by Tammy Neal
VehicleMD Staff Writer
Originally published in Fall 2011 Issue

Does your car have rusty latches? How about a door lock that jams? Maybe you’re being annoyed by a squeaky window? What do you do?

It’s time to put in the lubrication formation. Not to be confused with a T-formation or a Shotgun formation, this formation isn’t meant to score points, it’s meant to make your rusty latches operate smoothly and your car squeak-free. Believe it or not, parts such as your hood latch, door hinges, door locks and trunk latch need lubrication, just like your engine (owners manuals even say so).

If you’re planning on keeping your vehicle for many years to come, don’t you want to be able to open the door and pop the hood without much difficulty? It’s for this reason that it’s important to lubricate the latches, locks and hinges on your vehicle. The good news is that most automotive service centers do a multi-point inspection when changing your oil, and during the inspection technicians usually lubricate your door hinges and the other moving parts on the outside of your vehicle. But it never hurts to double check. Plus, if there’s an annoying little squeak somewhere, mention it to your technician; he might know the magic trick to help it go away.

Jim Davis, technical service manager for Sea Foam Sales, said in his days as a mechanic he replaced countless door hinges because the pins wore out due to lack of lubrication. There are bushings and pins inside door hinges (which are what the door actually rotates on), and these are the parts that crucially need lubrication. If they don’t have it, they’re simply metal grinding against metal each time you open or close your door. Davis said if the wear gets too bad, the hinge assembly may need to be replaced, and that’s a pricy problem that could have been prevented. Plus, door latches and door locks can actually get rusty and freeze up. Lubrication will take care of that problem, as well.

Remember the squeaky window? Well, a little lubrication can fix that, too.

“You can spray a penetrating oil right in the window run strip and lubricate it, so the window will glide up and down easier,” Davis said. “Especially in rural areas where people drive on dirt roads a lot, dirt can get into these mechanisms and cause the windows to not operate smoothly.”

You’ll of course want to be careful when lubricating window tracks, because the lubrication can leave streaks on the window. Don’t worry, though, the streaks can easily be cleaned off with glass cleaner.

Much like football that’s played outdoors and indoors, the lubrication formation will conquer rust, sticks and squeaks in your home or garage, as well. Whether it is a bicycle chain that has been sticking or a hinge that’s been squeaking, you can remedy it with the same penetrating oil your technician uses to maintain the latches, locks and hinges on your car.

Next time you get your oil changed, remember the other parts of your vehicle—from the hood to the doors to the trunk—that need lubrication, too, by calling an audible for the lubrication formation.