This video shows why your VW door will not open and what to do about it. No where will you find this information on the web. Believe me, I looked for days when my door wouldn’t open. Let me know how it works out for you. Any contributions to my PayPal account at “email.jpco@gmail.com” would be greatly appreciated. Thanx!
source
Why Your VW Door Won’t Open
Don you are a genius. I thought I was going to have to scrap the car because of the mot. You cured it in 30 seconds. I had the cable too tight in the handle If I could I would buy you a drink.
Thank you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqmqnK6UXvY 2:48 of this video explains why that pre-load spring is required.
top man
Top video saved me banging my door handle every time i wanted to open it . It was really starting to get on my nerves
How did you open door with the bad part
I was thinking: Isn't it possible that the upper part of the big spring, should be behind the brask/copper/yellow part. Just to help the small spring. Can't you hook it? Because the way I see it, there are also some marks on the black pastic part. Right in de corner of the yellow part.
Worked straight away! Top video!
Just changing the electronic window mechanism on my wife's new beetle only to find that on re-assembly the door lock rod has come away from the lock unit itself. Your video is the only one with camera still enough for me to see how the rod attaches to the locking unit (seemed pretty flimsy but I can see it's correct). Your point about a small screwdriver inserted through the locking mechanism saved me dismantling the whole door again to get the lock to work properly. Basically you saved my ass twice. Thank you so much.
Hi do this wirk with the boot door too ?
WOW, VW, AUDI, PORSCHE all have a long history of their cars having door handle and locking issues.
i found that if i just push the exterior handle in until i hear a click, this resets the whole thing. minor inconvenience without having to open the whole thing up. If it fails and i cannot open the door, i will follow your instructions. thanks
That spring you removed is used when you adjust the preload on your wire.
Got my door open and functioning again by simply hitting the outside handle really hard with my hand. I think it reset something to make it somehow work again 🙂 Worth a shot, considering other methods can damage paint, door panels, mechanisms etc…
Maybe file that spring clip end down so it doesn't drag on that arm but leave it on.
VW, Audi, Merc………. over rated, over priced, and unfortunately, over here….. absolute junk.
Thank you for this video. This actually worked for me and was a relatively easy fix.
Tried this and still no joy grinder , hammer need now i think .
My palS 2004 front drivers door still wont open and so far have had to
butcher the interior door panel then even after removing the steel
inner cover still no joy getting the door open .Looks as is if a big
hammer will be needed to smash the lock but my issue here is i need the
key barrel as i need to swap it over to a s/hand door i have .
Removed the rear door and then slackened the barrel screw , removed
the barrel and then removed the only lock bolt which is visable then
forced the lock down from the inside and the door opened , replaced the
lock and the door handle now operating ok but a nightmare of a job
.The door electronics were keepimg this door locked shut no issues with
cables ect .
This helped me with a 2009 Porsche Cayenne where the right rear door would not open from the inside or outside. 1 and 1/2 days of trying all sorts of solutions (remove inner panel, cut large holes in the regulator plate, and undo door hinges etc.) , came across this video. Was able to pull the metal clip out and the door opened! Thank you!
Very helpful – this is a huge safety issue (being trapped in the vehicle) and VW needs to have a recall to fix this. Totally unacceptable!
Thank you SO MUCH! This resolved my permanently closed door enough to get it open and then fix the lock! You are a life saver! 🙂 THANK YOU!!!
I have this same problem on my Seat Ibiza (which has an identical lock mechanism), but attempting to reset the latch as described doesn't help. Any other suggestions?
What about mk3
Jon, you saved me! I was totally clueless when I installed and new lock and it did this too! Boy was it hard to get it to reset, because I had closed the door with all panels installed. But once I did your remove the spring fix worked great.
https://youtu.be/RqmqnK6UXvY This video here will explain what the spring is for that you removed from the door locking mechanism in your video, it does have a purpose. It is for setting the pull tension for the outside door handle.
