13 replies to this topic

[Maidstone Minxy]

~~~~~Can anyone suggest a good way to prevent the door locks on my mini from freezing in this cold weather. as it's taken me a good 15 minutes to open the doors this morning


thanks

mark

[Bungle]

lots of white grease in the locks will help

[trouble]

Cover lock with blue tack at night

[SPORTPACK]

If you spray de-icer into the locks, make sure it is de-icer....I did this to my Mum's Clio and I'd picked up spray adhesive can by mistake!!!

[sonikk4]

Plenty of WD40 or GT85 will do the job.

[Carlzilla]

As above, lots of de icer or water displacing lubricants (wd40 or gt85) i find gt85 to be the better stuff.

[tom3112]

I use WD40 and if it's frozen in the morning, heat my key with a lighter and it does the trick!

[danrock101]

I snog the key hole and breath into it but the problem is WD40 and de-ice doesn't taste very nice

[Boycie]

Hey, another Maidstonian

Re the locks, mine are exactly the same, takes 15 minutes to get in and by that time, the piddly sharp keys have really hurt your (freezing cold) fingers!

I think the basic problem is that the locks have tiny spring-loaded caps that seal the lock barrel shut when there's no key in it, intended to keep water/ damp out of the lock. This is fine but they break after a few years of use, all mine are knackered. May get a new lockset in the summer.

Oh, and be really carefull with the fuel cap lock, the keys for these seem to break really easily.. on the petrol forecourt when you're running on vapours

[adam_93rio]

hold a lighter under it if they arent the plastic coated ones, or warm the key up

apparently it can damage locks spraying stuff in them

[megamini_jb]

i kept breathing in the hole which actually helped my neighbours probably thought i was weird D: ohwell

[Cerberus]

wrap them in bubble wrap in the evening, the entire door handle. No more frozen locks in the mornings.

That's what I've been doing, works great.

Edited by Cerberus, 26 December 2010 - 07:16 PM.

[adam_93rio]

i work as an electrical engineer and the locks on a cabinet were frozen so i was bent over just about giving mouth to mouth to the lock.

the old man who lives next door must have had quite the shock coming out and seeing a 20 year old lad in a black beanie making out with a cabinet door

[mk3cortina]

hey you love your mini so give it a good snog when you greet it in the morning, no shame in it.