Drivers side central locking solenoid

[CNPrior]

Hello,

I own a Jetta 2.0TDI Sport 2006.

My rear drivers door sometimes opens and sometimes does not. The other 3 doors all unlock and lock perfectly.

I have stripped the outside of the door down and removed the door skin and door handle and the door solenoid. I have cleaned it and stripped it down as far as I could (did not posess a torx key small enough to strip down the microswitch.

I have cleaned all grease off the mechanism as I felt this might be stopping an electrical signal. I have oiled all springs though to make sure the solenoid is lubricated.

I have re-assembled the door and it still locks perfectly but unlocking can stick and I have to press on the door handle to get it to unlock.

I would guess this is a 'lazy' door locking solenoid - but at £106 from VW I am nervous that this may not be the full cure and it is a lot of money to throw away.

I have heard that the VAGCOM software could detect the fault, but I am not sure of this software as I do not have it.

Can anyone offer advice or even tell me where I could source a solenoid from other than VW?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Regards,

Chris

[Flash2]

This is a very common fault across the whole VW range. It's caused by the actuator getting stuck in the dead lock (SAFE) postition, so the door can't be manually unlocked by the inside handle. Replace the actuator/lock assembly and it should be fine. I've had loadsa VWs with this fault and it's been the actuator every time.

Regards.

Jim.

[30yroldpants]

Hi I am new to this Forum, I have a 2007 Jetta, and it appears to be an intermittent issue occurring to my front passenger door. how easy is it to replace the actuator/lock assembly on this model?

Many thanks

[Flash2]

It's not too hard to do as long as the door can open. You need to remove the lock barrel (or blanking cap if there is no key hole on the N/S/F door), the outside handle and the outer door skin. That will give you good access to the actuator/latch assembly. You will need a T20 & T30 torx driver and a M8 (I think) spline driver to remove the latch bolts. If you've got the tools and fancy having a go I can give you a more detailed run down on how to do the job.

Regards.
Jim.

[30yroldpants]

Thanks for that, its really helpful. I plan to take a look at the weekend so I will probably be requesting further information pending how I get on

thanks once again.

[30yroldpants]

this is an odd fault sometimes its happening and other days its ok. The car had to go into VW today as its got an EGR issue, and will cost me £419 to put it right. Well that aside as the car was in VW I asked them to check the door, and it has flagged an error stating its got a problem which I thought was kinda good as my Ford never did anything like that and every time I would take it in I would be made out as if I was going crazy. VW gave me a price to correct the fault £250.00, with that being said I think I will try and do this one myself, I will see if I can get the error code.

[30yroldpants]

Hi Flash2 do you have any detailed instructions on this, I think I will be trying to do this myself.
Thanks

[TDIDave130]

i seem to have the same problem as 30, does anyone have any instructions, specifically door skin removal?

[Flash2]

To remove the door skin:
1. Open the door. Down the outside edge there is a plastic trim. It's attached with little clips and you just carefully pry it off with a screw driver. Once you get the first part away from the door, you can usually just pull the rest off using your fingers.
2. With that trim removed, you should see a series of T30 torx bolts that secure the door skin. Leave those in place for now though. If you look at the outside edge of the door, level with the outside handle, you should see a hole about 5mm in diameter. It may have a bit of black sticky tape over it. Look in the hole and you should see a silver T20 bolt. That bolt secures the lock blank on the passenger & rear doors and the lock barrel on the driver's door. To remove the lock blanking cap you have to pull on the outside handle a little while at the same time gripping and pulling on the blanking cap. It's a little tricky. While your doing that, slowly unscrew the T20 bolt. As the bolt unscrews the blanking cap should get loose and then pull of the door. Don't unscrew the bolt all the way. Stop when the cap comes free.
3. With the blanking cap removed, look at the part of the outside handle that is now exposed. You should see a short length of cable with a little black plastic end that is fitted into the handle. Flick the plastic end out of the handle. You can now pull the handle rearwards to disengage it from the bracket inside the door then pull it towards you. The rear section of the handle should now be clear of the door. Move the handle rearwards again to disengage the forward part.
4. With the outside handle removed, you should now see a black T20 screw. Remove that next.
5. Now you need to remove all the T30 bolts that secure the door skin. Before you start, take a look at them. Notice that they aren't all the same and they need to go back in the correct holes when rebuilding the door. Maybe snap a few photos with your phone or get a bit of cardboard and push them through it as you remove them and write next to them where they go. Once your happy you know where to refit them, unscrew them, but leave the top bolts on the forward & aft edge in loose so the door skin doesn't just fall off and hit the pavement. Also, there is a bolt that is usually hidden by the wiring loom where it leaves the door. Don't miss it! Oh and remember there are bolts along the bottom edge too. With all the bolts removed, you can lift the door skin off. Be careful not to mark the paint on the forward edge of the door skin. Place it in the boot, paint side up while you work at removing the door actuator.

I think that's pretty much everything you need to do to remove the door skin. I've typed it from memory though, so forgive me if there is something I've missed.

Regards.

Jim.