I have an 04 CTS. The drivers door will not stay closed. It seems that the door lock will not hold it closed. I'm not sure if its the door lock mechanism or the actuator. I would really appreciate some insight on this.
What is the issue at hand? Is the door not able to latch closed? Whether the door lock is up or down? Or is it not able to lock with the door lock down?
It wont stay closed weather the lock is up or down. It will close, but you can push it open from the inside fairly easy... The latch seems to be catching onto the stricker pin but it wont hold the door closed.
^ Use synthetic spray grease. Had same problem only comes up when it gets really cold like -5 celcius and only on some doors fixed it with the synthetic grease.
Factory grease actually turns solid in these cold temps and dont act as grease, use a synthetic compound and the problem is fixed.
FYI, the CTS engine block heater doesnt turn on until its -18 celsius. -5 celsius is refreshing. Have never had a problem with teh factory grease in -20 degrees. Really cold is in the Dakotas and Alberta and Alaska, etc, where you have to keep the car plugged into the engine block heater while shopping at a mall, or it wont turn back on.
During the Polar Vortex in the previous weeks, other cars as well as the CTS had the freezing latch problem.
My CTS also had a couple of frozen latches after door opening. In one case I used a hair dryer blow heat for about 5 minutes, which unfroze it. I also used a silicone lube spray into it. (WD- 40 makes a silicone spray also.)
I have since found that when the temperatures are warm, spray wd-40 to clean it (water displacement).
Lock de-icer spray can also work, I am told. This gets rid of any moisture, and then finish with silicone spray. I will follow-up to report on this when the temps get real low again.
The Polar Vortex made everywhere much colder then average, I get that. Im not sure it matters here,tho. -5 Celcius is an average temperature for most of Canada during the winter. Over the past couple weeks, Ive seen -20 Celcius without windchill. Ive had a CTS for approx. 10 straight winters now, and have yet to have the frozen door lock issue. If there was a problem with the capability of the factory grease, it should have happened during any one of the hundreds of days my CTS has seen colder then -5. If locks are freezing, its not the capabilities of the grease thats the problem. The grease could be dirty, there could be ice forming over/in the locks, etc...
When I said -5 I didn't mean that exact temperature I am just saying in the negative degrees one of the door latches always doesn't engage properly until warmed up maybe you got lucky but it is a known problem a lot of Cts owners have it and if you noticed like 7 new threads came up about the doors not working when the polar vertex happened ( or whatever is called )
----------
We shouldn't waste any time arguing 99% it's the grease lets see if the person reports back and if it's not the grease we will help accordingly
I wish they would have used the same locks on the CTS as on my DTS never a problem with the DTS, I always use touch less car washes both freeze up next day. DTS no problem CTS nightmare especially back door latches. Tried synthetic oil all kinds of things, so far the best is lithium spray grease. Might have to get a heated garage.:thumbsup:
Is it possible that the country of destination determine the type of grease used? Possible, but not practical.
Unless there's a huge cost difference between a normal grease and grease that will be able to handle the extreme cold. Then I wouldn't blame GM for putting cheap grease in cars going to a warmer climate compared to colder climates.
It's more than likely a bad door latch. The arm that comes over the check arm to latch may have just worn out. You can use a flat blade screw driver to operate the latch manually so you can se exactly what isn't working.
After another 2 weeks of sub-freezing temperatures, I can report that after cleaning out the latches with WD-40 and then lubricating with a silicone spray, the latches are staying in operative condition even at single digit Fahrenheit degrees.
It is never a single reason for the latches freezing. A combination of lock/latch design, the grease can hold dirt and moisture differently, water drainage via glass slots, and the wind directions where you park outside will clog up the latch fittings and moving parts.
I believe that I have solved my own situation for now.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Cadillac Owners Forum
4.8M posts
369.7K members
Since 2002
Cadillac Forums is the perfect place to go to talk about your favorite Caddys including the ATS, CTS, SRX, Escalade, LYRIQ, Vistiq, concept and future Cadillac models.