Table of Contents

Introduction

Driving a car with improperly closed doors can cause havoc as the doors can open during driving causing serious injury or an accident.

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Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
However, the car models have been equipped with door switches for some time now (3). These door switches are synchronized with the car’s ECU, alerting the driver when either one or more doors aren’t closed correctly.

A door switch is thus a safety measure that prevents the doors from opening while driving. If you see a door opened car sign on your cluster meter, it can indicate that your car’s doors are not closed properly (1). Some car models also flash the door open warning sign when other components, such as the bonnet or trunk, are not closed properly. In addition, the door open warning light can also display when there are some other issues in the components. We will discuss the reasons that cause this light to display on the car’s cluster meter.
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Why should you properly close the Doors While Driving?

Doors are an essential component of a vehicle that increases safety while driving. Although, an unlocked door will not open unless a pressure of 2500 pounds or more is applied. But locking the door increases safety while driving (2). Some drivers believe that keeping the door unlocked will allow them to exit their vehicle quickly in case of an accident. At the same time, others believe that car doors automatically lock themselves. Although the central locking system locks all the doors during driving, this feature is only available in modern car models.

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Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Coming onto the importance of closed doors, the crash tests have revealed that an unlocked door will open during a collision causing the driver and passengers to eject and hit an obstacle causing some severe injury.

To stay safe, it is of paramount importance that drivers should properly close the doors and lock them. Further, a locked door will not open during an accident, provide extra support to the roof, and keep the car’s body from twisting. A properly closed and locked door can thus act as a safety feature that will protect the passenger from forced ejection and prevent the body from twisting/roof collapsing (1).
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Reasons for a Door Open Warning Light

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The door open warning light appears in the form of a small vehicle with doors opened. Some modern models have door-open warning signs indicating the exact door/component that is not closed correctly (1).
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This makes it easy for the driver to close that particular door properly to resolve the issue.

Improperly Closed Doors

The first and apparent reason for the door open warning light is that either one or all of the car doors are not closed properly. An improperly closed door will cause the door warning light to flash and will also vibrate during driving.

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Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
It is dangerous to drive a car with a wrongly closed door as it can open during driving (2). If you have children seated in the backseat of your vehicle, ensure that the child safety lock is activated.

This prevents the children from opening the car door while driving inside. The door warning sign will indicate both before and during driving when the car doors are not closed properly. In addition, some new car models also illustrate this sign when the bonnet or trunk needs to be closed correctly.

If you are closing the doors with proper force and the doors still need to be closing correctly, there can be an issue with the door components (3). These components include door handles, hinges, latches, anchors, and door locks. An issue with these components will cause problems in closing the doors. In this case, try to clean the door components with a brush and WD-40 lubricant. If the issue persists, try replacing the defective components from a professional service center. If there is no issue with the door components, then try closing the doors with proper force. This will resolve the door open warning light issue.

Damaged Electronic Wires

Another issue causing the door warning light to blink is the damaged electronic wires or wire harnesses. Depending upon the car’s model, there are different wires associated with the car doors, such as car security system wires, car headlights, indicators, and ECU. Some wires complete the electrical circuit sending a message to the car’s ECU that the door is closed completely (1).

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However, no signal is sent to the ECU if there is an issue with the cables and wire harness. This causes the door warning light to display on the car’s dashboard
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If you are a simple driver, you might need help to replace the faulty wires or the wire harness. So, taking your car to a professional service center is recommended to resolve the issue.

Damaged Door Switches

Door switches are simple on/off mechanics connected to different car components. These switches send a simple on/off signal to the interior light, ECU, speaker, and other devices. A properly functioning door switch will dispatch the proper signal to the ECU or other components displaying a door opening/closing sign (3). However, the door switches can get damaged due to the pressure of the door closing or during a car wash.

In this case, the damaged door switch will send the wrong signals to the ECU and other components. Hence the door open warning light will keep flashing on the car’s cluster meter (2).
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Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.

The door switch is usually located below the hinges. So, you can replace them yourself if you have some knowledge about car circuitry. These switches are readily available in the market or on e-commerce platforms. But if you are a simple driver, you are recommended to take your car to a professional service center to get the faulty switches replaced.
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Personal Experience

I recommend that drivers not drive a car with a door warning light on. It can be a sign that there is a problem with the door components that can prevent the door from closing correctly. I faced this issue in my Toyota Yaris, and I considered this sign a result of a sensor problem. But the problem was with the back door hinges that prevented the back door from closing correctly. And once, the door opened itself during driving, which caused me inconvenience. I had to tow the car to a service center as the backdoor could not be closed. So, this warning sign is only sometimes a sign of a sensor problem. Sometimes, the major door components can be damaged, and this sign warns you to replace them to prevent an accident.

Key Takeaways

So, the door warning sign is a caution that either the doors are not closed properly or there is an issue with the electronic components sending a wrong signal to the ECU. If the doors are not closed properly, this warning light will go off after closing them properly. Some damaged component, such as door hinges, laches, handles, etc., also prevent the doors from closing properly. In this case, these components should be replaced to avoid an accident. In addition, the door warning light can also appear due to damaged electronic components such as sensors, switches, and wires.

FAQs

If you are sure that the door warning light is displaying due to a fault in the door switch or sensor, then you can drive the car even on longer routes with this sign on the dashboard. But if the door open warning sign displays an improperly closed door, it is recommended to avoid driving the car even on short routes. This is because the car doors can open during driving, ejecting a passenger/driver and causing severe injuries.

Unfortunately, you cannot protect the car door switch from damage. The component mostly malfunctions after the warranty period. However, you can be cautious while closing the doors to not to exert extra pressure on the door switches. This will protect the car door switches from damage. Similarly, you can be cautious while washing the car so the water does not enter the door switch. This will increase the life of a car door switch.

It is recommended to lock the doors while driving in any case. If the door malfunctions and is not closing correctly, you can take it to a service center by locking the door. However, if the service center is far, it is recommended to call a tow truck, as the door can open during driving, causing a severe accident.

References

About Author

Andrew Ray

Andrew is an automotive technician with 10 years of experience mainly in American and Japanese cars, covering everything from routine vehicle maintenance and engine inspections to tire rotation.