Wonky drivers door

[Joe90]

So this has bugged me for a while now....
Drivers door sounds like it's open when driving around, but it's not.
From the outside, it looks slightly off around the b pillar rubbers, but the gap where it joins the wing is the same as the passenger side.
From inside, the fit/sit lines all look good and fine till you get level with the window door card and the b pillar. At which point I can't easily get my sausage fingers in there all the way down.
I've already tried the door catch hook thing, as I previously had a VW Passat which let those come loose for fun. However, moving it inwards just resulted in the door not shutting properly at all, so that's not it although that is the logical check.
All the door rubbers are there too - it's not that there's some soft rubber missing, it's an actual physical air gap.
Any suggestions oh wise ones?

 

[Catnip64]

Does it shut the same as the passenger door, ie in two stages?
It's possible that the lock is faulty, or the catch has moved, but you seem to have tried this already without any success.
How does the door look against the rear door, does it protrude all the way down or just at the top?
What does the instrument display show when the ignition is on, does it register that the driver's door is open?

 

[Proghound]

I'm finding it hard to build up a mental picture of where the door isn't sitting straight - except that it's fine at the front, A-pillar end. Is it sitting outwards at the B-pillar, or in the correct plane but hanging crooked? Pictures could be useful, with affected areas and directions shown via Paint, Photoshop or similar editor.

Also, do you have the Heko wind deflectors on? They can often stop the window shutting all the way, or warp the window frame so that it doesn't sit completely tight against the body rubbers, and you get a lot more external sound in.

 

[audifan]

Could even be the upper glass portion of the door that is out of alignment.
To diagnose further we NEED PICTURES that should have been included at the start.

 

[Philip]

Check if the door has cracked at the top hinge.

 

[Joe90]

These are the drivers side door external and internal fit.

Which looks fine art the a pillar side.

Passenger side for comparison:

There's maybe something off in that the drivers side looks to be like the door is mounted further forward? Tighter shut line at the wing than passenger side, leading to a bigger gap, albeit slightly sat the b pillar, which might explain why it doesnt sit right internally too?
Easy to adjust?

 

[Sootywg]

To me it looks like the alignment is out at the front of the drivers door. This could be bad hanging of the door or failure of the upper door hinge Itself. These do stress crack on the door skin But rarely seem to result in a problem. Adjustment is possible at the hinge with care.
The shut lines generally seem all over the place, has the car had doors replaced? Or has it had accident damage recorded?

 

[Rusty911]

To me it looks like the alignment is out at the front of the drivers door. This could be bad hanging of the door or failure of the upper door hinge Itself. These do stress crack on the door skin But rarely seem to result in a problem. Adjustment is possible at the hinge with care.
The shut lines generally seem all over the place, has the car had doors replaced? Or has it had accident damage recorded?

Yes, is it possible to take some shots of the gaps from a little further out? Ideally one of the front door to wing, door to door, and rear door to rear 1/4 panel (wing)? Also, if the door sticks out anywhere, a picture down the side of the car from front or rear (whichever shows the misalignment best).

I've not had a front door apart, but I assume it's like the rears where the frame is a separate part from the main door body. If that's the case, you'd align the main door first and get that right and then align the door (window) frame afterwards.

 

[audifan]

Yes the drivers door does indeed look out of position. Fully open the drivers door and carefully check the door hinges top and bottom and the metal where they attach for cracks or bending.I suspect when the lower part of the door is adjusted the top will fall into line nicely. Both hinges may need to be adjusted so mark where they are now so at least you can go back there if you do not manage to align the door better.
You can see from the diagram there are 2 bolts per hinge to the car. Two from the inside of the car and two from the outside.

Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > A2 > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Door hinges (front)

A2 > Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Door hinges (front)

workshop-manuals.com

and the panel gaps.....

Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > A2 > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Panel gaps for door adjustment

A2 > Audi Workshop Service and Repair Manuals > Body | General body repairs, exterior | Front door, central locking | Front door | Panel gaps for door adjustment

workshop-manuals.com

 

[Jeetesh]

To me it looks like the alignment is out at the front of the drivers door. This could be bad hanging of the door or failure of the upper door hinge Itself. These do stress crack on the door skin But rarely seem to result in a problem. Adjustment is possible at the hinge with care.
The shut lines generally seem all over the place, has the car had doors replaced? Or has it had accident damage recorded?

I agree with this as the solution. I had the same issue on my car and I adjusted at the hinge, realigned the door and didn’t have to adjust the door catch on the B-pillar which I thought I may have to do.

Following the realignment, the door seals properly, no whistling wind noise from the top of the window frame and only at the cost of a cheap spline bit set.

If this doesn’t work then I suspect you have a bent hinge or door frame which could have happened if a previous owner let go of the door in strong wind.

 

[Catnip64]

Perhaps the door has been opened too far, maybe caught in the wind and this has bent the hinges?
If this is the cause then there's a trick using a socket and extension bar to gently re-align the hinges, no doubt there'll be a youtube video on this to demonstrate the technique.
As other have said, a wider shot showing the view down the side of the car would help to confirm the situation.

 

[Joe90]

Managed to brave the cold long enough to inspect the hinges as suggested....here's what I've found...
1st pic....the lower hinge/bracket. Looks fine to me.

But the second one.... hello sailor...? Shouldn't that be flush all the way along rather than having a massive step in it?
Obvious thing to check (which I forgot to do and didn't realise until reviewing the pictures) would be look at the passenger side!

 

[Joe90]

Nope, passenger side same. But that fits nicely.

 

[Sootywg]

The failures usually take place at the junction with the door skin. Your first picture looks as if there might be a tear in the door (difficult to tell from the angle and the lighting)