When the outside air temperature is in the 20's or lower, some of the door locks on my 2000 Ford Taurus don't move - so you cannot lock or unlock the car. The power door lock actuator energizes, and you hear the familiar clunk of a lock being turned, but the lock doesn't actually move. Pushing or pulling on the lock manually doesn't get the lock to move, either.
Any ideas what causes this problem, and how to resolve it? Thanks in advance for the help.
Lubricants gunk up. Residual water freezes. And the metal also expands and makes for more friction. Try a spritz of lock de-icer before doing anything.
--scott
The factory lube binds up, water freezes and many of the lock parts in a Ford are plastic so they bind when cold.
Solution, pull the door panels so you can remove the latch assembly. Flush all the crud out of the latch with some brake cleaner and once it evaporates apply some graphite or teflon dry lubricant to all the moving parts. Then reinstall. For the lock cylinder you can flush it out and use graphite lube in it.
No.
--scott
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