From there, get the door open to work on the broken car door lock. It would retract when either knob was turned, but not when attempting to close the door without turning a knob. Reducing Door Gap in a Latch Side. Save Share. And replacing a door latch is easy. No Toyota in possession, now. If the bolt doesn't retract enough, look for an adjustment for length at one end of the cable or the other. A properly installed door features a 1/8-inch gap along the latch side to allow the door to swing and function correctly. Starting about a week ago, the latch on my back door knob won't retract into the doorknob unless I turn the doorknob. The strike plate is the small piece of metal on the door frame where the latch from the key rests when the door is closed. The latch bolt MUST align with the center of the strike plate opening when you close the door. Accident w/frame damage, got rid of car. Glove Compartment Latch Won't Retract. If I fiddle with it enough, I am able to push it in, but usually this doesn't work. And you thought you only had to get your car tires aligned! Child safety locks are put in cars in order to keep small children from opening car doors while you are driving. If a strike plate is out of place, it can cause annoying problems like a rattling noise when you open and close the door, as well as a wood door that refuses to stay shut. A rod connects the actuator to the latch, and another rod connects the latch to the knob that sticks up out of the top of the door. This is a good safety precaution; however, if you accidentally get the child safety locks stuck, you will not be able to open the door from the inside or … 1 - 8 of 8 Posts. This means to close my door properly I If I try to push the latch closed with my hand, it (mostly) won't budge. I had to push the latch flush and lock it to make the door stay closed, and the latch still springs out. There's one piece of good news if you have a stuck latch that won't let you shut the door: At least it's not a stuck latch that won't let you open the door. It begins by finding out what is wrong. Make sure to get the broken teeth out of the way so they don’t get stuck in between the gears once the lock’s back on the door. Once your car door is stuck in the lock position, there is a process you have to do. Reply. In some cars, the door lock actuator is positioned below the latch. Lube the hinges as well, and make sure the spring isn't broken or loose. This is the proper timing for the gear. A handful of things can cause a door latch to get stuck in the open position. Finding a solution will depend on whether the car door is locked and won’t close or if the car door is locked and won’t … Car door lock actuators are designed to lock and unlock a door without the effort of pulling on a cable and rod.. Often however a faulty door latch would require a replacement and it may be wiser to just replace it anyway as latches are very cheap. After reading everything written above, I concluded that I was looking at replacing some or all of the internal mechanism. Many of these can be fixed by simply disassembling and reassembling the door … If you don’t assemble in this way, pushing the thumblatch down might not retract the latch all the way and the door will still not open from the outside. The tongue of the door latch leading from my garage to the kitchen began malfunctioning just as described above. Simply purchase a new latch at any hardware or a locksmith store and fit it in the same location the old latch used to be fitted in. Now, if you’re daring enough you can actually get a flashlight, bend down to where you’re eye-level with the door handle and watch the latch bolt as you close the door.