Just buy a toyota
It seems the spring is actually helping the mechanism to get back to its initial position. Check this out: https://youtu.be/RqmqnK6UXvY?t=169
I used to think that German cars (Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes etc.) are reliable and always have high quality. When I was about 11, my father had a BMW 350CC motorbike. It looked so husky, strong and healthy. I trusted German products and respected Germans for their talents. It lasted for years (over 30 years) until my brother gave me a 200 Passat 2.0T. I am a careful driver and not in a hurry in any situation. I spend time regularly almost every week wash the car, wax it, clean inside, check the engine oil, change the engine oil every 3,000 miles, refill the windshields cleaner, check the tires pressure etc. I always keep the car in good condition. The mileage is only over 50,000 miles. Recently, they have some troubles with the passenger door. It cannot be opened from outside. Besides, the headliner is sagging. The airbag needs replacing. The noise from the engine annoys me so much that I think I have to sell it. It is too much noisier than my 2017 Honda Civic and 2016 Hyundai Elantra or even my 1997 Honda Acura. If anybody is thinking of buying a German cars, please do not buy a Volkswagen vehicles (Passat, Jetta, etc). Believe me! You will feel sorry later.
The video should show step by step. it appears that the man is holding a unit and I do not know where it comes from.
Nice, video. I just had the same issue on my Octavia. The spring is for keeping the lever extended during assembly. When assembled and activation of the door handle, the spring is disengaged.
http://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk2/images/octavia-mk2-784.png
genius
Dude. Let me just say.. if i ever see u at a bar im buying u drinks all night. I was out there for almost an hour trying to figure this out on my mk3 and once i saw your video i went out immediately again. I pushed the door handle more in and it reset itself and walla!! Door opened! You da man!!!
Great job, thank you I did it with your help, fixed it perfectly Big Thank you
No purpose? Do you think the manufacturer want to spend money on a piece that's not going to have any function? Probably wasn't properly assembled, but it has a function.
Thank you Jon. I had just put the whole door back together (B5.5 Passat) and then found the replacement latch mechanism would not release, either inside or out, so effectively my door was sealed shut. Ain't veedubyas great? Anyhow, surfing for answers, I found this post, which explains clearly why the door wouldn't open – the return spring doesn't allow the latch to reset. Applying logic (pity VW engineers don't use it) I figured that I needed to push back the latch. Armed with a stiff piece of steel wire, I tried several times, but no joy, until I thought to use winkle out the wire draw-string from its location in the outside door latch. Yea, freed from the latch, the reset mechanism then allowed me to open the door from the inside. I was then able to refit the draw-string in a position where it allowed the door to open (just) but did not stop the latch returning under that weak spring you showed. Great stuff, thanks again.
Great info , now I know why it happens , but its difficult to get to this part . Another site suggested the "Fonzie" fix , just bang the area under the door handle and it looses the part as described in this video. Not sure for how long but it worked for me for now.
Thank you so much man! I have lost several hours from my life, trying to figure it out why this shitty mechanism isn't working normally. After watching your video, I have to disconnect the tiny strand, attached to the outside lock. After that, the door was able to be opened. Probably, last time when I had it connected was too tight. So now I have to tune it more precisely. Thanks again and long life to guys like you! 🙂
how do ytou open the door when this happens. i have tried to openthe door fromthe inside and the outside but with fail. when you pull the lever the locking knob goes up even while the car is unlocked. please help
This is helpful.. but I can't get my door back open..
My drivers vw cc will not open from outside handle but it will open from inside . Can this be the same issue or something different?
Jon Plamondon….Great video…Having this trouble, will try it tomorrow and let you know.. Subscribed….
Great info video. Thanks
My issue is that the left back door won't unlock. Not even manually, or centrally. Anyways, you can pull the handle, and the little pin which shows is the door locked or unlocked, gets up, and as soon you let the handle back, the pin goes back…
same problem with my s5. thanks for the tip!