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The latch, which is plastic, will not engage with whatever pawl holds it closed on the striker pin, which is metal.
I think it's a wear issue and will become a real problem if these things only last 12 years.
This will be my second latch and the third since it left police service. The friend I bought it from replaced the driver's rear. I replaced the passenger rear and will be replacing the driver's front.
I foresee getting the passenger front for when it, inevitably fails.
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One of my bosses purchases his vehicle's tires simultaneously. When one fails, he replaces all four at once, figuring they all roll at the same time and if one fails, the others will soon follow. Rather get it done rather than surprise event.
ReplyDeleteDoor latches - I drive a two door pick-up and its surprising to see that its the somewhat rarely used passenger side which develops issues. Whether a weak window motor sometimes freezing, or a door latch that is 100% on unlocking when vehicle shuts off but only rarely opens when I command from driver's side. I'd estimate the driver's side sees at at four times as much use as the passenger, but other than occasional refusal to lock with button, it works fine.
Weird that.
jrg
The manufacturers use plastic because it's lighter and cheaper to injection mold a piece than cast or stamp it. Unfortunately a lot of these applications fail in service after the warranty runs out. Ford Modular V8 intakes are good example where the coolant crossover fails so the aftermarket makes a metal crossover.
ReplyDeleteBMW is perhaps the worst offender with numerous plastic engine parts that fail expensively. The specific problem here is that even if you include Australian market cars this is a low production vehicle so aftermarket upgrade parts are unlikely.
FWIW fragile door hardware is nothing new. I became expert at swapping VW Scirocco door handles because the pot metal trigger broke frequently to the point where by 1990 or so VW started stocking bare door handles without the lock or trim piece to save money
The Pontiac G8 shares this part since the VE/WM cars are essentially the same except for overall length.
DeleteThey are still widely available in Australia with both OE and aftermarket. It's just a matter of shipping.
Same for headlights.
I think the US aftermarket will step up because there is a strong G8 community.
Since we drive on the left in Oz, wouldn't Oz-spec headlight lenses cast light the wrong way?
Deleteie. left and down, out of the eyes of oncoming drivers versus right and down in the US?
There's a lot of commentary about that and how much it matters. The price difference between US capsules and the aftermarket Oz units is enough to think about prying the clear lens from the aftermarkets and putting them on my US capsules.
Delete