Omggg my son just locked my grandma bathroom door and she had her house since about 1986 the knob is so old she was having a heart attack this video help me out so much I took the knob off then got stuck came across this video and it help me in 1 second

Many thanks Paul - saved me the trouble and expense of replacing the entire door knob assembly !!

Paul, Thanks for this video. I've been surfing youtube looking for an explanation of why the latch was not retracting all the way and after hours of video I finally found yours which clearly identified the problem. My solution to the problem was to use my bolt cutters to cut in half a #8 finish nail, (also cut off the head and point ends too). Then I inserted the nail pieces at those 2 crucial points you had identified in your video and all is working fine for now. Obviously just a temporary fix but a working fix nonetheless! Thanks again for sharing! Regards, Frank

Thanks! I watched a few videos on how to fix a sticky door latch, but none mentioned the mechanism can wear down over time. Sure enough, that was exactly my problem and was grateful for an easy fix (after an hour of bang my head on the door trying to figure out the problem haha).

Thanks for the good information; you just saved me $47 for a new set! It worked like a charm...again, thanks!

Thanks! This is super helpful. I was able to fix my door latch after watching your video.

Great video. Explaining why it broke and how to fix helped me a great deal. Fixed my door easily after watching. Thank you!

Thank you Paul! I was able to fix my closet door. extremely helpful 10/10!!!

Thank you! I could not open my door, even after removing the door knob. A key in there wiggling did the trick!

You saved me from getting a whole new doorknob set. Thanks.

It worked for me! Thanks a bunch!

I saw many comments mentioning the door still cannot open because of stuck latch. I was in same situation and I solved it by using a reverse -V cut plastic card to retract the latch from inside house

Well done. You are exactly half correct and I mean that in a good way! Unfortunately not only does the plunger portion have excessive wear, the actual rotating stem fixed to the outside door knob also wears excessively. If you look at that piece of the door knob that projects through the plunger it is very likely that you will see a small notches in the fine edges of the half moon shaped stem. Sorry I do not know the technical names of the parts, but I am sure you can figure it out by simply looking at the parts. Kwikset locks have been doing this for several years. I first noticed it about four years ago. In most cases you have to throw away the entire entry lock (not the deadbolt though) and install a new one. In order to reduce the friction on the mechanism you can pack lube into the joint where the stem passes through the latch plunger at the time of assembly. You can also lube the inside surface of the latch that projects from the door edge and the inside edge of the strike plate. Something as simple as vaseline or white lube from an auto supply store will help a great deal. I have lubed the last two I installed and it makes a huge difference now. I seriously doubt that the interior lube will last very long. But, you caan lube the latch portion frequently to reduce the stress on the rotation parts of the latch system. It looks and smells like poor quality metal in manufacturing or planned obsolescence . Who knows. Good luck.

Instead of buying a new piece, I ground off 1/8 of an inch from the end of the latch for another 10 years of service. That took about one minute , and cost me nothing.

I'm having this same problem with my front door - Kwikset 6WAL - dead latch. I'm going to home depot to get me a new one. Costs between $7 & $8.

I did it! Ty so much 💓

My question is, if the door is closed and the mechanism for pulling the latch back all the way isn't working, how did you get the latch out of the door?

@CamronMLB

8 ай бұрын

Am dealing with that now

What if this situation happens and you can’t open the door because it’s already closed 😔

@pauls4382

3 жыл бұрын

Get access to both sides remove knob with tools. Use tools to twist mechanism to open door.

@jnbyoung

2 жыл бұрын

That’s why I’m here lol!

@aaronbacher1595

2 жыл бұрын

@@pauls4382 what tools to twist mechanisms, I’m having trouble here and I can’t get the door open at all. I have the knobs off

@Davidluo0924

2 жыл бұрын

@@aaronbacher1595 hopefully you already solved your problem. I was in same situation and I solved it by using a reverse -V cut plastic card to retract the latch from inside house

@anthonypolitano8554

5 ай бұрын

Turn your handle upwards...should work! Most people including me turn handles down...try upwards! Hope this works!

Oh lord forever professor

Great video noting the issue, however i take issue with Kwik set for making me replace these every 3-4 years? I use their smart key units and love them for that purpose but to have to replace the hardware is a safety hazard at times. Currently the entire mechanism is blown out not lever up or down so I can’t unlatch my front door! Thanks for nothing Kwikset it thanks to this video for pointing out your shoddy design!

