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Frenchy

Door Won't Stay Closed

16 posts in this topic

My driver side door would not stay close when I shut the door. The door would bounce back opened when I shut the door. The passinger side is fine. It seem like the lock is not latching to the car when it is closed. I try unlocking and lock the door with the key but no luck. I wounder if anyone else has this problem. The Smart is 1.5 years old and has about 53 000 km.

Hello maxwellsmartI am having the same problem as you. It got worse with time. I drive a 2005 Smart bought new and I already have 66,000 kms on it. MB had greased the handle for me last year and it fixed it for awhile.But because it was acting up again I decided to take the handle of the door and grease the cable with Fluid Film and now it won't stay closed at all. I should have never touched it.I will have to drive 3 hours to the dealer with a buggy cord to keep the door from opening. In dismay I took the door panel off so I could see deeper in the mechanism and put some Fluid Film, but it did not help.I was thinking there maybe too much lubricant in there and it is making the mechanism stick.I was wondering would any body know - if I can take the whole mechanism off the door with out disturbing the spring and levers in the mechanism? I was planning to clean the inners with a brush and Varsol to remove some of the excess grease.

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does it close then pop open or does it just bang against the locking pin?make sure the little finger that actuall engages and holds the door closed isnt closed already. It happens. look at the latch on the door that works then compare it to the one that doesnt. You can probably flip the catch open with a small screwdriver.S

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does it close then pop open or does it just bang against the locking pin?make sure the little finger that actuall engages and holds the door closed isnt closed already. It happens. look at the latch on the door that works then compare it to the one that doesnt. You can probably flip the catch open with a small screwdriver.S

The little finger is not closed. When I looked at the other door I have seen that when you push the little finger up (as if the door was closed) you can hear a clicking sound that keeps the finger up and releases when I pull on the door handle (which would open the door), but I don't here it on the other door when I push the finger upwards.The finger won't stay up. That is why the door won't stay closed. What ever is holds that finger up is stuck or broken...that's what it looks and sound like to me.And I have tried unlocking and locking with the power lock hoping it would unstick something, but this did not work.

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hmmm there is probably some sort of spring that has popped off....or broken. You could probably take the outer door panel off and see most of it...

Be careful with the fluid film...it tends to collect a lot of dirt...

I think there are door panel removal instructions here....or at Evilution's site....Here!

I dont see anything about the door latch mechanism on Evil's site...hopefully he will chime in here if he does have some info!

S

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There have been some issues with broken door handles - we had the same deal - door would close - the handle was out a bit - so I did the guy thing and gave it a pop - door closed but then wouldn't open from the outside. Apparently it is the cable in the door handle that gets kinked or something.If your car is still under warrenty they should replace it - if not you can discuss that it is a known issue and perhaps work a deal i,e. pay for the part or pay for the labour.Cheers,Cameron

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I've taken the panel off thanks to the help of Evilution but the casing of the mechanism is blocking most of the inners.... can't see much.Thanks for the comeback and I am hoping there will be someone who can give me some info. about taking the whole mechanism off the door to see if there is a spring broken or something.Thanks AgainSpeedie my car is still under warranty and maybe I should wait for the dealer to look at this. Instead of me fooling around in there.

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Yeah warranty would be best although I was hoping we could have found an easy solution that avoided the 3 hour drive with a bungeed door!Let us know how it turns out

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I have an appointment on May 7th to get a headlight cluster replaced because one of the adjustment screws is striped. We will be using the wife’s car till then.I plan to call them today and let them know about the door. Also my A/C isn’t working and I have read about this on the forum.And I pan to mention about the EGR. After my B service the other day the car seem to hesitate when starting off from a dead stop…more than usual.They changed the water separator at that B service. This has to be done ever 32,000 kms I was told. It cost me around $180.00 just for that separator which is not covered by the warranty.I will keep you posted.

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I have the same problem last year. My driver side door won't close. I have it towed in by roadside assistance. The lock was replaced under warranty. The cause "replace left side door lock, unable to open, tumbler binding inside latch, inrernal failure, metal fatigue". About three weeks later the passinger side door wouldn't stay close. I guess I use the passinger door less often that why it failed a little later. I drove it to the dealer with a bungy cord holding the door close the next morning. I took the interior light bulb out because it was staying on and I don't want to drain the battery overnight. The lock was replaced under warranty. The cause according to the work order "exchange motor to new, replace lock assembly, electrical defect, locking mechanism binding". If you have to drive 3 hours to the dealer and you use the other door as often my advise is to get them to have a look at the other door for failure. Wow $180 for a fuel filter job. I just did mine (second one) at 77 000 km. I brought the filter at MB for $58.15 + tax and have my mechanic install it for me. I told him where the filter is located and watch him change it. It took about half an hour ($30). I reused the water sensor. It easy, just remove a couple of screws and replace a couple of O rings which comes with the new filter. The filter with a new sensor cost $85.10 + tax. You don't need a new sensor because the sensor is just a couple strip of exposed copper which acts as a switch.When the filter is full of water the water completes the the circuit and light a warning light or something.

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I forget to mention that my AC is not working either and the upper ball joints are shot. I made an appointment to have it fix next week. The belt on the AC system is worn and the AC belt tensioner is cracked. Its made out of plastic. The drive belt is also worn so I brought a new one ($22.85 + tax) and install it myself after they fix the AC. My EGR value and exhaust gas recirculation line were replaced under warranty at 37 000 km. The check engine kept coming on. I have to take it in twice before they changed it. Check your brake pads to make sure they are not sticking. I have to repace mine at 35 000 km.

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Please explain "upper ball joints". There should be a pair at the bottom of the struts and two more on the track rods (steering) but neither of those is "upper", at least to my way of thinking.

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I guess its the one on the steering which is higher up. I am having my Smart checked out by MB next week while they are fixing my AC and ball joint before the warranty expires. I am at 78 000 km. MB said it will cost me 0.5 hour of labour and they should fixed anything else that is covered under the warranty. I asked them about extended warranty, they are smart enough not to offer any.

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I guess the dealer fixed it.

 

Im having a similar problem. My car locks/unlocks fine, If i used the outside door handle it opens and closes fine, but when i used the inside door handle to open the driver side door; 80% of the time when i go to close it the door just bounces back open. Its driving me crazy, im guessing a spring has come off or its sticking open. Its a real pain in the ass to get the door card out but thats my only choice right now. If i cant see anything ill just lube it well. If that doesnt work its off to the dealership.

 

Ill lube the door hinges and passenger side mechanism too to be safe.

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" Door cable. It's quite common for this to appear when the wether warms up.
The cable stops movin freely within its sheath.
Replacement part is about £10 I think and can be replaced by yourself or the garage will do it for about £60. "

 

I think this might be the problem. I have a cable lube tool i will try on it

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mine did this today

 

i just removed the torx screw...popped out the handle and sprayed the mechanism with penetrating oil....pulled the handle a few times and then it started to work like normal

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LOL...as soon as I saw this thread I went after mine, just for shits and giggles.....loaded the thing with oil and grease, works well but I can feel something catching even still....my beater doors open as smooth as glass!   I wonder...may be time to swap them out...lol.

 

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