Door handles very... very difficult to open. (Is there a fix?)

[corrado33 10]

Is there a fix for door handles that are nearly impossible to open? I'm not yanking on them cause I don't want them to break,(I'm doing the "thumb plant over lock cylinder then use fingers to pull... technique) but it seems that over the years my car door has gotten harder and harder to open, now to the point where nobody can open the car except me.

 

Is there a reason for this? Can I fix it?

[Keyo 47]

It could be due to the hinge starting to drop and also striker pin. Lift your door up and down and see if there is play in the hinge weld or hinge pin . Also check your catch on the striker pin.

[1xshaunx1 27]

Try greasing the handle and oiling the lock mechanism that picks up the stricken pin. Open the door and try a screwdriver on the leaver in the mechanism that picks up the striker pin on the door, the bit that moves when you close the door. You should be able to flick this lever over easily into the closed position, then operate the handle to throw the lever back in position. It should be easy without much resistance.

[swiftkid 1]

If you remove the door handle there's a white plastic dome cover over the striker, you can unscrew that to adjust it but be warned it only needs tiny movement otherwise you'll snap the lever. To be honest as soon as it starts becoming difficult to open, I'd get a replacement striker on order

 

edit: just had a look on google and my advice may be wrong as I had passat delocked rears before swapping to A3. The passat does have the adjustment but not sure if the corrado did

Edited January 14, 2020 by swiftkid

[Keyo 47]

The doors can start getting stiff when the hinges start to fail as the weight of the door is partly been distributed on to the striker which it should not, an old trick is to put some timber and cloth under your door at the corner and jack it up a little, however the proper fix is new hinges and pins . To check your hinges lift the door up on the corner towards the rear of the car and move it up and down and see if there is play in your hinges. Even better if you can get someone to do do whilst you watch . Its normally the bottom one from memory.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Keyo

[corrado33 10]

Try greasing the handle and oiling the lock mechanism that picks up the stricken pin. Open the door and try a screwdriver on the leaver in the mechanism that picks up the striker pin on the door, the bit that moves when you close the door. You should be able to flick this lever over easily into the closed position, then operate the handle to throw the lever back in position. It should be easy without much resistance.

 

Yeah the mechanism works perfectly fine. I can operate it with my fingers very easily (as I usually do when removing/installing my door cards so I can "lock" the door and have the lock pin screw thing out of the way. It just takes a lot of travel to actually get the door handle to "open" the mechanism, even when the mechanism has been operated with my fingers (and therefore the door is actually open... but the mechanism is closed.)

 

I think you are right that it's a striker problem. I just ordered a set, but I probably won't bother fixing it until this spring.

 

Thanks.

[corrado33 10]

If you remove the door handle there's a white plastic dome cover over the striker, you can unscrew that to adjust it but be warned it only needs tiny movement otherwise you'll snap the lever. To be honest as soon as it starts becoming difficult to open, I'd get a replacement striker on order

 

edit: just had a look on google and my advice may be wrong as I had passat delocked rears before swapping to A3. The passat does have the adjustment but not sure if the corrado did

 

Na when I googled I found replacement corrado strikers so I just ordered those. Plus they're made out of... better materials so I shouldn't ever have to do it again.