Door not closing properly.

[jason]

Father Larry. I need some help. This problem is really upsetting. When I open the drivers door it seems to drop a little bit and in order to close it I have to push real hard and lift. Why is this happening. The car is only three years old. Why would I be having trouble with the door. The car is a 1999 black hardtop.

[fatherlarry]

Jason,

There's really no need for concern. It's a common problem, but usually on older vehicles. Basically, sometimes when the window is open you may have a tendency of leaning on the door while getting into the car. A lot of times on the older cars, because of the weight of the door, the door frame where the hinges are attached have a tendency to bend by making the door drop. So when the door is closed it won't line up with the striker, because its lower than where the door lock is. You need a professional body man. What they usually do for starters is get a block of wood and a floor jack. Open the door, place it at the bottom of the door frame near the weather stripping, making sure the weather stripping is removed or pushed to the side not to do any damage. Then the door is brought closely to the quarter panel or lock pillar, making sure the door is open and then slightly jacking up the door to realign the metal around the hinge frame where the door is attached. If you jack too much, you'll bend it too high. That's why you need to bring it to a professional auto body repairman. He'll know exactly what to do. It's usually a fifteen minute job, so they should just charge you for a half hour job. Also, there are variations to this method I explained.

Being the car is new and not old. I can't see the pins starting to wear in the hinge, but that could be another factor which could make the door drop, in which case the hinges can be replaced with new. Usually how you tell a bad hinge is by grabbing the door on the bottom while the door is open and lifting up and down to see if there is any play in the hinges. That will determine if you have a bad hinge or not. Easy fix, and the hinges should still be under warranty. So take it in right away. Hope this was of some help to you.:)

[jason]

Come to think of it father, my wife was taking pictures of me and my daughter by the car, and I placed my daughter on the open window in a sitting position, holding her with my right hand and waving for the picture. I think might have leaned too hard. She's only an infant so it had to be me.

I'll call the dealership on Monday, and tell them what you said. I guess its not covered under warranty if I did it, but I don't care, I just want the door to close right. I'll let you know how I made out.:)