If you have a tendency to slam your vehicle doors, you may be causing more damage to your vehicle than you realize.
The doors and door frames of vehicles today are built to function without the need to slam them shut.
Here’s why you and your passengers need to break the bad habit of slamming your doors.
Structure Damage
Slamming vehicle doors can cause damage to the door frame itself, which will absolutely affect the way your door opens and closes. A bent door frame causes the door to become loose, sag, or detach from the frame.
Function Damage
If your door frame is out of alignment, you’ll notice even a slight detachment each time you open or close the door because it doesn’t fit snugly into the frame.
Doors not aligned in the door frame cause noticeable wind and traffic noise while driving.
Misaligned door frames also cause damage to the weather stripping around the frame, which increases the potential for rain and moisture to get inside the vehicle.
Hinges
The excessive force resulting from slamming vehicle doors compromises the life and function of hinges. The weakened hinges can either stop working completely or cause on-going problems with opening and closing the doors properly.
While the doors may become difficult to open or close, the hinges also begin to make loud noises each time you use them.
Window Components
Because slamming doors causes unnecessary force, it is also a threat to windows, window frames, and power locking mechanisms.
Windows
Slamming doors increases the risk of shattering windows, which is not only extremely inconvenient, but allows rain and moisture a chance to get inside and damage the vehicle interior and dashboard controls.
Window Frames
In addition to the door frame itself, window frames can also move out of alignment. This will give you issues with opening and closing the windows. The windows may become stuck in an open position, which increases the probability of rain or other weather damage to the interior.
Locking Mechanism
Excessive door slamming can also damage the power lock mechanism and result in issues with the function and performance of your locks.
Speakers
Many vehicles have speakers installed in the car doors. Slamming the door can damage the function and sound quality of your speakers or prevent them from working at all.
Conclusion
Remember that it isn’t necessary to use the extra force of slamming the car door to make sure it’s closed. Closing your doors firmly without slamming is the way to go.
If you have noisy door hinges or problems with loose or detached doors from slamming them shut, it’s time to schedule an inspection with the auto body experts at Downtown Collision.