Most likely your door striker is bad. The striker has a rubber piece inside it that deteriorates. I had the same issue with my front doors when I bought my car (rear doors were fine) and replaced both. They are cheap, made in Germany by Miehle and pretty good quality. I got them from Autohausaz. You will good quality 5 mm hex socket (craftsman or like) to undo 4 bolts which hold the striker. Cheap socket will ruin bolt and than it is PITA to get them off. Do "door striker" search, there are loads of info. Remember to align new striker before tightening bolts.

 

Very temporary fix....put grease in that spot. Will work for a while.

 

Look at the latch and there should be a little piece of black plastic sticking out beyond the rim of the latch hole, that's the guide. If it's missing, your only choice is to replace the latch, as said above, they're reasonable and easy to replace.

 

+1 on this, that little rubber tab allows the lock mechanism to catch, hence closing the door in one shot.

 

Well my drivers side was doing the samething and I had the mechanic put some grease in the stricker. He used some sort of foam type grease made for door strickers(thats what he said). It has worked great ever since, and the small plastic pieces are missing but I have no trouble closing the door. Put in some grease and see if it doesn't solve the problem.

79Mercy

 

Ok..I'll try the grease for now..But I'll shop around for the door strikers..My friend told me the same thing, it's most likely the door striker.
Thanks ya'll

RJ

 

OK, the way you fix this situation is by adjusting the striker plate on the door. What typically happens as these cars get older, the doors that are used most (typically the driver's door) will sag on the hinges, and the door lock will get misaligned relative to the striker plate. Loosen the four Allen hex screws on the plate and then play around with the plate to reposition it correctly. I did this on two driver's door with good results. It takes a lot of trial-and-error repositioning, and some patience. Also, the screws may be rusted and very tight, so liberally spray with penetrating oil before loosening them. Use an Allen socket and ratchet to losen the screws. When trying to find the right position, only tighten two screws at a time gently and try to close the door.

Also, keep in mind that if no windows are open in the car, the door is more difficult to close, as the air inside gets compressed and there is some resistance to closing.

 

If the plastic nub is missing no amount of adjustment will fix it. This is however exactly how you install the new one.

 

Mine is missing and it shuts perfectly.

 

Your door is probably closing easily, but not with that brand new car "snick". One way or the other, not replacing the latch is slowing damaging the latching mechanism - change it.

 

What would happen if I didn't change it, what type of damage would it cause?

 

That piece of plastic guides the metal pin on the door into the latch, without that little plastic piece (no matter how much grease you put on it) you've got a metal pin going metal-to-metal into a metal housing with a copper or brass liner. That metal to metal contact wil continue to wear both the pin and the housing. No matter how okay you think the door is, it will only get worse. When you do replace it with a good latch, you will be amazed at the difference.

 

You might want to get allen sockets and and impact wrench if those bolts are hard to get loose. Also you can get a piece of 2 by 4 and a floor jack and lift the door with the floor jack might get it back inline again.

 

Original I guess, they don't leak a drop.

 

I put some grease & did what p100 said..loosen the hex screws and readjusted the striker by pulling it out a bit. And now it is shutting at 1 shot. Thank you for all your replies!!!!! Thank you Thank you!

 

If the black plastic guide is missing you can only adjust the latch so many times and every time you wil continue to further wear both parts - those of you who are missing the plastic guide, look at the underside of the guide pin on the door lock and you'll see the wear.
Fix it right, the latch is only about $38, that's to cheap to jury-rig your locking system.

 

Can you buy those rubber tabs separately?

 

No but, I just got mine from pick n pull for cheap. People will ignore alot of things on old cars, non shutting doors isn't one of them. Nearly new ones are easy finds.

 

Today I placed a order with buymbpartsDOTcom and I ordered a interior door handle, pass side door check strap, and a new pass. side door striker. WHat type of tool will I need to remove the striker? I have a drill bit the same size as the bolt on the stricker but is it okay to use a drill? Thanks

Has anyone had any history with buymbparts?

 

Today I placed a order with buymbpartsDOTcom and I ordered a interior door handle, pass side door check strap, and a new pass. side door striker. WHat type of tool will I need to remove the striker? I have a drill bit the same size as the bolt on the stricker but is it okay to use a drill? ThanksQUOTE]

The bolts are metric allen-head bolts, don't use a drill on them.

 

If I bought a 5mm allen head socket I couldn't put it on a drill? Will it strip the bolt?

 

Today I replaced my door striker and I have a question. If I push the striker toward the interior to much when I pull the handle to open the door the door pops and shoots at me, I guess it needs to come forward alittle correct? Just wondering it it should pop out at me or should it be smooth to open, the drivers side pops alittle but not much.

 

You've probably got the striker a bit to far inboard When properly adjusted, the door should open very smoothly and when it closes, you should be able to close it with literaly one finger.

 

I had that problem on my W201 (190D). The striker was in good shape, so I kept wondering what would be causing that problem.

I sprayed some penetrating oil on the Striker screws, removed them and slightly repositioned them. Now the driver door closes very easily!

If your striker still has the rubber part, a simple alignment will solve it!