Volvo S40 sticky central locking

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Thu 2 Nov 2006 08:20
Volvo S40 sticky central locking - jon_s
Morning all,

Now the cold mornings are upon us again, I have a recurrence of a problem with my 1998 Volvo S40 - namely that upon unlocking the car, two doors are not unlocking fully. This problem has affected the car for some time and always happens when the ambient temperature is low. It used to affect only one door, which was manageable, but two is becoming a bit of a nuisance. The doors can be opened manually by pulling up the locking buttons, but I've noticed they are extremely stiff. Incidentally, they appear to always lock OK, it's opening that is the problem.

Is this likely to be simply stiff or corroded mechanisms (helped by some judicious lubrication), or do I need to consider renewing components, for example the locking motors on the affected doors?

Thanks in advance.

Jon
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Thu 2 Nov 2006 09:19
Volvo S40 sticky central locking - DP
My Mondeo does this as well. Usually the other doors unlock after a short delay of about 5 seconds, but sometimes they don't unlock at all. Locking always works fine.

It only happens first thing in the morning if the ambient temperature is about 4°C or lower. I presumed it had fixed itself last Spring when the temperatures increased, and it has worked fine all Summer. the last two mornings though it has reoccured.

The locking handles inside the car do not feel stiff.

I will be very interested to see the replies to this.

Cheers
DP
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Sat 4 Nov 2006 12:59
Volvo S40 sticky central locking - BB
Most Volvo's I have been in over the last few years, including my own S60 has had a problem with the central locking. My S60 and my mechanics V70 passenger door unlocks when trying to lock with the remote and a friends XC90 passenger door remains locked when he tries to unlock. This is all year round though.
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