another vehicle. Lean the other end of the hose against the lock of your car. Thus, the heat of the gases will do its job.
After you have managed to solve the problem with the lock, the frozen door may not open. If this happens, gently tap and press on it. Then try to open it again. Most likely you will succeed.
Do everything carefully so as not to damage the door handle and tear out the seals.
What you should NOT do:
- Never pour boiling water over the lock and door! Otherwise, the door paint will turn into tatters. The thin skin will swell and water will enter the cracks. Soon it will freeze, but you will not be able to get out of the car.
- Do not try to breathe into the castle larva! On freezing metal, warm and very humid air forms an ice plug. It will be difficult to melt it.
- Do not use liquids that contain kerosene. The castle will be able to open, but in the future it will freeze again. This is due to the absorption of moisture from the environment.
And yet, there is a more rational solution in the fight against freezing locks:
Install central locking on the vehicle. Then, by radio command from the remote control, the car door will always be ready to swing open for its owner.
In winter, the car requires special attention. An experienced chauffeur anticipates problems in his car. He does his best to prevent them on the road.
Have a good trip!
So, in the frost the door to the passenger compartment does not open... There may be two reasons for this: either the lock is frozen, or the rubber seals around the entire perimeter of the door are frozen. You can cope with both problems using improvised methods.
If the matter is in the lock, then an ordinary key should become the main tool for solving the problem. Firstly, it can be heated with matches or a lighter, and then quickly inserted into the larva and thereby try to warm up the locking mechanism. Secondly, almost any auto shop has “lock defrosters” - inexpensive tubes with non-freezing liquid - you just need to inject it into the larva and wait a couple of minutes.
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However, there are situations when there are no matches, no lighter, or car dealerships at hand. For example, a castle froze to death somewhere far from civilization: in a forest, in a godforsaken village or on a half-abandoned highway ... There is also a way out in this case - it will help out the warmth of your body. You can breathe into the larva of the castle or simply pee in it. Not a very hygienic way, but when there is no alternative, then it will do. Water from a kettle is also suitable for defrosting locks, but do not forget: if water or another liquid has been in the mechanism, it should be treated with WD-40 grease at the first opportunity, otherwise it will freeze tightly next time.
When the door is frozen around its entire perimeter, there are also several ways. It is not necessary to melt the ice - it can simply be crumbled: it is enough to knock with your fist on the edges of the door. If such manipulation does not help and the door does not want to open, then defrosting is still required. The most humane thing would be to use a hairdryer. Moreover, in order not to damage the paintwork, you should not choose the "hottest" mode of its operation.
However, if the car is standing far from the outlet, and there is no extension cord at hand, you will have to use boiling water, which will help melt the ice pretty quickly. When the door does open, do not be too lazy to stop by a car dealership and buy silicone grease. The ice will not "stick" to the rubber seals treated with such a composition, and the doors will no longer freeze. The lubricant layer needs to be renewed periodically.
In the off-season, daytime thaws give way to night frosts, and many drivers face the problem of freezing locks and doors. How to unfreeze a car lock?
Boiling water
The fact is that the water that got into the castle during the day due to rain or melted snow turns into ice when the night temperature drops below zero. Of course, many modern cars are equipped with heating systems or remote opening of the lock, but nevertheless, many drivers are still faced with the question "How to quickly defrost car locks and doors?"
The simplest, "folk" method of dealing with ice is boiling water. How to defrost a car lock using boiling water? Just pour hot water on the lock. 2-3 liters may be needed. This method is simple and effective, but it is not the best way out of the situation, and it should only be used as a last resort.
Firstly, it is almost impossible to pour boiling water over the castle alone. Water will spill onto the paintwork, which may swell or change color when exposed to high temperatures.
Secondly, the liquid will get into the lock, which means that it will soon freeze again in the cold. To prevent this from happening, you need to rinse with antifreeze, alcohol or antifreeze. Fill the liquid into a syringe with a needle, insert it all the way into the lock and rinse it from water with a jet.
In winter, the castle can freeze even after visiting the car wash, so make sure that the washers “blow through” the car locks after water procedures.
Key heating
How to unfreeze a car lock if a problem caught you by surprise and you need to act quickly? You will need a regular lighter. Heat the edge of the key with a flame from it and quickly insert the key into the lock. Slowly push it deeper. Repeat several times. Gradually, the hot key will melt the ice in the lock.
After it melts, water will remain in the castle. To prevent the door from being blocked again, it must be rinsed. Take the syringe from the first aid kit and some liquid from the windshield washer.
This method also has a significant drawback. If you overdo it with heating, you can melt the plastic handle of the key. But it contains an immobilizer. In order not to disable the key, you need to be extremely careful, because plastic is not heat-resistant. It is better not to use this method if you have an expensive car.
Cigarette lighter
How to defrost a car door lock if there is no lighter or boiling water? You can warm up the lock with the heat from the cigarette lighter. You can ask the owner of another car for the cigarette lighter itself. This method is more effective than the previous ones. Heating is point-like, which means that the paintwork will not suffer. And the key will also remain intact.
How to defrost a car lock with a cigarette lighter is understandable intuitively. Ask the owner of the car parked nearby to heat the cigarette lighter. Then press it exactly to the lock with a red hot spot and wait for a while, about ten seconds. The heat from the cigarette lighter will melt the ice in the castle. Try to open the door, if the lock has not yet freed itself from the ice shackles, repeat the procedure.
After the ice has melted, water will fill the castle. As in the previous methods, it is imperative to wash it out of the lock with an anti-freeze jet.
Defrost liquid
If you often ask the question "How to defrost a car door lock?", Then you should consider buying a special fluid. In stores, you can buy ice-melting chemicals, so-called defrost aerosols.
The prices for such products are quite high, but you need to understand that all these formulations are based on alcohol or simply represent antifreeze in a convenient package. You don't have to buy expensive bottles to save money. You can simply store a small container of alcohol in the trunk.
The trunk freezes much less frequently, since its lock is better protected from liquid ingress. Take a regular syringe and draw up a few cubes of alcohol. It can be replaced with antifreeze.
Insert the needle into the keyhole as much as possible and slowly release the alcohol, gradually moving inward. Five cubes of alcohol should be enough to melt the ice in the castle. If you don't have alcohol on hand, you can take vodka. If there is no syringe in the medicine cabinet, any thin tube, such as a ballpoint pen, will do.
What to do to keep the locks from freezing?
You have learned how to defrost a car door lock. But there are ways to prevent this nuisance. First of all, try to keep water out of the castle. If it freezes frequently, be sure to rinse it with alcohol or leave it in a warm garage for a couple of days to evaporate.
Still, it's better to take care of the car before the problems start. Use commercially available anti-freeze locks and hinges.
What to do to prevent the doors from freezing?
You have learned how to defrost car door locks. But the doors also often freeze, and if you pull too hard, you can simply tear off the sealing rubber or even break the handle. The car door will open easier if you first press on it, and then knock on the edge with your fist. The ice on the rubber bands will break and the door will open without damage.
To prevent the doors from freezing, you need to lubricate the rubber bands. When cleaning the car, make sure that snow does not fall on the rubber bands. Do not leave them wet after washing. It is better to dry the car by leaving the doors open for 15-20 minutes. When getting out of the car, open and close the door several times, this also helps.
There are several ways to defrost locks, knowing about them, you will not find yourself in a hopeless situation if your car is covered with ice. But it is better to prevent such a problem and take proper care of the car during the winter.
