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I stopped my 2001 allroad today, parked, and realized I could not open the driver's door. I had to go out by the passenger's door. Could not open from the out side either.
So your door won't open from the inside or outside? When you pull on the door handle, does it feel easier than normal, as if something is disconnected or that the latch is locked?
So your door won't open from the inside or outside? When you pull on the door handle, does it feel easier than normal, as if something is disconnected or that the latch is locked?
It felt normal, and the very first impression that crossed my mind at the moment was that I forgot to unlock the door. So I touched the unlock button on the door, and still could not open it. I then locked and unlocked the door again, but to no avail.
So do you hear the door locking and unlocking when you hit the button? If you do, the mechanism that releases the latch could be shot. It's unlikely that the rods for both the inside and outside handle would come loose at the same time. If the door doesn't sound like it's locking/unlocking, the entire latch mechanism could be shot.
Unfortunately, removing the door panel with the door closed is not an option. You will need to go the old "slim jim" route to try catch the release...if it's not broken.
Here is a picture of what the latch looks like(although it's upside down I believe).
The metal lever in the middle, left side of photo, is what actuates the latch from the inside door handle. On the other side there is a lever with a ball on the end that connects to the outer door handle. If I had to guess, the pin that holds these two together may have come out.
Here is the back side. You best bet is to try and manipulate the lever with the red ball on it, just to get the door open.
If you do get the door open, there is a couple of things to check before purchasing replacement locks as they are expensive. These issues were from research from one of my VW golf's (rabbit) but they use a very similar lock.
Check the fuses.
Run a Vag-com, it should bring up the fault codes for the door.
Look up the price for a replacement latch, then you may be motivated to try the following first.
Check and clean the internals of the electrical connection in the door jam. The loom has a large plug connector that can get grime in it.
Check the wiring loom in the door jam, peel the black tape back and check each wire. The wiring can become frayed due to the door movement.
Then pull the door skin and check and clean the connection at the door lock and check the wiring where the loom comes through from the door jam.
You can also pull these door locks apart if your are inclined. There is about 3 microswitches inside, they can also get gunked up. The Mk5 VW's had a series with dry solder joints that just needed to be resoldered.
03-17-2015, 09:18 AM
Driver's door can not be opened
