How much force to soft close your side door?

[haydnw2]

The soft close side door on our SE has always performed flawlessly - it works every time and there is no grinding, etc. But I'm curious how much force it takes to actually engage the electronic mechanism on everyone else's vans. We still need a bit of a shove to get it to the point where it latches. If I very slowly push the door shut from the outside then it will eventually reach almost-closed and the resistance stops all movement (without engaging the soft close). I then can't get the soft close to engage simply using the door handle; I have to give a press on the window at the back end of the door too. From the inside, I definitely can't get it to engage without a bit of a run up.

It doesn't cause us a problem per se, but the something I read in another thread a while ago made me think that it may engage more easily on other Calis. The need to shove means it's not really any quieter on a campsite at night than any other door. The retractable contact mechanism on the front end of the door seems OK, and I've cleaned the contacts with a fibreglass pencil (although they were OK anyway). There's no stickiness on either of the rails. Would be grateful to hear how sensitive somebody else's doors are!

 

[Ozzy Pete]

We have had our van for over 7 years and ours works exactly the same a the video. I’ve never really thought about it. It’s a door and it closes just fine. Also sounds like a door closing.

 

[Beeechke1]

Yes our door 2010 SE closes the same as yours but still I reckon a lot quieter than a fully manual door.

 

[andyinluton]

Yes our door 2010 SE closes the same as yours but still I reckon a lot quieter than a fully manual door.

I agree, that is whisper quiet compared to our works van 100% manual slider, that almost needs a run up to get enough speed up to get it to slam.

Worth noting there have been a few changes over the years.
The T6.1 soft close mechanism is far far quieter than earlier vans.
Also T6.1 fully powered slider has a beep that can just about be heard outside the van if you listen carefully. Earlier vans had a beep like an alarm clock going off.

 

[haydnw2]

Thanks all. I'd obviously read too much into whatever post it was I saw elsewhere!

 

[Jim2007]

Ours is the same and yours is the only other brown Cali I have seen.

Rarest colour of them all?

 

[calibusje]

We have a soft close on our T6.1; It takes some practice but slide it with the right force so that it just closes at the end and the soft close takes over (until fully closed) and it is almost silently.
The dealer said - his words not mine - that it is better to use the soft close than to shut the sliding door harder until it closes completely. Something to do with the lifespan of the system. I think it is a huge improvement compared to our old T4 because you had to close that sliding door really hard and this made a lot of noise.

 

[haydnw2]

Ours is the same and yours is the only other brown Cali I have seen.

Rarest colour of them all?

Yeah, there aren't many of them. Not sure about yours but ours is listed as 'Red' on the V5, and I think the official colour is 'Samoa'. The main dealer had it advertised as 'Dark oak pearlescent'. It's very sparkly and varies from brown to almost purple depending on the light. I would never have specced it on a new van, but it actually looks amazing and draws more comments than I ever anticipated.

 

[simonav124567]

Soft close on my t6.1 consistently take 2-3 tries to close the door. I assume this isn't normal?

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Same as video...
My mind set is that it's momentum required as opposed to force. So depending on how far open the door is when you start to close it, the different it effects the momentum. Once you get the weight of the door carrying it's self you are in business. The shorter the run to get it closed the more effort it takes to get the momentum.
LOL......relax.

 

[M88GAV]

Soft close on my t6.1 consistently take 2-3 tries to close the door. I assume this isn't normal?

Mine (T6.1) does this too. Seems strange that it pretty much closes and then opens slightly and closes again several times

 

[Jim2007]

Yeah, there aren't many of them. Not sure about yours but ours is listed as 'Red' on the V5, and I think the official colour is 'Samoa'. The main dealer had it advertised as 'Dark oak pearlescent'. It's very sparkly and varies from brown to almost purple depending on the light. I would never have specced it on a new van, but it actually looks amazing and draws more comments than I ever anticipated.

Brown on the V5. Ours is Brown brown if you see what I mean. 2019MY was listed as "chestnut brown'. And it is.

Looks spectacular for the first 15 minutes after polishing. After which it reverts to its normal mucky brown colour.

Live and learn.

 

[two-saabs]

The soft close side door on our SE has always performed flawlessly - it works every time and there is no grinding, etc. But I'm curious how much force it takes to actually engage the electronic mechanism on everyone else's vans. We still need a bit of a shove to get it to the point where it latches. If I very slowly push the door shut from the outside then it will eventually reach almost-closed and the resistance stops all movement (without engaging the soft close). I then can't get the soft close to engage simply using the door handle; I have to give a press on the window at the back end of the door too. From the inside, I definitely can't get it to engage without a bit of a run up.

It doesn't cause us a problem per se, but the something I read in another thread a while ago made me think that it may engage more easily on other Calis. The need to shove means it's not really any quieter on a campsite at night than any other door. The retractable contact mechanism on the front end of the door seems OK, and I've cleaned the contacts with a fibreglass pencil (although they were OK anyway). There's no stickiness on either of the rails. Would be grateful to hear how sensitive somebody else's doors are!

I had a tip from the dealer last week:

- use the handle and pull most of the way closed e.g 95%
- move to the back of the door, and push in with your palm to do the final 5%

I tried and I works better for us, helps get just the right amount of pressure needed.

