We had freezing temperatures and my driver door got frozen shut. It has happened before and I let the door thaw out and everything is always fine. This time the handle on the outside seems to be a little loose and can only open the door from inside. Any thoughts what this could be before I attempt to fix it?

Thanks

 

maybe seal the door handle better so that moisture doesn't find its way in as easily

 

I'm wondering if the cable mechanism has snapped inside not allowing to open from the outside. Even when my door has frozen from time to time I have never had an issue with loose play on the outside handle

 

same issue here. Door opens from inside but not from outside

Still freezing here. May have to wait till march/april to see if the warmer weather helps. If not, may need to replace the door actuator

 

Have the same problem. Went for a car wash then the next morning my drivers door wont open all other doors open. Driver door only opens from the inside. Any suggestions ?

 

Use a blow dryer to heat up around the door handle area and in between doors. If that doesn't work, try entering the car from the rear doors, or wind down windows with remote key fob and open from inside. Maybe enter through window or back seat and start car if necessary. If you can't, take a stick to hold the brake pedal and reach over to press the start button. Remote start is a godsend if you have it. Position the dashboard side heat vents towards the door handle (leave them like this till Spring), blast the heat, and let the hot air defrost the frozen cables. Might take around 10 or more minutes of idling, or several remote starts if it's severely cold.
. Yanking on the handle repeatedly will make things a lot worse, and you might seize-up the actuator and not be able to open the door at all even in the summer. New door lock actuators are around $400 oem, or around $100 for Dorman brand from Autozone. Used cost anywhere from $30 to $99 but avg price is $45.

 

Solved my issue

In my case, the G37 door would not open from the outside but would open from the inside.
After opening everything up, I discoverd the cable ball on the handle had come off the socket. If you go for a car wash in cold weather the water gets in the cable and freezes. When you attempt to force open the handle, the cable ball comes off the socket . I put it back and its all good.

this video was what I followed.

 

did you just take off the trimnpiece on the handle to put back in? I dont want to do the whole process if its just the ball babe

 

You will have to remove the door panel to access the cables.

The above linked video is pretty much spot-on EXCEPT if you have a Coupe the window switch assembly does not "pop out" like it does on the sedan. You DO NOT have to fiddle with the window switch to remove the panel as it comes off as one piece.