Drivers door won't stay closed

[Ray]

After a few years of driving, my drivers door is starting to open on it's own. Usually while making a right turn, but also while just driving straight down the road. I've taken the latch off and looked it over. The plunger appears to be made of brass and has a worn area that looks like it is not engaging the striker properly. 182618271828

It this a common problem and if yes, is there a "fix" for it? If there is no fix, is my only option to buy new door latches?

Thanks,

Ray

[Todd Baumann]

The door popping is a fairly common problem if the latch and striker are not properly aligned. The biggest issue with that is most do not get the barrel to go into the striker properly and only get the latch to catch on the detent and not make the hole like it needs to for proper latching.
As for the wear I would say that part is not common, that is something that I have not seen before, but I would say that it may be the reason why yours seems to be happening.
I would say that most likely you will need to replace the latch to get things to work properly again.
HTH,
Todd

[Bob Cowan]

Assuming that the latch was correctly installed and adjusted (sounds like it was), the problem is with the pin itself. It's made of brass and then chrome plated. Every time you close the door, the face of the pin hits the latch and slightly deforms. After a few thousand times, the pins gets really deformed; just like yours is.

You can flatten the face with a file, but then it's too short. Maybe you could braze it up and file down, that might work. But you can't re-chrome it, so it won't last. I thought about making one out of steel. But then the other half of the latch would wear out and yo're right back where you started from. Maybe make a few out of alum, and then swap them out every few years.

At the moment, the only solution I could come up with was to buy new latches.

[AC Bill]

Ray, if it's brass, could you just add a little more meat to it by braising, then file it to shape? Beats having to buy new ones..