@johnsimion2893

4 ай бұрын

I have had the same problem numerous times with my front door getting jammed like that, and I may have a solution. Get the deadbolt unjammed and the door open. Extend the deadbolt against the palm of your hand. If yours is like mine, it will jam. Take your palm away and it will no longer be jammed. Now check the DEPTH of the hole in the door that the deadbolt goes into. In my case, the hole was almost exactly the same depth as the length the deadbolt extended into it ... but just a teeny tiny bit less. My theory is that this had the same effect as me pushing my palm against the end of the deadbolt. My solution (which may or may not work, this is only a suggestion) was to drill the hole out by another 1/8" or 1/4". Why the F couldn't the "pros" who installed this door drill the hole deep enough? An extra 10 seconds would have killed them? Arrggghh. Right now the lock works perfectly and there's no way the end of the deadbolt can contact the wood at the end, so hopefully this solves the problem for good. I just can't guarantee it since it's tricked me before. But it's something to try. Good luck.

Thank you

That piece is the problem i have, but it isn't worn. Might be an old one maintenance decided to reuse. But i still can't turn the knob as far as i should be able to, to open the door.

Yeah and take note of what doorhandle you have and look at the part that turns the latch to open the door, some are circular and some are square, I bought a new quickset exterior door latch for my front door and it's fine it just has a half moon shape area for the door knob to slide into and my door knob has a square Insert that goes through the latch that makes it work so I'm trying to figure out if I can swap it with the one I got like if there's a little way to change it or if I have to jimmy rig something so it works I think I'm going to shave a little metal off the quickset latch where the square insert goes to and it will fit snugly and open the door but if not I'm going back to Home Depot

You're a G!!

Thank you!!

Thank you so much , Paul for the video and the explanations. Almost gave up then saw your video and was able to fix problem. New problem: it won’t retract by itself unless I pull the lever to retract. I think I need to put some WD40 but where to apply?

@pauls4382

3 жыл бұрын

Did you replace the latch and the new one sticks?

@loclam504

3 жыл бұрын

Paul S yes, I replaced the indoor latch. And it works great thanks to your video. When I pull up the lever, the latch thing goes all the way in, and the door opens, and the lever comes down to original position. When I push down the lever, the latch thing goes all the way in, and the door opens, but the lever does not go back up to original position unless I gently move the lever up. So, that is the new minor problem.

@pauls4382

3 жыл бұрын

There are better lubricants than WD40 for locks. Does the lever go back into position after you help it a little or do you have to help it the whole way? If a little than some lubricant for locks might help. If you have to help it the whole way, another part may be worn out.

Thanks

Just took mine apart and it looked exactly like yours. I also notice the half moon piece in the handle that presses against the latch is itself a little worn. My handleset is only about 3 years old. I would have thought Kwikset would use better materials

So how to Open it? my door just like that

Kwikset latches/handles are guaranteed for life. Just call the support number and they'll ask a few questions to help you get the right replacement but then they'll send out the whole set. Why replace only the one part when sooner or later the rest will fail as well. .

My question is…what do you do if the door is stuck closed and you don’t have access to the side. My door is locked and the latch won’t turn to get access to side. It’s the garage access door

@NeoAndersonReloaded

3 жыл бұрын

drill the knob out buy a new one.

@Quigley_Underdown

5 ай бұрын

@@NeoAndersonReloaded Wisecracks not appreciated.

No help because I can’t get one screw out of knob.

But, how does one open the door if the latch doesn't work

@pauls4382

3 жыл бұрын

Get to the side with the screws and remove knobs. Then put screw driver into the mechanism and pull toward center or door

@aaronbacher1595

2 жыл бұрын

@@pauls4382 I’m trying with this but still nothing, the door won’t open even when I use the screwdriver

@MietteT

Жыл бұрын

@@aaronbacher1595 This doesn't address the problem of the latch not engaging. Even with knobs or handles off, if the latch isn't engaging, you can pull all you want but it's not going to move. So many people here asking how to open the door and getting all these off-base remarks!

This is nice to know but doesn't help when you can't get the door open to access the piece you need to replace. If the latch isn't retracting, taking the knob or handle off allows you to look inside and identify that as the problem, but not how to fix it. Because it's a deadlatch, the credit card or wire solution doesn't work. Is removing the door at the hinges the only solution???

@johnsimion2893

4 ай бұрын

Once the handles are off, you can jam a screwdriver into it and force it to turn (not as brute force as it sounds like). Once the jam is broken, it should operate normally again. To prevent the problem from recurring again, see my response to @hifidelite, above. The deadbolt may appear to be working fine as is, but if the hole is just a tiny fraction too short, the deadbolt can get jammed against the wood at the bottom of the hole. Drilling the hole a little deeper should prevent the problem in the future.

Mine is brand new

Bingo

Seven dollar fix or you kidding me Bro a whole entire knob set cost seven dollars