Drivers side door problems. Please help.
 

I've been having some problems with my drivers side door.

1. Its difficult to shut the door. It sometimes pops back open a little bit. I heard this was a problem on some FDs because of such tight seals, but I don't think its the case with this because the passenger door closes fine.

2. The driver side door is very difficult to open from the outside. The handle won't pull out all the way unless I pull very hard. So hard that I'm affraid the handle is going to break off. Then it opens with this clunk sound.

Could the door be misaligned? I looked at the notch on the door that the door lock striker, the metal bar thing, inserts into and the bottom area of the notched seems like its rubbed up against alot. I havn't had a chance to compare it with the other side yet.

Any ideas would be great!
Thanks
Hoainam

Does it feel like you have to lift the door to get it to shut or open?

First I would examine the door catch and clasp for any wear.

If it was fine, I would pop the platic back cover, and remove the nuts and examine the door pull.

If I saw nothing, I would then pop off the door panle and check the rod that connects the door pull to the door clasp mechanism.

It may be that you simply need to lubricate the door mechanism.

I tihnk I can rule out the misaligned door because the handle is still really hard to pull on when the door is open.

How to I get the black plastic cover off? Does it just pull off?

The plastic piece is connected by two clips. Just pull firmly, but gently and it should come off. I had the same problem with my passenger side door. When I took apart the handle, there was a metal piece that was really bent which was causing the door handle to not competely open. I just took the part out, bent it back with pliers and now it works. =) I think it was caused by passengers pulling the door open real hard.

My FD does that too. I always have to shut the doors hard to get them to shut completely. Sometimes the door handle won't budge when I pull on it too, but this is something that happens only occasionally. So to some degree, I think some of the frustration you're going through is just how the car is. Although, I don't know exactly how bad your situation is, so take a deeper look into the mechanics of the door like the others said.