2001 Ford Taurus Door latch and fuel gauge

kessa3 · 03-14-2006, 03:08 PM

First I want to say thank you to everyone here. You've been very helpful to me in the past.

I finally have a decent vehicle now, but it is having two issues that I cannot seem to figure out.
First is the driver door. When it is cold enough to freeze, the door will freeze shut, and I have to pry it open along the seal (I'm not yanking on the handle), but then the latch is frozen open and I cannot close the door. I have keyless entry, power locks and windows (if that makes a difference). The locks are not frozen.

Then once in a while when I start the car, the fuel gauge stays on empty, and the longer I drive it slowly creeps up. It has also gone the other way once - all the way full when I know it wasn't. Sometimes restarting the car fixes it and sometimes it doesn't. It happens during above freezing and below freezing temps, but only fixes with restart when it is not really cold outside. Once the engine is nice and warm, I can usually restart the engine and the gauge will read correctly.
TIA

This is a 2001 Ford Taurus that was well maintained as a company car. It has 68,000 miles on it.

Warren · 03-20-2006, 12:49 PM

The only way to fix the door latch problem is to pull the door panel off and lube the latch from the inside. You can also take some WD40 and wipe down the rubber weatherstrip around the door. This will keep the moisture from freezing on the rubber.

The fuel guage problem is going to have to be diagnosed. I am guessing a guage but that is just a guess

caddyman · 03-24-2006, 06:38 AM

Have you had a fuel pump replaced on the car?

edtheearl · 02-15-2008, 10:27 PM

My wifes Taurus had the latch problem.I kept spraying the latch to no avail.Then by chance I pulled up on the door button and found that is was not all the way up.After pulling it up the door closed. ED

haul0348 · 02-16-2008, 08:52 AM

Use some windshield de-icer to free up the door and i would say also the guage is bad as i had an oil preasure guage that had similar symptoms. One other way to remedy the door issue is to cover the top seal area with an old sheet, cardboard, etc to keep the moisture off.

03-14-2006, 03:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
kessa3 Driver Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11	2001 Ford Taurus Door latch and fuel gauge First I want to say thank you to everyone here. You've been very helpful to me in the past. I finally have a decent vehicle now, but it is having two issues that I cannot seem to figure out. First is the driver door. When it is cold enough to freeze, the door will freeze shut, and I have to pry it open along the seal (I'm not yanking on the handle), but then the latch is frozen open and I cannot close the door. I have keyless entry, power locks and windows (if that makes a difference). The locks are not frozen. Then once in a while when I start the car, the fuel gauge stays on empty, and the longer I drive it slowly creeps up. It has also gone the other way once - all the way full when I know it wasn't. Sometimes restarting the car fixes it and sometimes it doesn't. It happens during above freezing and below freezing temps, but only fixes with restart when it is not really cold outside. Once the engine is nice and warm, I can usually restart the engine and the gauge will read correctly. TIA This is a 2001 Ford Taurus that was well maintained as a company car. It has 68,000 miles on it.

03-20-2006, 12:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
Warren Senior Master Ford Tech Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 354	The only way to fix the door latch problem is to pull the door panel off and lube the latch from the inside. You can also take some WD40 and wipe down the rubber weatherstrip around the door. This will keep the moisture from freezing on the rubber. The fuel guage problem is going to have to be diagnosed. I am guessing a guage but that is just a guess __________________ Senior Master Ford Tech Administrator: www.flatratetech.com

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03-24-2006, 06:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
caddyman T.D.C. Master Tech Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: God's Country Posts: 1,833	Have you had a fuel pump replaced on the car?

02-15-2008, 10:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
edtheearl Driver Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1	My wifes Taurus had the latch problem.I kept spraying the latch to no avail.Then by chance I pulled up on the door button and found that is was not all the way up.After pulling it up the door closed. ED

02-16-2008, 08:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
haul0348 Crew Chief Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tn. Lebanon Posts: 655	Use some windshield de-icer to free up the door and i would say also the guage is bad as i had an oil preasure guage that had similar symptoms. One other way to remedy the door issue is to cover the top seal area with an old sheet, cardboard, etc to keep the moisture off.

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