Drivers side door latch alignment issue

[Entertwainer]

Hi all, long time observer here, but I thought I'd give this a thread as it seems it's not spoken of at all.

Basically I've noticed over the past few months/maybe more, that the drivers side door latch is fouling the latch bracket when closing. 

A mechanic doing some other work on the car recently commented that the door has dropped slightly. While this makes sense, I cannot see how? I've checked and compared the hinges on both sides and it's showing no signs of misalignment anywhere. However, the door latch is a bit effed. The micro switch is damaged, meaning the courtesy light doesn't come on, so when the drivers door is open, the car thinks it isn't, I know this because when I unlock it and only open the drivers door, it will lock itself again after about 30 seconds-ish. 

What I can't figure out is why the latch is fouling the bracket. Everything looks normal, no signs of wear or being knocked/moved out of alignment. I can see the latch is damaged where the micro switch is housed. I'm going to replace it, but just thought I'd post this so anyone else experiencing it can see how this pans out or if anyone has solved it before can exchange their remedies!

[UrbanPanzer]

If the door itself has not dropped on the hinges, which can be confirmed both by seeing if the paint / dirt / witness marks have changed on the door A pillar and also by seeing if the shut lines where it meets either the rear panel or rear door (if 4 door). are square / even / parallel all the way down.

 

The other thing which can move is the striker plate which is on the door pillar which the latch locks into..... if you loosen the striker you will see it has quite a bit of adjustment. It's advisable to either tape round 2 edges or draw round it to see where it is now "if" you move it.

 

[Tech1e]

Doors will drop under their own weight after a period of time. Plus people lean on them whilst open 

 

Usual body shop fix is a trolley jack and a block of wood on the back of the door with it open. 

[Ootohere]

Back when i joined this forum there was lots having issues with rear door strikers and there was a upgrade, and some were putting insulation tape on the rear strikers.

 

EDIT, cant find the threads but it was striker plates not to spec as i remember.

Edited 28 July, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[Tech1e]

The strikers usually made a cracking or creaking noise. A thicker playing on them allowed the catch to grip them harder. 

 

If the door has dropped it’s easy to see on the waist line of the door. 

[Entertwainer]

I've checked the alignment when the door shuts, both driver and passenger side seem to lift a little when closing, but drivers side is very clunky - if left to swing shut under its own momentum it doesn't shut properly due to the latch fouling too much. I'll try adjust the striker plate. Assumed there would be little wiggle room though so haven't touched it yet. Will let you know if it makes a difference! 

2 hours ago, Roottootemoot said:

Back when i joined this forum there was lots having issues with rear door strikers and there was a upgrade, and some were putting insulation tape on the rear strikers.

 

EDIT, cant find the threads but it was striker plates not to spec as i remember.

 This is the reason I found this forum! My tape is still going strong! 😂😂😂

[Tech1e]

You can adjust the striker down but really the door probably wants to come up. 

[Entertwainer]

On 29/07/2019 at 05:14, Tech1e said:

You can adjust the striker down but really the door probably wants to come up. 

Correct. When the door is open a little bit (when it reaches the first "door check strap notch(?)" I can lift the door and feel it has vertical play. When I open it some more, I can't feel it... Not sure what needs tightening/replacing though...

[Sittingbull]

I'm reckoning the drivers door on ours has dropped slightly as well, for a long time I've been bleating on about water ingress (in fact I spoke to Roottoot about this years ago when he visited) and I've been blaming the door seals thinking they were busted.

 

On looking this morning the drivers door doesn't sit flush with the rear door, the top left of drivers door seems to sit slightly away from pillar looking as if it's left a gap. So it may require the trolley jack and block technique to try and adjust to see if it helps, then new seals anyway. It's that bad that your right shoulder/ arm gets a soaking if it's raining heavily and you would be a brave man to use a jet wash.

[Entertwainer]

I've no water ingress. The door sits fine when shut. It just makes a horrid clunk when it shuts. And there is definitely a MM or so lift when the door is slightly open...no idea what could be worn that means it only does it in that position and not when fully open....need to replace the door latch as the microswitch has been mullered by the slightly off door situation....

[nikasp]

My Mk2 2013 driver door has also dropped very slightly. I am very picky and notice *everything* and wonder if anyone managed to adjust it using screws or the tougher jack variant?
 

It closes a tad bit rough on the latch on the B-pillar but a normal person does not notice. I am however not normal, I hear and see everything and try to fix it 😀

Edited 15 January, 2023 by nikasp

[UrbanPanzer]

there is minimal adjustment in the hinges, also there is adjustment on the catch on the door pillar.

[nta16]

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

Lubricate the hinges and latch and it will at least close easier and quicker which might be enough for you to notice it less as you get used to car and discover loads of other things you might need or want to look at or attend to.

 

You could also lubricate the door and hatch seals which will help with opening and closing especially in winter, using (GT85 if you get it there, use it on door hinges and loads more too, or) a silicone spray applied by cloth or silicone oil applied with a 35mm cube of clean old sponge.

 

 

Edited 15 January, 2023 by nta16
ETA: Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

[nikasp]

It’s not closing really bad but you can notice that the door have dropped a  few millimeters by the A-pillar. When the door hits the catch it lifts those mm:s and aligns perfectly with the passenger door. Not super clear if it’s possible to adjust in a simple way net the hinges but hope so.

[J.R.]

You can adjust it via the hinges, the preferred way or do the quick and dirty trolley jack and block of wood but the A pillar is strong enough to raise the weight of the car by the rear of the door without moving, you will need to jump up and down on the cill to give it a helping hand.

 

I advise you to ignore the halfwit with the  35mm cube of clean old clean sponge which together with  GT85 and  photos of lubricants gets trotted whenever an opportunity presents, I think it might be some sort of a challenge, in any case it is not going to raise your dropped door.

Edited 15 January, 2023 by J.R.

[nikasp]

5 minutes ago, J.R. said:

You can adjust it via the hinges, the preferred way or do the quick and dirty trolley jack and block of wood but the A pillar is strong enough to raise the weight of the car by the rear of the door without moving, you will need to jump up and down on the cill to give it a helping hand.

 

I advise you to ignore the halfwit with the  35mm cube of clean old clean sponge which together with  GT85 and  photos of lubricants gets trotted whenever an opportunity presents, I think it might be some sort of a challenge, in any case it is not going to raise your dropped door.

Will check if it looks the same on the Fabia. Would not want use brute force so loosening a couple of screws seems better.

 

https://youtu.be/9YbWcSXBFSk

Edited 15 January, 2023 by nikasp

[nta16]

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

Hopefully you are able to distinguish two different but related ideas in my previous, my personal troll deliberately does not.

 

At 8/9 years it depends on the hinge wear how much adjusting the hinges helps or just moves the area of misalignment where you have to accept compromises.  You might be able to adjust the door this way to your satisfaction so it is worth a try but if the hinges are badly worn then the movement in them remains and you can spend a long time trying to sort it if you want good shut lines only to return to near enough where you started, hopefully not so on your car at 8/9 years but it depends perhaps on the car's previous use and owner(s).

 

[nikasp]

Looks like like this so I’ll try to adjust when Spring is here in Stockholm. Not a big issue but I like to chase away all defects possible and that does not cost much.

 

[nta16]

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

I would just check all fixings are as tight as they should be and give the hinges a spray of suitable lubricant (GT85 in my case as I prefer it to the other lubricants I have used and have available to me in my shed).  As you I would leave any more work until spring (which spring would be less certain).

 

Edited 20 January, 2023 by nta16
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