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Frozen Doorlocks

2K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  Daffy 
#1 ·
Ok, here's the scenario. It rained all day on tuesday last week, truck parked out in it getting a natural bath. I drove it home, parked it in a semi-heated garage all night and drove to work wednesday morning. Temps dropped all day wednesday to about the mid 20's as I recall. Came out of work and can't get into the truck. I could hear the solenoids energizing but no unlocking, tried the key... it turns part way in both directions and wiggles the lockpost, but still no entry. OK, I'll get her towed in to be looked at right. WRONG, these vehicles don't have a steering lock! So in order to be towed you have to tie down the steering wheel, little problem there.... still no access to the cab :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss

Borrowed a portable heat blower (phone co issue :rolleyes: ) and finally got the drivers door unlocked (which almost instantly froze in the unlocked position after heat removal) and drove it into the shop.

All locking mechanisms are to be replaced and some type of "gutter" is to be fabricated inside the door to route water off of the doorlocks.

Yeah I know some park these baby's for the winter but mines a daily driver and I can't wait for a 2 to 3 inch snowfall to see how long I can hold it sideways going down the road. :leaving

Just a fwiw for those of you in the northern hemisphere. There is a design issue with the doorlocks.
 
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#2 ·
LOL sorry not laughing at your situation, simply laughing because we have all had to deal with this in one form or another. Years ago, when I lived in Denver, we had a wicked snow storm, and the doors of my truck were frozen shut. After much scraping, and pouring buckets of luke warm water on the door frame I finally got the handle out. I pulled on the damn thing so hard, I pulled the handle out of the door. :lol :lol :lol

As you can see, your problems are not that bad after all.
 
#6 ·
You can try a remote starter to heat up the vehicle before going out to it.
This will be my first winter in the NE too. I'm hoping I won't have that problem. I also leave the seat warmer on too.
Happy Holidays
Bard
'05 :ssr
 
G
#8 ·
Thats what got me to put a remote start on mine. In Okie land we get more freezing Rain than snow. I could not shut the door because window did not go down when opened. With the alum engine about 15 min and no problem any more. Remote start on mine goes off after 20 min. Just remember to leave on defrost and fan turned up when you leave the ssr for later. And if you go to the trouble of the remote start, might as well have remote top also. Dam, this stuff will spoil you. That dad-blasted whining.... I love it :jester :lol :seeya

A little gas is cheaper than tearing up the seals or door. Unless you can park inside at home, work and play, It's a cheap fix I think.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Nyah, HA ha!

Diggs said:
So maybe if their husbands were still around they would not be so cold?!?!?

Diggs
The widows wouldn't pay the rent!

WINDOWS! I meant windows.

I type like lightning, I never hit the same key twice......

I like the remote start idea. My dealership sent to me an invitation to get a remote starter intalled for $200. It seems like a good deal but I worry about letting the dealership do this kind of accsy install.

efxguy
2004 Slingshot
 
#11 ·
BobA said:
Thats what got me to put a remote start on mine. In Okie land we get more freezing Rain than snow. I could not shut the door because window did not go down when opened. With the alum engine about 15 min and no problem any more. Remote start on mine goes off after 20 min. Just remember to leave on defrost and fan turned up when you leave the ssr for later. And if you go to the trouble of the remote start, might as well have remote top also. Dam, this stuff will spoil you. That dad-blasted whining.... I love it :jester :lol :seeya

A little gas is cheaper than tearing up the seals or door. Unless you can park inside at home, work and play, It's a cheap fix I think.
Were you serious BobA? Have you been able to have your top operate by remote. It's not a bad idea.
 
G
#12 ·
SS My R said:
Were you serious BobA? Have you been able to have your top operate by remote. It's not a bad idea.
Yep, both of mine have had aftermarket alarms with remote start and top. My fob will go off (vibrate & make noise) if someone tries to break in to my SSr. That way I know it when it is happening. It works to 1000' away. Most alarms only go off at the veheicle, so when you find you sled it's to late. the aftermath is what you are left with. Mine sit outside, but most the time my freinds autos have been broken into is while at the mall or out some where. Alittle peace of mind.

If they will steal for you, they will steal from you.
If they will lie for you, they will lie to you. :flag :seeya
 
#13 ·
BobA said:
Yep, both of mine have had aftermarket alarms with remote start and top. My fob will go off (vibrate & make noise) if someone tries to break in to my SSr. That way I know it when it is happening. It works to 1000' away. Most alarms only go off at the veheicle, so when you find you sled it's to late. the aftermath is what you are left with. Mine sit outside, but most the time my freinds autos have been broken into is while at the mall or out some where. Alittle peace of mind.

If they will steal for you, they will steal from you.
If they will lie for you, they will lie to you. :flag :seeya
So BobA how does the remote top work do you know? Does the fob just send out a signal that activates and completes the circut or do you have to hold the button on the fob the whole time it's going down or up? Oh and what's the name of your system if you know off hand. TIA
 
G
#14 · (Edited)
autopage #855 Takes a couple extra relays to make ir think you have your foot on the brake. and it's an auto tranny. I just push 2 buutons at the same time, 2 on botton-topgoes down: bottom left and top right button and top goes up. You do not keep holding the buttons. You can stop it in mid travel if you want. Just another toy, but my kind of toy. :)

There is a few of us that has this feature on our :ssr s do a search on remote top or remote start and you will find a few. There are other brands. I have not had any problems with mine on either vehicle.
 
