When car doors become iced over in the winter months, they can be very difficult to de-ice and pry open safely. This is a task that needs to be approached with a bit of care because forcing a frozen door open can break the latches or handle. The best way to approach de-icing a car door is to remove as much ice as possible from the worst areas, then gently work it open. Once you start the car, the heat from the engine will take car of the ice on the body of the vehicle.
Check all the doors to determine that they are all frozen. If possible, it's best to enter the car through an unfrozen entrance (either a door or the back hatch) and start the car. Turn on the defrosters and let the car run for five to ten minutes; this should thaw the rest of the doors enough to be able to open them from the inside.
De-ice the keyhole first if the car is locked. One of the easiest ways to do this is to heat a key and slide it into the lock. Grasp the end of the key with a potholder or oven mitt. Use a lighter to heat the tip of the key for several seconds. Slide the key into the keyhole immediately. The hot metal should melt the ice in the lock and allow you to turn the key. You may need to reheat and insert the key several times to fully penetrate the ice.
Thaw the lock with a hairdryer if the hot-key method doesn't work. Plug the hairdryer to an extension cord and run the cord from the car door to the nearest outlet. Point the hairdryer at the lock and, with it set to hot, blast the lock with air for several minutes.
Unstick the door after the car is unlocked. Start by using an ice scraper to chip away any thick ice frozen over the cracks around the door's seal. Use the hairdryer to soften the ice, if necessary.
Pour windshield-wiper fluid into the cracks around the car door and onto the door handle. The fluid will thaw the ice. Gently jiggle the handle until it moves freely, then pull the door open.
Wipe the melted ice from around the door before closing it to keep it from freezing shut again.
