Locking problem

[dekka]

On my wife's 2001 Passat, the remote will open the doors exactly as it should, but won't lock them. Using the key will lock them. The 'Door Open' light on the dashboard is on all of the time when the ignition is on, showing the drivers door as open (when it isn't). The courtesy light doesn't work automatically. Am I right in assuming that the door lock micro switch is the likely fault? Does disconnecting / reconnecting the battery sometimes clear these problems? Grateful for advice, thanks.

[kenney]

You are right in thinking the door lock micro switch is faulty and no,removing the battery terminal will not rectify the problem

[dekka]

Thanks for your advice kenney.

[firelizard]

This happened to mine. I stripped the door down, removed the lock and sprayed the locking mechanism with WD40 (especially the microswitches). It worked fine afterwards but be very careful when re-assembling: there is a tab which engages with a slot which ensures that when the door is locked that pulling the door handle does not open the door.

This is very useful link

http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/

[dekka]

Thanks firelizard...and that website is a gem.

[firelizard]

When you strip the lock out take note of the following:

The lock mechanism is held to the inner door panel two plastic rivets which don't go back together easily without breaking: get a couple of nuts and bolts to replace them (about 30mm x 5mm).

Make a note (drawing) of where the springs go when you take it apart. One spring fits in such a way that it looks incorrect (one end of the spring doesn't actually attach to anything) on reassembly.

The plastic cover of the lock mechanism has one screw which has a very tiny star drive head. As I didn't have a drive bit that small, I cut a slot in mine with a hacksaw and used a flat blade screwdriver.

As mentioned before, the tab which engages with a slot which ensures that when the door is locked that pulling the door handle does not open the door is easy to mis-fit (I drove around for about 1 week with mine like this - anybody could have just opened the door). Ensure the tab fits on reassembly and check that you can't open the door from the outside when the door is centrally locked.

The tab can be seen in the photo
http://www.taligentx.com/passat/images/photo.php?photo=329&u=26|15|...
as the left-most end of the metal arm immediately above the arrowed caption on the right-hand component. It engages with the metal 'n' cutout shown on the bottom left (just to the right of the white square on the far left) on the left component in the picture.

Good luck !

[dekka]

Firelizard, that is superb info and thanks a million for your replies. I haven't done the job yet, but when I get chance (weather and time) I will post the result. Many thanks again.