#15 ·
BobA said:
autopage #855 Takes a couple extra relays to make ir think you have your foot on the brake. and it's an auto tranny. I just push 2 buutons at the same time, 2 on botton-topgoes down: bottom left and top right button and top goes up. You do not keep holding the buttons. You can stop it in mid travel if you want. Just another toy, but my kind of toy. :)

There is a few of us that has this feature on our :ssr s do a search on remote top or remote start and you will find a few. There are other brands. I have not had any problems with mine on either vehicle.
Thanks BobA I've had an AutoPage before and it was great. I'll keep this in mind for when I get mine (which I hope will be real soon). Still checking for the best deal.
 
#16 ·
I can't wait for a 2 to 3 inch snowfall to see how long I can hold it sideways going down the road. :leaving

Just a fwiw for those of you in the northern hemisphere. There is a design issue with the doorlocks.[/QUOTE]

Why wait , Mine goes sideways in the rain ! :jester
 
#17 ·
Daffy said:
All locking mechanisms are to be replaced and some type of "gutter" is to be fabricated inside the door to route water off of the doorlocks.

Try wiping down the inside of the locks with Veseline or a spray silicone lubricant. It repels the water away and keeps the locks from Freezing. Drove mine every day through last years New England winter and never had a problem with the locks. I use a can of liquid silidone and spray the locks once a month.

Jeff
 
#18 ·
Locks froze up too

My wife's locks also froze up on her the same day as you Daffy. She was in Rockford Illinois. Ultimately, I had to point my kerosene blower at the door and hold a towel above the door to keep the heat on it and eventually the door lock thawed and was able to finally open the door. You say "All locking mechanisms are to be replaced and some type of "gutter" is to be fabricated inside the door to route water off of the doorlocks". Is this work being done by your dealer? If so, I am really surprised. I reported the issue to my dealer and mentioned your fix. They said that they will only perform GM approved maintenance on the SSR. If your dealer is doing this, then they either don't abide by this "GM approved" rule or they really did get approval. Our dealer says "it’s something not approved by GM or they would have sent out a service bulletin to all dealers". We are looking into a remote starter for our SSR to try to remedy the issue.

On a side note, what is the process to complain to GM?
 
#19 ·
GM Customer Assistance is the place to complain.....

1-866-932-4368

They will open a ticket on your issue and attempt to get it resolved. They are part of GM. The dealership is a franchise business that is licensed (by GM) to sell and service the product line.

Keep track of the "Trouble Code Number" that they assign your case.

Mike
 
#20 ·
Viper alarm for autotop

I stopped by BestBuy and asked the installer if they sold the Autopage 855 alarm since I wanted autostart and autotop. He said that the Viper alarm was the same and all I needed was a window module (extra $75) and he could do what I wanted no problem. They did auto top down on other cars before. :)
 
#22 ·
packerbkd said:
My wife's locks also froze up on her the same day as you Daffy. She was in Rockford Illinois. Ultimately, I had to point my kerosene blower at the door and hold a towel above the door to keep the heat on it and eventually the door lock thawed and was able to finally open the door. You say "All locking mechanisms are to be replaced and some type of "gutter" is to be fabricated inside the door to route water off of the doorlocks". Is this work being done by your dealer? If so, I am really surprised. I reported the issue to my dealer and mentioned your fix. They said that they will only perform GM approved maintenance on the SSR. If your dealer is doing this, then they either don't abide by this "GM approved" rule or they really did get approval. Our dealer says "it’s something not approved by GM or they would have sent out a service bulletin to all dealers". We are looking into a remote starter for our SSR to try to remedy the issue.

On a side note, what is the process to complain to GM?
According to the wrench, he discussed the issue with a design engineer? (think that's what he said) Anyway supposedly I'm the first case of this either one has encountered(ok), still a problem in my book and throughout my discussions with the dealership(that I didn't buy from) he may have realized that I didn't just pop out from under the rock and that the resolution that would make me content was to work out a way to avoid the water issue inside the door. (Electric solenoids for locks and electric motors for windows along with the linkages being drained upon every time it rains regardless of the temperature is not acceptable) Being "frozen out" just verified it. Whether the possible fix of routing the moisture away from the electrical/mechanicals inside the door were prompted by the mechanic surveying the issue or the engineer at GM, I'm not sure. From my past electronic experience most of the tech bulletins are basically derived from the experience of "on the job" guys with the ability to think through and fix issues so they don't come back. Sterling Chevrolet formerly Bun Austin Dealership (decent folks).

Personal thought on the remote starter or the remote drop top..... Will get you in the truck after a time for sure but won't stop any longer term damage from occuring, combine water with oil or electricity and you're going to have problems cuz they just don't mix. 2 cents worth, and don't forget to set the heat on high for the remote start gas is still expensive and it'll get cold standing there waiting.

BTW JimG's tip on silicone dielectric grease is right on the money in the other thread, been using it for years on the seals and dry graphite lube on the locksets as well. (not wd40 or any other wet spray) they tend to hold dirt and eventually gum things up. If cleaning is needed on locks use fast evaporating electronic cleaner and then graphite for lube.
 
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