Driver door wouldn't open.

[rfm8os]

So this morning it was about 15 degrees out and I couldn't open my drivers door on my 2020 JLUR more than a few inches. I could see the bottom hinge was flexing so did not try to pull it too hard. Climbed into the passenger side and moved the car into the garage to see if I could figure out what was going on. Eventually I got it to open but it is really kind of clunky and hard to open and close all of a sudden while the other three doors seemed fine.

The detent bar thingy had some really hard/cold grease on it so I got some lihium grease I had and slathered some on the bar and then opened and closed the door a bunch of times. It seemed to be better but still not opening and closing as smoothly as the passenger side.

Any ideas? Should I take the door off and lubricate the pins?

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[roaniecowpony]

I guess it could be a grease hardening issue. If you get it above a certain temperature does it work better? If you have a space heater, try heating it up around the door for good while and try it. If that helps a lot, its probably an issue of lubricant below it's effective range of temperature. If not, it could be mechanical. You guys in cold climates have to think about all kinds of things. I did have a problem opening a door on my JLUR last Nov in Idaho when it was in the same temperature range you mentioned. It was the moisture on the door seals that had frozen. I don't know what people that live it cold climates do about door seals, but it would seem some silicone spray would help.

When I hunt in cold climates, I make sure to clean out any old lubes and use only low temperature compatible lubes.

 

[Lou_JLU]

So this morning it was about 15 degrees out and I couldn't open my drivers door on my 2020 JLUR more than a few inches. I could see the bottom hinge was flexing so did not try to pull it too hard. Climbed into the passenger side and moved the car into the garage to see if I could figure out what was going on. Eventually I got it to open but it is really kind of clunky and hard to open and close all of a sudden while the other three doors seemed fine.

The detent bar thingy had some really hard/cold grease on it so I got some lihium grease I had and slathered some on the bar and then opened and closed the door a bunch of times. It seemed to be better but still not opening and closing as smoothly as the passenger side.

Any ideas? Should I take the door off and lubricate the pins?

I've experienced the same thing on my 2018 last winter the hinge pins get a little moisture in them and when they freeze it makes for a difficult door opening. I greased the pins on the 2018 and 2019 last April and set a calendar reminder to do it annually. However with the latest warm and cold temperatures I can feel a bit of resistance on the lower hinge on the driver side 2018. So I've decided to go to a twice a year cycle on the hinges. To pull all four door and apply some grease is no more then an hour's work once the learning curve is complete. The front door electrical connectors kicked my ass but finally got the hang of it.

It really should be a maintenance schedule item. I wonder if there is way to get a low profile grease fitting installed? Going to think about that....

btw be careful when removing the securing bolts and reinserting them. The studs inside are small diameter treads and could snap/seize easily.

Examples of fittings attached. But a quick and no nonsense method would be to just remove the securing bolt and inject some grease from the bottom. Dirty but gets the job done.

 

[rfm8os]

I guess it could be a grease hardening issue. If you get it above a certain temperature does it work better? If you have a space heater, try heating it up around the door for good while and try it. If that helps a lot, its probably an issue of lubricant below it's effective range of temperature. If not, it could be mechanical. You guys in cold climates have to think about all kinds of things. I did have a problem opening a door on my JLUR last Nov in Idaho when it was in the same temperature range you mentioned. It was the moisture on the door seals that had frozen. I don't know what people that live it cold climates do about door seals, but it would seem some silicone spray would help.

When I hunt in cold climates, I make sure to clean out any old lubes and use only low temperature compatible lubes.

In my case it definitely was not the door seals. The door opened a few inches and then would not budge. It sounds like what @Lou_JLU described. Since I could see the bottom hinge was flexing it makes more sense if that hinge was seized with ice, or whatever, than it being the detent bar being jammed somehow..

 

[chacomaya]

It's almost certainly ice in the hinges, not anything to do with the grease. The price we pay for external hinges.

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