Door latch issue

[B Prichard]

Has anybody had an issue with the drivers door popping to the second latch when driving. I’ve tried adjusting the striker plate but it still does it?

 

[JJwyo]

Passenger door on mine. Gonna look into it this week

 

[Rake12]

Drivers dor on mine also can't seem to stop it

 

[Old Sailor]

Passenger door on mine too. I'll take it apart this weekend

 

[Lennstang]

Passenger door on mine. Having my dealer order me a new latch under warranty.

 

[Ridge XR HVAC 1949]

Driver's door on mine. Has been in twice for it and going in again tomorrow. Look up JBS Performance videos from about a month ago, it seems it might be a linkage arm that is too short. The grinding fix is not something I want to do because if you take a little too much and you're on the hook for a new latch assembly. I thought this would be addressed on a Kawa recall of some sort after they figured it out. Sounds like they are letting the after-market guys do all the work. Very poor Public Relations for the customers IMHO.

 

[Ridge XR HVAC 1949]

Well, got it back today and the dealer service guy said he tried bending the linkage arm, but door still pops to 1/2 lock. Very frustrating. Kawasaki is going to lose customers over this issue if they don't address it soon.

 

[Ridge XR HVAC 1949]

I finally took the door apart in my shop, since the good folks at Kawasaki in Billings didn't get the job done, and after some poking around, it seemed to me that the outside door latch spring is just not strong enough to handle the bumps of off-roading. I had a spring laying around that was about 4" long with a loop on both ends and of medium strength, so I opened one loop and placed it over the round shaft of the door latch and zip tied the other end to a part of the frame right above the latch assembly. This adds enough tension to the latch that it never popped the door even on the potholes on our rough gravel road that always popped it before. I hope this rather simple fix works for the rest of you ........

 

[nailbender63]

I finally took the door apart in my shop, since the good folks at Kawasaki in Billings didn't get the job done, and after some poking around, it seemed to me that the outside door latch spring is just not strong enough to handle the bumps of off-roading. I had a spring laying around that was about 4" long with a loop on both ends and of medium strength, so I opened one loop and placed it over the round shaft of the door latch and zip tied the other end to a part of the frame right above the latch assembly. This adds enough tension to the latch that it never popped the door even on the potholes on our rough gravel road that always popped it before. I hope this rather simple fix works for the rest of you ........

Do you have an pictures of the fix?

 

[RDJ_5000]

My passenger door was popping partially open. Did the dealer prescribed DIY procedure for loosening hinge bolts and closing door to adjust door position. Did not work. Went to dealer to let them try and fix issue. No luck - still popping open. I then decided to do the precise grinding surgery on door latch assembly and it does indeed work if done correctly. Watch this guy's videos to learn:
Take you time and make sure to not remove too much. Took me about 45 minutes to pull the part, grind and reinstall. I was advised by dealer that grinding the affected part would void any future warranty action for the door latch. I don't have the time to shlep to to dealer with my rig so I rolled the dice.
The bottom line is that the door latches are defective and Kawasaki is slow-rolling a recall because it would swamp their network. My dealer indicated that the definitive repair involves the install of a 2025 vintage latch assembly.
Another tip is to make sure your cage hardware is tight to reduce skeletal flex. Dealer said the flex contributes to the latch being fussy and popping open.

 

[Spike]

The actual problem is the link from the outside door latch to the catch mechanism. Grinding isn't necessary and isn't a good idea.
If you remove the latch and take off the bent link that goes from the outside door handle part you can streighten it a little bit until the link on the latch side is touching the latch body. It will stay latched. Nobody will be able to tell you did anything to it.

 

[RDJ_5000]

The actual problem is the link from the outside door latch to the catch mechanism. Grinding isn't necessary and isn't a good idea.
If you remove the latch and take off the bent link that goes from the outside door handle part you can streighten it a little bit until the link on the latch side is touching the latch body. It will stay latched. Nobody will be able to tell you did anything to it.

Did you have an issue with the door of your vehicle popping open and and have you performed the procedure you described?

 

[Spike]

Did you have an issue with the door of your vehicle popping open and and have you performed the procedure you described?

I did. Usually it would just pop half unlatched. Enough to rattle. Once in a while it would pop all the way open but that could have been the door not being shut all the way.
I used a vice to slightly straighten the 2 bends in the link. It only needs to be long enough that the vertical arm touches the body of the latch. It will make sense when you see it. There is no visible signs that anything has been done so warrant wouldn't be a problem if it came to it. You could bend it back if you wanted to for any reason.

So far, both doors have stayed fully latched all the time with various terrain that would have caused the doors to pop to the first catch previously.

 

[RDJ_5000]

I did. Usually it would just pop half unlatched. Enough to rattle. Once in a while it would pop all the way open but that could have been the door not being shut all the way.
I used a vice to slightly straighten the 2 bends in the link. It only needs to be long enough that the vertical arm touches the body of the latch. It will make sense when you see it. There is no visible signs that anything has been done so warrant wouldn't be a problem if it came to it. You could bend it back if you wanted to for any reason.

So far, both doors have stayed fully latched all the time with various terrain that would have caused the doors to pop to the first catch previously.

Thanks very much for the response and insight. I will try that procedure on the passenger side.

 

[Spike]

Thanks very much for the response and insight. I will try that procedure on the passenger side.

It has been a few weeks and still no door popping issues. I am thinking that the hinges might need a little adjustment as well just to get an easier closing door. But I still highly recommend getting the latch to a free state by bending that link. It doesn't take much. Go a little, test fit until you get the arm resting against the latch body.
Let me know how it works for you if you do try it. Thanks

 

[bigal]

Has anybody had an issue with the drivers door popping to the second latch when driving. I’ve tried adjusting the striker plate but it still does it?

yes, started when first got it new, gonna let service dept fix it when take it back for service

 

[bigal]

Driver's door on mine. Has been in twice for it and going in again tomorrow. Look up JBS Performance videos from about a month ago, it seems it might be a linkage arm that is too short. The grinding fix is not something I want to do because if you take a little too much and you're on the hook for a new latch assembly. I thought this would be addressed on a Kawa recall of some sort after they figured it out. Sounds like they are letting the after-market guys do all the work. Very poor Public Relations for the customers IMHO.

absolutely poor customer service, same with the clutch assembly causing jerky motion, cant figure how Kawasaki is gitting around it, if it was a new car/truck i would think they would do sumthing!

 

[bigal]

Has anybody had an issue with the drivers door popping to the second latch when driving. I’ve tried adjusting the striker plate but it still does it?

yes sir, going back to shop!