Hi everyone,

I have a 2002 Accord, which I bought used in 2007. Ever since I've owned the car, the driver's side rear door has been sticky to open. It seems to stick when shut, and even from inside, requires extra force to push open. The outside door handle already broke once from the excess force pulling on it to open the door, and it's on the verge of breaking again. I can replace the door handle, but I'd love to find a solution to the underlying cause. (Often, people getting in the car get fooled into thinking the door is locked; I have to tell them to just pull harder.)

I seems like it's the rubber seals that are sticking to each other, or maybe the seal on the door sticking to the metal frame. I can hear a bit of suction sound when I open the door, especially if I do so slowly while overcoming the stickiness. Once I've opened it, I can close it and re-open it more easily. But if it sits closed for, say, half an hour or more, then it's hard to open again.

I live in San Diego, so weather isn't a problem (i.e. it doesn't freeze shut). And this happens in the winter, and in the hot summer; temperature doesn't matter.

I've tried cleaning the door seals and using spray silicone lube, but nothing has helped. One thing I noticed is that with the other 3 doors, as soon as you pull the handle (inside or outside) far enough to release the latch, the door actually pops open about 1/2 inch. But this one door doesn't pop open at all. After I replace this door handle, eventually it will break again from the excess force.

Anyone else run into this and know of a solution that works? Thanks!

 

If the lube on the seals, hook pin and latch are not helping you might need to adjust the striker.

If you think about adjusting the striker, do yourself a favor and mark the location of the striker to the body before you start. Adjusting the striker can be very difficult/confusing. So by marking the location of it before you start, you can always get back to the original position.

 

You may want to spray something like white lithium grease into the latch mechanism to loosen up any binding.

 

Thanks guys! Someone also suggested putting ArmorAll on the rubber seal. I'm out of town right now and don't have the car with me, but I'll try that when I get back. ArmorAll on dashboards makes nothing stick to them whatsoever, so I'm hopeful that I'll have the same "luck" with the door seal.

I don't think it's the striker or latch mechanism, because when I operate the latch with the door open, it seems to work fine, just like the others. And I pull the door open, I can definitely hear the seals pulling apart from each other. So, with any luck, a generous coat of ArmorAll will do the trick.