I own a Mazda5 which is sort of a mini-minivan with the sliding minivan style doors which I think are great with young kids in parking lots.

Lately both doors have been getting increasingly harder to open and close, clearly they need to be lubed or cleaned or something but I don’t know where to start with this.

What does the forum suggest here? Silicone spray lube? Grease? Lithium grease?

Do the tracks need to be cleaned first?

Sure the obvious answer is to first clean the area then inspect for broken rollers or parts usually plastic then lube.
Silicone spray is not thick enough and white lithium is the answer.
The door may or may not need an adjustment as well.

Assume these are manually operated doors? Power doors have a whole additional set of issues...
smschulz is on the money with his advice.

quote:

Originally posted by motor59:
Assume these are manually operated doors? Power doors have a whole additional set of issues...
smschulz is on the money with his advice.

Manual yes

Did this sluggish movement realy start to get bad with your cold/colder weather? Saw your location... Suggest cleaning and check for worn out/broken rollers and using a light weight/cold resistant lithium grease..... drill sgt.

I've used AC/Delco "Superlube" Multi-Purpose Lubricant on all the points manual-listed. PFTE - polytetrafluoroethylene - is its base, Teflon. Silicone spray is the next go-to.

Which reminds me ... time I hit the door detents, hood hinges and latch, locks, and tailgate hinges and latch.