I’ve noticed on a slight incline the door quickly finds things harder to soft close at the end.

 

[andrew bazeley]

The soft close side door on our SE has always performed flawlessly - it works every time and there is no grinding, etc. But I'm curious how much force it takes to actually engage the electronic mechanism on everyone else's vans. We still need a bit of a shove to get it to the point where it latches. If I very slowly push the door shut from the outside then it will eventually reach almost-closed and the resistance stops all movement (without engaging the soft close). I then can't get the soft close to engage simply using the door handle; I have to give a press on the window at the back end of the door too. From the inside, I definitely can't get it to engage without a bit of a run up.

It doesn't cause us a problem per se, but the something I read in another thread a while ago made me think that it may engage more easily on other Calis. The need to shove means it's not really any quieter on a campsite at night than any other door. The retractable contact mechanism on the front end of the door seems OK, and I've cleaned the contacts with a fibreglass pencil (although they were OK anyway). There's no stickiness on either of the rails. Would be grateful to hear how sensitive somebody else's doors are!

Presumably you don't use the auto-close so - like me - you don't want the "beep- beep -beep" to wake other campers up in the middle of the night, when you have to get up for a pee!

 

[Snowball1935]

Yes our door 2010 SE closes the same as yours but still I reckon a lot quieter than a fully manual door.

Our 2017 Caravelle SE is the same and, yes, can refuse to lock if pulled to too gently.
My cautionary tale has nothing to do with closing the door. Pushing the door open when parked on a downward slope, I failed to push it back until it locked in the OPEN position. Whilst leaning in to collect some shopping, the door rolled towards “closed” and trapped my head between the door and the B pillar. That door is heavy, and I had a small lump on each side of my skull for a couple of days or so.
It wouldn’t surprise me if others have been similarly caught out - post incident is a clear message to push the door fully open until it locks in that position.

 

[SFO]

I find side door closes much more easily if one of the front doors is open .. the air has somewhere to escape

is soft close on side door standard on 2022 6.1 Coast?

 

[sagy]

is soft close on side door standard on 2022 6.1 Coast?

Nope.

 

[66tim99]

Soft close on my t6.1 consistently take 2-3 tries to close the door. I assume this isn't normal?

My 6.1 goes through periods of this too. I slide the door almost closed and the motor pulls the door shut. I then hear the motor whir another (usually) 3 times during which the door appears to be being squeezed closed and released slightly repeatedly. Doesn’t seem to eg always be on an incline. Hasn’t done it for a few weeks now, but happens several times (repeated door closes) when it’s happening.

 

[two-saabs]

My 6.1 goes through periods of this too. I slide the door almost closed and the motor pulls the door shut. I then hear the motor whir another (usually) 3 times during which the door appears to be being squeezed closed and released slightly repeatedly. Doesn’t seem to eg always be on an incline. Hasn’t done it for a few weeks now, but happens several times (repeated door closes) when it’s happening.

Same here, nearly always the 3 actions by the motor before done. I realise it’s not attempting to close 3 times, it just takes 3 little steps each time getting closer to its final goal.

I just can’t imagine how that was accepted as an acceptable engineering solution.

Meanwhile the rear door, also with soft close, did a little soft close in the first week, but now has either failed or given up or is very sensitive to when it’s used… just doesn’t do anything!

Both were relatively cheap but still expect them to work.

 

[66tim99]

now has either failed or given up or is very sensitive to when it’s used… just doesn’t do anything!

Same for me, I hear the click but the motor doesn’t try to pull it closed. I see someone above suggesting it them needs a shove to make it work. I suppose that is better than having to slam it closed but it can’t be what was intended.
I’ll get it looked at at its first service (77 days til it’s first oil change service)

 

[jrduc998]

We have the same 3 x soft closing issue before it eventually closes fully. Did anyone find a solution or a reason for this seem to be a fault IMO

 

[ThomasHJ]

The soft close side door on our SE has always performed flawlessly - it works every time and there is no grinding, etc. But I'm curious how much force it takes to actually engage the electronic mechanism on everyone else's vans. We still need a bit of a shove to get it to the point where it latches. If I very slowly push the door shut from the outside then it will eventually reach almost-closed and the resistance stops all movement (without engaging the soft close). I then can't get the soft close to engage simply using the door handle; I have to give a press on the window at the back end of the door too. From the inside, I definitely can't get it to engage without a bit of a run up.

It doesn't cause us a problem per se, but the something I read in another thread a while ago made me think that it may engage more easily on other Calis. The need to shove means it's not really any quieter on a campsite at night than any other door. The retractable contact mechanism on the front end of the door seems OK, and I've cleaned the contacts with a fibreglass pencil (although they were OK anyway). There's no stickiness on either of the rails. Would be grateful to hear how sensitive somebody else's doors are!

The video doesn't seem to be working (for me). Would like to have a look at it. Our T5.1 soft close slide door isn't quiet. And if the goal is not to wake up other campers then it's a failure.

I tried lubricating it once as suggested on this forum, but that didn't change anything. Since then I have just accepted that this is how its supposed to work. But would be nice to compare with your video.

 

[haydnw2]

The video doesn't seem to be working (for me).

Sorry, Vimeo seems to have lost the video and I don't have a copy any more (or the van!).