The lock on the car door is frozen, how to open it. What to do if the lock in your car freezes? Frozen lock in the car: causes and consequences

Even residents of regions with less severe winters sometimes cannot open their car. This is due to temperature changes: the moisture accumulated during the thaw freezes, tightly gripping the lock mechanisms and door seals. As a rule, this happens when we are in a hurry.

How to open a frozen lock

On cars equipped with a security alarm, you can open the lock using a key fob. However, at low temperatures the battery often runs out and it becomes useless. Then you have to open the door with the key. And there are three ways.

Don't forget to check all the doors, not just the driver's door. Hatchbacks and SUVs can also be accessed through the trunk.

Method 1. Crumble

If the lock is slightly frozen and you managed to insert the key into the hole, try to crumble the ice inside by rotating the key from side to side. Proceed carefully and do not use too much force. Overdo it, and the remains of a broken key will be added to the ice jam.

If the driver's door does not budge, try the same procedure with the passenger door.

Method 2. Gray

If turning the key in the lock does not work, you can try to melt the ice. The simplest thing is to heat the key itself with a lighter.

A more effective option is to insert a thin metal object into the lock and heat it, transferring the heat inside the mechanism. A hairpin, a piece of wire or an unbent key ring can be used as a conductor. If there are other cars nearby, try heating the lock with hot water.

What you shouldn’t do is pour hot water: in the cold it will immediately cool down and freeze, further aggravating the problem.

Another bad tip is to blow into the keyhole. The heat of your breath is still not enough to melt the ice, but the resulting condensation will immediately freeze. Moreover, if you are careless, you can even stick your lips to the lock.

Method 3. Defrost

It is best to use a special defrosting spray, the so-called liquid key. You just need to attach a small can to the lock and press the sprayer a couple of times. The alcohol-based liquid will melt the ice, and the lubricant included will prevent corrosion and protect against subsequent freezing.

If you don’t have a liquid key at hand, but there is a pharmacy nearby, you can buy alcohol and a syringe and inject the lock: the effect will be the same.

But you shouldn’t spray WD-40 and other kerosene-based liquids into the lock. They will help little against ice, but at the same time they will wash away all the lubricant from the mechanism.

How to open a frozen door

Unlocking the lock is only half the battle, because to get into the car, you still need to open the door. Due to the larger area, it, or rather the rubber seals, freeze to the body much more strongly.

Under no circumstances should you pull the handle with all your might: the door is unlikely to budge, but the handle may fall off. To open a frozen door, you need to tap it with your fist along the entire perimeter and press on it. This way you will crumple the seal, the ice on it will crumble and free the door from captivity.

You can also try rocking the car from side to side.

On hatchbacks and station wagons, try slamming the trunk sharply several times, if you can open it, of course. The air flow will push the door from the inside.

How to open frozen windows

There is no particular need to open the windows, unless you are going to wipe the side mirrors directly from the cabin. However, in order not to inadvertently damage the window lift mechanisms, it is better not to try to lower the icy windows before the interior has warmed up.

When the ice melts, the windows can be opened and also treated with silicone grease where the seal is adjacent.

And you should not clean mirrors with a scraper: it leaves scratches and can damage the anti-reflective coating.

If your car is not equipped with electrically heated mirrors, try clearing them of ice with warm air. When the car warms up, direct a stream of air from the heater through the open window,

How to keep your car from freezing

Wipe door seals dry and treat them with silicone lubricant or spray.
Allow the car to cool before parking it. Ventilate the interior by opening all doors and trunk to allow moisture to evaporate or freeze.
Be sure to treat all locks with a silicone-based water-repellent lubricant.
If the locks are constantly freezing, dry them thoroughly by placing the car in a warm garage or underground parking. The car will warm up and then all the moisture will evaporate.
When leaving your car overnight, remove snow from the top and bottom of the doors.
And don't forget to throw newspapers on the floor. They will absorb melted snow and the humidity in the cabin will decrease.
Always make sure that you dry the car properly after cleaning. The washer should blow compressed air through the window seals, windshield wiper blades, washer nozzles, as well as locks, door handles and the gas tank flap.

How do you get into a frozen car in winter? Share your tips in the comments!

For determined people who are in a hurry, the problem can be solved in one movement: you just need to pull the door as hard as possible. So if you yourself and your rhythm of life are in the above category, then you can, in general, not read everything that follows - you still won’t read it “by the instructions”. The only thing I can give here is one...

…advice: if you tear off the door, then it is best not the driver's door, but the passenger one, and even better, the one that is used least often - for example, the rear left one (if it is not frozen and the central locking works). Go through it to the driver’s seat and warm up the other doors with a “stove”.

