How to defrost a car door that's frozen shut?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

So I live in Northern Nevada, I have a 2010 Nissan Versa and its been getting cold which is normal this time of year. The other morning I went out to warm the car up before taking my son to the bus stop and the door was frozen shut, not just the handle but I couldn’t open up my door at all. It was frozen from the inside. I was thinking that because it rained the previous day and the seal around the door got a little wet from the rain when I opened it and didn’t dry before it got really chilly and that’s what caused it to stick. So I’m wondering, if this happenes again, which I’m sure it will…what’s a good way to unstick the door? The other morning, I opened up the back the car (it’s a hatchback) and crawled in, started the car and cranked the heater up and that seemed to help, but there are some mornings that the whole car is a big block of ice.

2

I sometimes had this trouble when I lived in NY. I would simple boil a teakettle of water and take it out to the car. Then I would pour the hot water slowly over the door handle and the edges. Not a high-tech solution by any means but it always worked.

3

Awesome, I’ll try that next time. I won’t try this on the windshield though :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Spray a rag with a silicone lubricant and wipe this on the door seals. That’ll prevent the doors from freezing to the door seals.

Tester

5

Silicone lubricant…Do I get that at the autoparts store?

6

Yep!

Tester

7

Thanks.

8

Put a cover over the car.

9

Oh yeah, I plan on buying a cover soon! There’s a garge at the house but the jetski is in there :frowning: Even if we move the jet ski, my mom said she’d park her SUV in there so I won’t be able to fit my car in there :frowning:

10

Be careful when trying to pull the door open. You can easily rip the weatherstripping right off the door this way.

11

Assuming the lock is not frozen (that requires lock de-icer), the methods sugegested work OK. We have a “Monster” carpet and upholstery steamer, available from Costco. This thing puts a blast of steam out and would thaw any stuck seals in minutes.

As suggested, coat the rubber seals with silicone, available from car supply stores, and they will no longer stick. We live in an area where -30F is a regular winter occurrence, and we don’t have the problem…

12

A long extension cord and a powerful hair drier.

13

May I recommend a heavy duty extension cord for that use? I would hate to see the insulation melt.