Car Door Latch Replacement

Replacing a car door latch: All you need to know

Many things can go wrong with your car door, but the most common issue is a broken latch. A broken latch will leave you unable to open or close your door and make it difficult to get in and out of the vehicle.

Luckily, replacing a car door latch is not an expensive process if you know the right people. Read on for all the information you need about this easy repair job.

What is a Car Door Latch?

A car door latch is a device that holds the weight of the doors to open and close. You can find it at the top of a door and use it to lock or unlock your car.

The latch is usually made from plastic, but some high-end vehicles might have them in metal instead. Nearly every car has a latch on its doors, except for some rare models.

How Does a Car Door Latch Break?

The most common issue for these latches is being broken or jammed open.

The most common reason for the latch breaking is that it’s been overused; people are constantly opening and closing their car doors so much that they wear out the mechanism responsible for holding them closed.

This can happen if you don’t use your door for a while or when the door is open for long periods; it can weaken and wear down.

Signs of a Broken Latch

Look out for these tell-tale signs that your latch might be broken:

• Your door locks, but you can’t open the door.
• You’re unable to close the car’s doors entirely, and they get stuck in an awkward position.
• The lock or unlock button on your keyless entry doesn’t work correctly with one of your doors.
• One of your doors is unlocked, but the other one isn’t.
• Your door gets stuck in an open position and won’t close without a lot of effort.
• You can see cracks on the top or bottom part of your car’s latch that are either bent outwards from too much pressure and tension, or they’re flat because it’s
• been folded inwards and overused.
• The rubber seal around the latch is damaged or missing completely, which means water can come inside your car whenever it rains.
• Your door handle falls off when you try to open the door with a key.

If any of these signs are happening to your Chevrolet, please reach out to our service department to assist you.

How To Fix a Car Door Latch?

When you bring your car or truck to Sanger Chevrolet, our certified service techs will diagnose what needs to be done and fix the latch.

The process for fixing a door latch is simple: it’s just replacing the old plastic one with a new part. We’ll take off your car doors, remove the broken piece from inside of them, put in a replacement, or design an entirely different way to keep them shut if the latch is broken.

The only time a car door won’t be able to close properly anymore after this process is if the issue was caused by something else, like someone breaking in and bending one of your doors. In that case, you’ll have another problem on hand, but at least the lock will work again!

How Much Will It Cost To Replace A Door Latch?

Our technicians will estimate the repair cost ahead of time, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

On average, it will take around an hour and forty minutes to make this type of fix. The total cost should be anywhere from $80 – $200, depending on your car’s make and model.

If your Chevy car door latch is having problems, don’t wait for an accident to happen, call Sanger Chevrolet Buick GMC today.