Door caught by the wind

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Kev12344

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Hi,

Earlier tonight my passenger door got caught by the wind, whilst my passenger was exiting the vehicle.

I can shut the passenger door, but its not shutting properly. It doesn't feel as flush as the drivers side now. The car still locks properly etc. I haven't had a great look at the bodywork, but there appears to be no damage caused by the door.

Anyone got an idea on how to get the door to sit flush again?

I assume it'll be something to do with the hinge. Does anyone have a guide to removal or has realigned their door?

At worst, I suppose I can just buy the hinges and get a garage to fit them.

If not, does anyone have a rough idea what a garage would charge, preferably not Audi, just a local garage to fix what I hope is only something minor?

Car is a 2006 A3 Sportback 2.0T.

Thanks for any help regarding this matter. :sm4:
 
It's more likely that the panel that the hinge is attached to has bent, either on the door or the body. It may require a new door or a little work. I'd advise going to an Audi approved body show for advice and a quote. At least they'll be able to see what's gone wrong.
 
Had this a while back on a MK4 Golf.

Took it to an ex VW guy i know and he had seen it before on 3 dr Golfs. Took him 2 mins to fix it.

Obviously you need to know what you are doing, but basically he wrapped a old bolt (10m dia -ish) in a rag and wedged it between the hinge and mating panel (like Staz said) and pushed to door shut. This effectively bent the panel back to its original position. He did it a few times, trying the door each time until it was closing correctly.

Easy when you know how I suppose.

Good luck
Paul
 
Thanks for the comments Staz & PaulAr. :sm4:

I have had a proper look at the door today. The passenger door is only slightly a couple of millimeters out at the bottom corner.

Its ever so slightly catching on the corner of the front wing, but the panel itself is fine with no paintwork damage, door also is free from paintwork damage.

The door is shutting with a little more force, but a slight popping noise can be heard when the door is opened again. Probably where the wing is slightly touching the door panel now.

I'll need to phone around a couple of garages to see if they are able to realign the door.

With there being no damage as such, do you think it would be possible for me to get away with buying new top and bottom hinges for the door, for it to sit flush again?

I wouldn't imagine they would be too expensive, but I've certainly not tried wedging anything between the door to correct the damage for fear of making it worse.

Any further help/advice would be appreciated.

Cheers. :sm4:
 
I had this on my drivers door couple of weeks ago. when I'd shut it it make a double click sound at the door lock. I simply bent the door back up. Now makes a lovely thud sound when shuts. Don't worry about damaging it, they are tough hinges on the 3dr
 
Ooooh that's a little scary advice there!

I'd take it to a specialist. If it's as Paul says they'll do it there and then. Any more and they can do a proper job. Not sure I'd want to have a go myself!
 
Last edited:
navnayyar said:
they are tough hinges on the 3dr
Click to expand...

but weak enough for a gust of wind to bend them...

I'd be inclined to leave this to a professional, rather than risk destroying door / hinges / wing etc.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the comments guys.

I've took the car to a local garage today for the mechanic to have a look at. He thinks the door is only out at the bottom by about a millimeter. He is going to remove the door and then realign it for me.

He says I've been lucky that is not crumpled the door or the wing, but there has been a slight adjustment caused by the wind. Good news is it can be fixed.

Car is booked to have the door removed and all that on Thursday.

There was no danger of me touching the door lol. For fear of making the slight damage 10x worse.

Hopefully it will fine. I'll let you know how it all goes with the door.

Thanks again.:sm4:
 
Same thing happened to my A3 the last weekend!

Took it back to Audi and had it repaired under warranty. Apparantly there is a hinge called a catch strap and apparently they are pants and cant take a big bang.

Audi's repair - Replace catch strap plus 2 other hinge parts!

Job done!
 
Sorry to hear of your misfortune Cruiser89. Glad you got it sorted with little trouble.

Mine didn't actually take that big a bang. I took it to one of my local garages who assured me they could fix it. Although this garage doesn't actually do any bodywork repairs.

The mechanic thought he could remove the door and just sort of adjust it.

Apparently that can't be done, as there was no give in the door. Thie hinge or pin or something is bolted on through the wing, so the wing, although not damaged has to be removed to fit replacement bolt/lower bottom hinge as the mechanic thinks it has twisted slightly.

I was quite prepared to replace the hinge or any parts anyway, but I've had to get another local garagthat does bodywork to sort it. The mechanic at the new garage has ordered in the parts for Wednesday and he's only charging £40 labour. He says he'll only replace the parts if that is whats required.

Would be worried about the bill if I took it to Audi, as my car is a couple of months out of warranty, but has full Audi service history.

Mechanic said to me, if it was say a Peugeot, the door and wing would be creased to hell and the repair bill would have been higher. Trying to put the only slight damage down to good Audi build quality.

I'll let you know if I finally get it fixed on Wednesday. :sm4:
 
Cruiser89 said:
Same thing happened to my A3 the last weekend!

Took it back to Audi and had it repaired under warranty. Apparantly there is a hinge called a catch strap and apparently they are pants and cant take a big bang.

Audi's repair - Replace catch strap plus 2 other hinge parts!

Job done!
Click to expand...
Hi mate what exactly did Audi replace under warranty? and why did they honour it? reason i ask is this is my thread http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=243250
similar sort of thing except not wind damage but i think i have a faulty hinge but SEAT uk have refused a warranty claim.

Cheers
Rob.
 
robdf2 said:
Hi mate what exactly did Audi replace under warranty? and why did they honour it? reason i ask is this is my thread http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=243250
similar sort of thing except not wind damage but i think i have a faulty hinge but SEAT uk have refused a warranty claim.

Cheers
Rob.
Click to expand...

I said that i paid nearly £20,000 on one of their cars, only had it two months and it had broken. I basically used their own marketing against them. They say "superior build quality". I said i would like to argue that its not. ha. Plus that it wasn't good enough.

The service assistant said she couldn't cover it at first. I asked to speak to her manager. She came down. I explained the situation and they said no problem we will honour the warranty bring it back to the bodyshop and we'll sort it! :)
 
Finally got the door fixed on Wednesday.

It took the mechanic a little longer than he thought but it is fixed and aligned properly again.

Hopefully it won't happen again.

Thanks for all the replies to the thread, they were appreciated.

Cheers
 
2 Guineas, 5 Shillings and Thruppence, judging on how old the thread is! Sorry, Dude couldn't resist.
 
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