The point here is that with such violence against a frozen door, the rubber seals are often torn off and torn, which even on a car under warranty will have to be changed only at your own expense. And since the driver’s door is used most often, the torn seal will soon lose its presentation, water will leak through the torn fragments, and snow will accumulate. And you will immediately have to go for repairs, otherwise the ride will be very uncomfortable.

The other door, especially the rear left one, can be carefully closed by tucking in the torn rubber bands, sealing the damage with household products, and then drive for some time, considering the date and budget for repairs.

In general, when opening frozen doors, the main task is to maintain the integrity of the rubber seals.

How can it be solved?

How to open locks?

If the locks open and are not frozen, then to save personal time you can go straight to the “Second approach” item. If the locks are still frozen, read on.

By the way: Frozen locks will have to be opened in any case - whether you are going to open the door with a jerk or tear it off or carefully separate it from the frame.

Advice: Before the onset of cold weather, you should definitely stock up on a product from the “Lock defroster” group. The price is from 50 rubles, but it helps a lot.

If there is no defrost, then you can try some of the available means - antifreeze liquid from the washer reservoir, as well as any “household” alcohol-containing composition, even cologne. It can be poured, say, into a plastic bottle “with a spout” from some pharmaceutical drops, and then injected into the keyhole. After about two minutes you can try turning the key.

Attention: If the key does not turn, under no circumstances should you apply great force! Otherwise, you can break both the key and the lock. Therefore, if you can’t twist it, we continue to defrost it.

How to open the doors?

So, the lock is open (or the locks were opened initially), now we proceed to open the door.

Advice: Even if you open it carefully, it’s still better not the driver’s door, but the other door. (That’s why, by the way, you need to defrost the passenger door lock).

Step 1: We clean the perimeter of the door where the frame meets the opening. To do this, it is convenient to use a thin flat scraper or, if you don’t have one, some kind of handy “plastic”, for example, a plastic stationery ruler. Be careful: when clearing glaciation, you do not need to scrub with all your might! Proceed carefully, trying not to damage, first of all, the paint and the seals themselves.

Step 2: You can try to pull the door lightly. Has it opened? Hooray! If it doesn’t open, then there are two options. The first one is to tear it off, the second one is to go to “Step 3” - to freeze it.

Step 3: After cleaning the perimeter of the door where the frame adjoins the opening, you can treat it with the same anti-freezing windshield washer fluid, pouring it in a small stream, for example, from some plastic shampoo bottle.

The final: Let's open the door! Still doesn't work? Then we continue to defrost, but we end up freezing ourselves. If we don’t want a cold, then we pull a little harder and get into the car and turn on the heater.

Do not be afraid: After correctly performing the above-described manipulations, the risk of breaking the door seal will be minimal.

Prevention will help

And so that we don’t have to “dance with a tambourine around the car or tear open the door as hard as we can, before the frosts we stock up in advance on inexpensive, but great things that make life easier:

1. Product for protecting locks and hinges from freezing - from 50 rubles.

2. Anti-freezing agent for door and trunk seals - from 100 rubles.

3. Universal silicone grease (frost-resistant) - from 100 rubles.

A serious problem for Russian motorists is the long cold period in most parts of the country. In the central European part it is seven months a year. And in Siberia and the northern regions, the cold can last eight or even nine months. Therefore, every driver has probably encountered the problem of opening a frozen car.

How to open a frozen car lock

First of all, in the cold season, door locks suffer. They are made of metal, have a complex design, hidden in the door structure. Water or moisture constantly accumulates in these places. When the temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius, the moisture accumulated in the locks freezes.

In this case, it may be impossible not only to turn the lock mechanism, but also to insert the key into the keyhole. In such a situation, you can open the lock in several ways.

The easiest way is to have a bottle of special defrosting liquid with you. Drivers call this product a “liquid key”. It is necessary to remove the cap from the bottle and insert the flattened end on the neck into the slot of the lock. After this, you should press the bubble towards the door lock. The liquid is injected inside and spreads throughout the mechanism. It takes some time for the ice to defrost. You should wait one to two minutes. Before inserting the key into the lock, it must be lubricated with the same liquid. Insert the key into the lock carefully, shaking it slightly as you do so. This makes it easier for ice crystals to dissolve in the defrosting liquid. After the key is inserted completely, it should be turned. In this case, you must also act carefully. If you are unable to insert or turn the key the first time, you will need to re-inject the “liquid key” into the lock.
Experience shows that few drivers carry such a “defrost” with them in their pocket or purse. It is usually stored in the car or garage. But you can freeze the lock somewhere on the road. In this case, you can resort to improvised means. Using an ordinary lighter, the metal part of the key is heated, after which it is inserted into the hole. In this case, the heating must be repeated several times until the heat from the key melts the ice formed in the lock.
If the cold snap is not severe, then there is a possibility that you can warm the castle with your own breath. In this case, it is advisable to use a handy tool in the form of a tube. Even an ordinary cocktail straw will do. If you exhale vigorously, there is a chance that the castle will warm up.
As a heating agent, drivers also use a heating pad with hot water or a bag of hot sand, which is applied to the lock until it opens. You can use an ordinary plastic bottle as a heating pad.
Alcohol or alcohol-containing liquids can be used as a defrosting agent when opening the lock. An anti-freeze agent for the windshield is suitable, although its use does not provide a 100% guarantee of success. At a low enough temperature you can only do harm.
Some experts recommend warming door locks on a frozen car with exhaust gases. But this requires another machine and a hose that can be put on the exhaust pipe and attached to the lock.
It must be said that first of all, you should check whether at least one of the locks on the other doors can be opened. If you managed to open any door, you need to start the car and let the interior warm up for half an hour. In this case, the locks should warm up.

