Land Rover Repair: Defender 02 doors wont close, cold weather, latch

Question
Doors will not close properly. Slamming is not the go as they simply bounce back open.  A gentle pull of 6 inches works some of the time but cold weather means 6 - 10 attempts.  I have oiled/cleaned/etc the locks - it helps to some extent but it is still very poor.

Answer
Hi Bill,

I have the same problem with my '95 Disco.  I had to remove the door panels and fully clean the latch mechanism.

On one of my doors, I had to replace the latch as it was no longer working.

I believe there may have been a vehicle recall on this problem.  An fellow owner wrote the following recall number : D456 (Land Rover Number) #96V-247 .  If you go to your LR dealer you should ask if this recall applies to your Defender.  One mechanic wrote "When the recall is done, the tech is supossed (sic) to put a yellow dab on paint on the latch so other techs will know it was done".

Other than that, you may want to check the latch post to make sure that it has not shifted out of alignment.

Best of luck,

JohnMc