Broken door lock...

[TasGolfTDI]

Try to make this as short as possible... but in the end the passenger side door lock wont work

Had the window tinting fixed a couple of weeks ago as it had bubbled, the dealer organised to have it all replaced as the tinting had a lifetime warranty. Another member of the family had the car for a few weeks after this and I noticed when I got it back that the speakers in the passenger door had stopped working, not just one but all of them. It seems this had been the case since the tinting was fixed.

On Tuesday I took the car back into the dealer who pulled off the inside door panel and found that a connection had not been put back on. Perfect, speakers all working and I was one happy camper...

Until... last night the wife went to get in the passenger door and it wouldnt open, from the inside or outside. The outside door handle does nothing and the inside one seems to be jammed, wont lever at all. Had it back at the dealers this morning who are now telling me that it is just purely "coincidence" that this has happened after they have had the inside door trim off and that the door lock is broken and needs replacing... going to cost around $400ish.

What should I do??? Take the hit and just pay for it, not sure if I can do anything else! Just seems very coincidental that this has happened just after they have been playing around with that door.

Any opinions

[John Deere]

I'd make a heap of noise and if that doesn't work, name and shame that rubbish dealer!

[TasGolfTDI]

The dealer has been great so far... never had a problem with them previously and my brother owns a few VWs for his business. They are telling me that there is no way they could have damaged the lock as its on the outer side of the door and they couldnt get to this through the door trim. They have said that there is an error code showing in the computer saying the lock is faulty.

Did come accross this post http://www.my-gti.com/2032 about alignment problems with the door handle that can be caused by having the internal door trim off... could this have caused it?

[mtj007]

My previous 08 Mk V TDI's front passenger side door lock started playing up when it was about 18 months old. You could hear the lock open a few seconds after all the others. It never died though. I sold it to a dealer a few months ago so not my problem anymore. I've now got an 08 GTI built around the same time as my old TDI and a few weeks after I got it the lock started doing the same as my previous car... the locking actuator died completely after a couple of weeks. Dealer replaced it under warranty.

Funny it happened to the front passenger door on both cars. GTI was built August 2008 and the TDI October 2008. Both had done ~35'000km when the lock started playing up and both had automatic locking/unlocking enabled which probably wears the actuators out faster.

I agree it is a bit of a coincidence that's it happened now after the door's been played around with though.

[OraQube]

About a year ago, my right hand rear door lock stopped working. As a result, I also couldn't open the door from the inside or outside. After a bit of fiddling and testing with the central locking on the remote and on the driver's door, I managed to get the door unlocked. But there was clearly an issue cause when it did eventually unlock, as there was a delay before that particular door got unlocked and you could also hear it malfunctioning.

So I took it to the dealer and they said it was an internal mechanical fault in the lock assembly. Got it replaced under warranty. Funny thing is, my rear doors don't get used much at all since hardly anyone sits in the back. So should of got a three door instead but then again, GT's only came in five door. So anyways, a couple of months later, surprise surprise...this time the left hand rear door becomes stuck! Took it back to the dealer and again, got it replaced under warranty.

In your case, I know it's the front doors but it could be a similar issue.

[Rob Burns]

The dealer has been great so far... never had a problem with them previously and my brother owns a few VWs for his business. They are telling me that there is no way they could have damaged the lock as its on the outer side of the door and they couldnt get to this through the door trim. They have said that there is an error code showing in the computer saying the lock is faulty.

Did come accross this post Alignment problem with inner door handles in Volkswagen Golf Mark V | my-gti.com about alignment problems with the door handle that can be caused by having the internal door trim off... could this have caused it?

While the timing sucks the dealer is telling you the truth.

[TasGolfTDI]

I have been looking at it a bit more... the locking mechanism seems to be working properly. When pressing the remote the door lock mechanism activates in that door, can hear it and feel it (when putting your hand on the door panel) at the same time as all the others, no delay.

The inside door handle is stuck and it only moves a small amount and then jams, if it was the locking mechanism broken wouldnt the handle still move and just not open the door, like when all the other doors are locked? Feels kind of like the rod inside has jammed or something. The handle on the outside of the door feels very loose, all the others have some sort of pressure to them when you pull them. It seems to me that there is something wrong with the connections of the handles to the locking mechanism, not the mechanism itself.

[John Deere]

Well, if the door handle is broken and it could not have been caused by trim removal etc. then its hard to argue, but if it is a linkage issue that may have been caused by this work, the dealer should fix it.

If they are saying its the handle, say to them that you will pay for the handle if it fixes the problem, but if it is the linkage, then ask them why they think they should not fix it?

[Dubdabest]

... The outside door handle does nothing and the inside one seems to be jammed, wont lever at all.

Maybe the deadlock is stuck? If I lock my doors with the remote key then it activates the deadlock which prevent the door lever on the inside to unlock/open the door.

[TasGolfTDI]

All fixed now!!

Dealer still refused to accept that it could be anything but the lock being broken even when I had advise from another mechanic. A guy at work who collects and knows a fair amount about SAABs fixed it for me by manuveuring the handles, ends up that it seems the cables or something was jammed.

Dealer didnt even apologise when I told them that I had fixed it and it wasnt what they thought, it was exactly what I was trying to tell them it was!

But in the end its made my week!!! One happy camper now

[John Deere]

I am increasingly finding at dealers there are no real mechanics, but more people who replace bits until symptoms dissapear.

[Maverick]

I am increasingly finding at dealers there are no real mechanics, but more people who replace bits until symptoms dissapear.

Since when? VW don't allow the replacement of parts unless the technicians have followed the fault finding steps given to them. With the increased complexity of cars and the diagnostic systems this could look like they just replace parts at random to the uneducated but it's not the case.

[John Deere]

Not talking VW, I was thinking of an instance with a nissan I recently parted with....this door lock instance is not dissimilar.

[Uomo]

All fixed now!!

Dealer still refused to accept that it could be anything but the lock being broken even when I had advise from another mechanic. A guy at work who collects and knows a fair amount about SAABs fixed it for me by manuveuring the handles, ends up that it seems the cables or something was jammed.

Dealer didnt even apologise when I told them that I had fixed it and it wasnt what they thought, it was exactly what I was trying to tell them it was!

But in the end its made my week!!! One happy camper now

OMG this has just happend to my 2007 Mk5 GTI, it giving me a massive headache and cant afford the $500 stealer wants to fix...can u pls kindly share how u fixed your problem and if it has reoccured since? thanks

[Maverick]

OMG this has just happend to my 2007 Mk5 GTI, it giving me a massive headache and cant afford the $500 stealer wants to fix...can u pls kindly share how u fixed your problem and if it has reoccured since? thanks

Short of learning how to fix this yourself there isn't anything you can do, even if you do manage to get the door open without damaging other parts of the door you won't have a lot of change out of $500.

Unless you've had the door trims off and on recently it's not going to be a simple fix like for the OP but it'll be a failed door lock mechanism.