It is not recommended to use great force if you cannot insert the key into the lock or turn it after you have managed to insert the key into the keyhole. You can break the key and then the problem of opening the door will become much more difficult.

Also, you should not heat the castle with an open fire. The paintwork may be damaged to such an extent that the entire door will need to be repainted. And this is a lot of money.

If you can’t open the lock, it’s much cheaper to call a tow truck and take the car to a warm box. There it will warm up and the lock can be opened without harming the car.

In what cases can a car door become frozen:

In the cold season after washing the car. When driving on wet roads, when the outside temperature fluctuates from above zero to below zero during the day, in this case, when the door is opened, water accumulates between the seals and the metal body, and when it gets colder, ice forms.

When driving in heavy snow. When the door is used frequently, snow gets trapped behind the seals, melts, and then this water freezes.

When faced with a similar problem, you need to try one of several methods known to specialists for opening a frozen door.

If the driver and front passenger doors do not open, you should try opening those doors that were used least during the trip. There may not be water there. Owners of hatchbacks, crossovers and jeeps have the opportunity to use the trunk door. After the driver gets into the cabin, the engine must be started and the car warmed up. The doors must thaw.
You can use a special defrosting liquid, which is used when opening locks. It is necessary to spray this spray into the cracks between the door and the body. In this case, you need to try to open the door after two or three minutes.
You can use alcohol and any alcohol-containing liquid. For greater effectiveness, it is desirable that the alcohol concentration in it be more than 50 percent.
Warming up the doors using a hairdryer, household or construction, is considered effective.

It is important to remember that when opening a frozen door, you do not need to apply too much force. You can overdo it and break the door handle or tear the seals.

At the same time, existing experience suggests that it is possible to open a frozen door without any available means. It takes proper effort. Before pulling the door towards you, it must be pressed against the car body with sufficient force.

This procedure must be repeated several times. In this case, the existing ice that has formed behind the seal should crumble, lose its monolithic structure and the door should open.

When opening a frozen door, do not use pry bars, screwdrivers or other similar objects. You can seriously damage the surface of the car and tear the seal.

How to open a frozen trunk

Drivers encounter the problem of a frozen trunk more often than a frozen side door. This is explained by the fact that trunk seals, especially on sedans, are located almost horizontally and moisture accumulates there like in a bathtub. In addition, quite often not only locks and seals freeze, but also the hinges on which the trunk door is attached.

What to do if you need to open a frozen trunk:

If you have access to the trunk lock, it must be treated with a special defrosting liquid. The same product must be sprayed into the cracks of the seals and into the locations of the hinges holding the trunk door. After three minutes you can try to open the trunk.
Experienced drivers spray alcohol into all accessible cracks using an ordinary medical syringe. A thin needle allows you to penetrate into the narrowest crevices. The result is one hundred percent. Ice melts very quickly.
You can try applying multidirectional forces on the surface of the trunk lid in order to destroy the ice in the seals. But if the lock freezes, this will not help.
You can warm up the trunk using a hairdryer. If only the trunk does not open, then it is advisable to go to any repair shop with a warm room and warm up the frozen trunk there.
If there is heated glass on the trunk lid, then you need to turn it on and after a while start moving the lid with force in both directions.

Preventing car locks and doors from freezing

To prevent freezing of doors and freezing of car locks, the driver must prepare in advance for the onset of cold weather.

Before low temperatures arrive, you need to wipe all seals dry and blow out the locks. One of the cheapest ways to pre-treat seals is to lubricate all rubber surfaces with glycerin using a swab. For the winter, two 50 gram bottles are enough. You can use camphor instead of glycerin. This is also an inexpensive product. Both of these oils do not harm rubber products, and in the cold they do not freeze and play a water-repellent role.
Locks are coated with a “spindle” for metalworking machines. It does not freeze even in very severe frost. Marking “I-20”, one liter of oil is enough. “Spindle” is applied to the locks using a medical syringe. Both the latch and the receiving part are processed. It would be a good idea to treat all door hinges.
If the driver is wary of folk remedies, then you should use silicone lubricant. It is sold in spray form. This product is used to treat pre-dried seals and hinges with open parts of the locks.
You can protect the inside of the lock from freezing by periodically blowing it with compressed air to prevent moisture from accumulating there. You can also pre-treat with a defrosting spray. This is also good prevention.

