How to open a car if it is frozen

A serious problem for Russian motorists is a 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 of the cold, eight or even nine months can last. Therefore, surely every driver faced 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 structure, hidden in the door structure. Water or moisture in these places accumulates constantly. When the temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius, the moisture accumulated in the locks freezes.

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

1. The easiest way is to carry a bottle with a special defrosting liquid. Drivers call this tool a "liquid key." It is necessary to remove the cap from the bubble and insert the flattened end on the neck into the lock slot. After this, push the bubble towards the door lock. The liquid is injected in and spreads out according to the mechanism. Thawing ice takes some time. You should wait one to two minutes. Before you insert the key into the lock, you need to lubricate it with the same liquid. Carefully insert the key into the lock, slightly rocking it at the same time. Thus, ice crystals dissolve more easily in a defrosting liquid. After the key is fully inserted, it should be turned. It is also necessary to proceed with caution. If it was not possible to insert or crank the key the first time, you need to re-inject the "liquid key" into the lock.
2. Experience shows that few drivers carry such a “defrost” with them in their pocket or purse. Usually it is stored in a car or in a garage. But you can freeze the castle somewhere on the road. In this case, you can resort to the means at hand. Using an ordinary lighter, the metal part of the key is heated, after which it is inserted into the well. In this case, the heating should be repeated several times until the heat from the key melts the ice formed in the castle.
3. If the cooling is not strong, then it is likely that you can warm the castle with your own breath. In this case, it is desirable to use the available means in the form of a tube. Even an ordinary cocktail tube is suitable. If you exhale air vigorously, there is a chance that the lock will be warmed up.
4. As a heating agent, drivers also use a hot water bottle or a bag of hot sand, which is applied to the castle until it opens. As a heating pad, you can use an ordinary plastic bottle.
5. When opening the lock, alcohol or alcohol-containing liquids can be used as a defrosting agent. An “ice-free” is suitable for a windshield, although its application does not give a 100% guarantee of success. At a sufficiently low temperature, you can only do harm.
6. Some experts recommend heating the door locks on a frozen machine with exhaust fumes. But this requires another machine and a hose, which can be put on the exhaust pipe and attached to the lock.
7. I must say that first of all, you should check whether it is possible to open at least one of the locks on the other doors. If any door could be opened, it is necessary to start the car and let the cabin warm up for half an hour. In this case, the locks should warm up.

It is not recommended to use great efforts if you can’t insert the key into the lock or turn it after you managed to put the key into the keyhole. You can break the key and then the problem of opening the door will become very complicated.

Also, do not heat the castle with open fire. You can damage the paintwork so much that you need to paint the entire door again. And this is a lot of money.

If you cannot open the lock, it is 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 injury to the car.

How to open a frozen door in a car

In some cases, the door in the car may be frozen:

In the cold season after washing the car. When driving on wet roads, when the temperature outside fluctuates from positive to negative during the day, in this case, when the door is opened, water accumulates between the gaskets and the metal case, and ice forms during cooling.

When driving in heavy snow. With frequent use of the door, the snow clogs behind the seals, melts, and then this water freezes.

Faced with a similar problem, you need to try one of several methods known to experts for opening a frozen door.

1. If the door of the driver and front passenger does not open, you should try to open those doors that were least used during the trip. There may not be water. For owners of hatchbacks, crossovers and jeeps, it is possible to use the trunk door. After the driver enters the passenger compartment, the engine must be started and the vehicle warmed up. Doors should thaw.
2. You can use a special defrosting liquid, which is used when opening locks. It is necessary to spray this spray in the cracks between the door and the body. In this case, you must try to open the door in two to three minutes.
3. It is possible to use alcohol and any alcohol-containing liquid. For greater effectiveness, it is desirable that the concentration of alcohol in it be more than 50 percent.
4. It is considered effective to heat the doors with a hairdryer, domestic or construction.

It is important to remember that opening a frozen door does not require too much effort. You can overdo it and break the door handle or tear seals.

At the same time, experience suggests that you can open a frozen door without improvised means. Correct effort is required. Before pulling the door towards yourself, it must be pressed against the body of the machine with sufficient force.

Repeat this procedure several times. In this case, the existing ice that formed behind the sealant should crumble, lose the monolithic structure and the door should open.

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

Experts do not recommend watering the door with hot water. If the water is very hot, microcracks will form on the paint of the machine, and warm water will only add ice to the cracks in the structure.

How to open a frozen trunk

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

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

1. If you have access to the trunk lock, then it must be treated with a special defrosting liquid. The same tool must be sprayed in the cracks to the seals and in the location of the hinges holding the tailgate. After three minutes, you can try to open the trunk.
2. Experienced drivers spray alcohol into all available slots with an ordinary medical syringe. A thin needle allows you to penetrate the narrowest slots. The result is one hundred percent. The ice is melting very fast.
3. You can try to apply multidirectional forces to the surface of the trunk lid in order to break the ice in the seals. But if the castle freezes, it will not help.
4. You can warm the trunk with a hairdryer. If only the trunk does not open, then it is advisable to drive to any repair shop with a warm room and warm up the frozen trunk there.
5. If there is glass heating on the trunk lid, you must turn it on and after a while proceed to move the lid with a force in both directions.

Prevention of freezing locks and doors in a car

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

1. Before low temperatures, 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 bubbles of 50 grams are enough. Instead of glycerin, camphor can be used. 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.
2. 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 with a medical syringe to the locks. Both the latch and the receiving part are processed. It will not be superfluous to process all the door hinges.
3. If the driver is cautious about folk remedies, then you need to use silicone grease. It is sold as a spray. This tool processes pre-dried seals and hinges with open parts of the locks.
4. To protect the inside of the lock from freezing, you can periodically blow it with compressed air to prevent moisture from accumulating there. You can also pre-treat with a thawing spray. This is also good prevention.

One rule to remember. Preventive treatment of doors and locks from freezing is required after each serious temperature drop.

There are rules for preventive maintenance of the machine in the winter after washing:

After the machine is washed, it is necessary to wipe the seals dry and blow all the locks well. Locks are best treated immediately with defrosting liquid.

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

For the Russian driver, the problem of frozen doors and locks on a car is not an invented problem. Everyone, at least once, encounters her. 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