1989 Camry with freezing doors

[wmcot]

My daughter inherited our 1989 Camry 4-door. The car is still in great shape and she uses it to drive to college.

The problem is that the doors tend to freeze shut whenever the temperature drops below freezing, especially after any rain or snow. I assume water is getting into the doors and freezing the locks (electric) since it won't unlock until warmed up in the sun. Occasionally one door will open, but the others are stuck until she drives far enough to warm the car (usually about 20-30 minutes).

Other than disassembling all the doors and coating everything with grease, is there a quick cure for this problem?

p.s. It doesn't seem to be the rubber gaskets or the actual lock itself that is freezing. It seems that a small amount of water may be running down the windows inside the doors and freezing the actual lock release mechanisms.

Is there a way to seal the rubber gaskets on the windows to keep water out?

[augie7071]

Sorry to hear that. I to have a 89 camary with the dreaded freezing door problem. I ,myself see no solution. I made the mistake of washing it the other day. I have noticed that it does seem to stick on the rubber gaskets though. along with the inside freezing. I guess all you can do is get it dried out once and leave the salt on. Good luck!!!!

[wmcot]

Originally Posted by augie7071

Sorry to hear that. I to have a 89 camary with the dreaded freezing door problem. I ,myself see no solution. I made the mistake of washing it the other day. I have noticed that it does seem to stick on the rubber gaskets though. along with the inside freezing. I guess all you can do is get it dried out once and leave the salt on. Good luck!!!!

As far as the gaskets go, I have seen other advice columns that recommend spraying a silicone spray on a cloth and rubbing it on the rubber gaskets. I'll try that to see if it eliminates part of the problem at least.