VAG-Fan1

Hi all- Just wanted to see if anyone else has run into this on their Q7. On my wife's '08, the front passenger door handle will disengage from the internal latch mechanism when it gets really cold, sub-zero F temps. When this happens you can't get the door to close- the latch mech stays free and the door just bounces off the weather stripping and doesn't latch. The only way to secure it is to lock the door while applying closing pressure to the door, then it latches. It is worse for several days after the vehicle has gone through the car wash, which leads me to believe water is getting into the mechanism and freezing something up. When it is frozen the exterior handle pull has a different, lighter feel to it than when it is working correctly.

This only happens on the one noted door and I have applied a white lithium+teflon spray grease into the door handle mechanism from the exterior of the car, but not excessively because I don't know what else is in the door body nor do I want grease smearing all over the glass if too much is applied and the window is lowered.

The vehicle is garage kept when not in use and never gets below ~35F in there.

Anyone else experienced this?

B490MTL

White grease is a little too thick, try silicone or another type of light oil... Happens to me too when I have the car washed at freezing temperature and don't allow it to fully dry out.

B490MTL

Best applied when you pull the handle and spray inside the handle housing.

VAG-Fan1

Thanks for the point of reference, however I did use a Dupont lithium+teflon lube that sprays on wet (the carrier evaporates out) and also used a small tube to deliver it into the assumed problem area with the handle fully extended outward. I'm guessing there is some feature in the mechanism that is just not drying out, but also is positioned in such a way that the lube is not reaching the wet area.

I may have to wait until the summer heat to fully dry out the latch and then try to re-lubricate.

B490MTL

Might be a sign of something else too. Look around the handle, mine will go in this spring to have all four doors painted because of rust bubbles. Under warranty of course.

Edd W

I suspect it is water on either the pivot mechanism on the inside of the handle which converts the pull on the handle to a vertical movement or on the ends of the rod which carries the movement down to the latch.

You could try spraying WD40 or similar through one of the holes on the end of the door above the latch - it is a bit random and there is a risk of hitting the glass guide but it is unlikely to get on the glass.

If it fails, I think you will have to remove the door panel anyway to get to the mech and lubricate it properly.

There is a spin-off benefit - the handle will have a nicer feel to it when it is all well lubricated - as with many things in life!

xboltss

i washed my 08 Q7 last week under -25 Celsius & it happened exact the same as the OP. i parked it indoor garage overnight & everything back to normal the next day

VAG-Fan1

I did remove one of the end caps on the door end near the lock latch to see if there was access, but it looks to be a location to remove a bolt for the latch/lock mechanism (with door card removed).

It has warmed up to mid 20s F (-3C) and doesn't seem to be an issue now, but if the problem worsens, I'll take it to the dealer- we do have an extended warranty that would cover this, but I didn't want to pay the deductible for something that rarely happens and should be home repairable with application of a lubricant.