We must remember one rule. Preventive anti-freeze treatment of doors and locks is required after each serious temperature change.

There are rules for preventive car care in winter after washing:

After the car is washed, you need to wipe the seals dry and thoroughly blow out all the locks. It is best to immediately treat the locks with defrosting liquid.

After leaving the car wash, stop the car, open all doors and leave the car in this position for at least thirty minutes. Then close and open the doors several times. The remaining water should freeze in the cold, and slamming doors is designed to destroy the structure of the ice.

For a Russian driver, the problem of frozen doors and locks on a car is not an imaginary problem. Everyone encounters it at least once. To avoid such unpleasant situations, it is necessary to carry out all the required preventive measures in advance.

Video: how to open a frozen car

The main reason locks freeze is moisture getting into the keyhole. There it freezes and expands, making it impossible to insert or turn the key because the mechanism is blocked by ice. There is more than one way to open a frozen car door lock:

The consequences of the car locks freezing can be very different. Improper defrosting may result in the need for partial or complete replacement of the lock. Due to excessive haste or excessive zeal, you can break the key, which in the absence of a duplicate can lead to serious troubles. If you need to know what to do, and not try everything at random. And what options there are to solve the problem, see the TOP 10 ways to open a frozen lock in a car.

Ways to unlock a frozen lock

When you discover a frozen lock, the main thing is not to panic. You need to assess the situation and fix the problem using one of the following methods:

Liquid key, also known as a lock defroster, will always help you open the car when the door lock is frozen.
Open fire in the form of a lighter or matches, can also help open a frozen lock if you don’t have special equipment at hand or if you are an opponent of similar things. You need to warm the key with fire, and after inserting it, try to pull it back and forth (very carefully so as not to break it). If the lighter has a directed flame, then you can heat the lock itself, but this dangerous!
Alcohol or alcohol-containing liquids (cologne, eau de toilette) can also be used. After all, pure alcohol dissolves ice (actively releasing heat).
Windshield washer fluid or in other words - anti-freeze, in extreme cases it can also contribute to the thawing of ice in the castle. But it is worth remembering that, as a rule, it contains isopropyl alcohol (an aggressive substance), moreover, diluted with water.
Warmer from a water bottle or a bag filled with warm sand often helps warm the castle.
You should definitely not pour boiling water into the well, as this may cause water to get into the electrical wiring.
Cocktail straw, will help warm the lock with warm air if you place it against the keyhole at one end. Of course, you can simply breathe on it (in severe freezing it is not very effective), but not only is this an additional source of moisture, which will turn into ice in severe frost, it is also very inconvenient.
Tool for loosening nuts Kerosene-based (for example, WD-40) is also often used to open the lock in winter. But there is one “BUT” - it’s worth remembering that such a substance is hygroscopic (just like brake fluid), so it will help, but it will begin to absorb moisture and aggravate the situation the next time you try to open it. But what to do, the castle is frozen, and there is nothing else nearby. In this case, you just need to spray it with moisture-displacing lubricant.
Traffic fumes. A somewhat extravagant, but often effective method is heating if the lock in the car is frozen. You just need to find a suitable hose, which you need to put on one end of the exhaust and put the other end to the frozen lock (the same effect that fuking with your mouth gives).
Silicone Grease or other water-repellent liquid. It will help if the difficulty of opening the car door is caused not by the lock itself, but by the rubber seal. When snow (during cleaning) fell on the seal, then first melted and then froze (forming an ice edge).
If the door is frozen (ice has formed on the rubber seal), then in order not to tear the rubber or tear off the door handle, you should not pull the door towards you, but rather push it in order to destroy the frozen ice.
Warm garage. If none of the above helps, you need to arrange for the car to be towed to a warm place where the door locks and seals can thaw. Although, before you despair, you should try to open the lock on the other door, maybe not everything is so bad there, and then the interior heater will take effect if there are no problems with the stove and it doesn’t.

You need to defrost the locks carefully. In any case, you should remember that you need to be extremely careful when defrosting the lock so as not to damage the key, door or internal mechanism of the lock. To avoid problems with opening the door, experienced car owners always treat the seals, hinges and the lock mechanism itself with a special product. By the way, a frozen lock and frozen doors are not the only problem, then you need to try, this can be quite problematic, and if it’s also, then it’s even more difficult to move.