My car locked the doors on its own.

Ed ke6bnl

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Location
High Desert So. Ca.
TDI
2002 TDI Jetta
we are use to leaving the keys in the car. we live away from other homes and put the keys in the arm rest. One morning my wife found the car locked and had to get AAA to open the car. the unlock button did not work for him and he had to pull the door handle from the inside. The door locked up again while my wife was getting ready to insert the key to start the engine. We now bring the key into the house. still do not lock the doors. Any Ideas. I will be getting a duplicate key with remote and mobilizer. thanks ED
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
Search for "door lock control module" (how to repair or replace- your choice0
 

JETaah

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
mi 48836
TDI
96 B4V, 1999.5 jettaIV,2005 BEW Beetle
It is caused by a faulty driver's door switch and the re-lock sequence that VW most brilliantly designed.

In a fully functioning system, if the car is locked, and you unlock it but do not open the door, the car thinks that you changed your mind and will re-lock the car after 30 seconds. It will use the door switch to determine that. And, since the door switch is broken, the car does not realize that the door was opened.

A good way to test this is to see if the overhead dome light turns on when you open the door....providing that the dome light switch is in the position to do that.

A way to cancel the re-lock sequence is to:
-- unlock the door, open it
-- put the key in the ignition and flip it to the ON position for a second.
That confirms that someone actually entered the car when it does not recognize that the door was opened. It will keep the car from re-locking until the car is locked from the outside again.
 
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Ed ke6bnl

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Location
High Desert So. Ca.
TDI
2002 TDI Jetta
The door switch may defective since when we get out of the car the dome light does not come on with the drivers door like it does with the passenger door. I will look at this today. thanks for all the advice.

after writing this I discovered that I would be spending days just reading what is a common problem and literally hundreds of pages on the subject. at this point I may look at it and check for wires at hinge and maybe contact cleaner and maybe see about a part from a parted out Jetta or the Radio Shack fix. will see the route I will go.
 
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sisyphus

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2008
Location
Appleton, Maine
TDI
99.5, '01 A4 Jetta sedans, 5 sp box, Hamman mod, Joey mod, Bilsteins, 2.00" lift
Our wagon did this once while my wife and kids were at the lake swimming and the key was INSIDE the car. Fortunately she was able to send the older kid into the car through the open sunroof.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
search for 'stupid $3 door switch fix' thread.
2X... that one thread is the fastest way to get the info you need and figure out your options.

All three of my Jettas have malfunctioning driver door sensors, and the autolock snagged my keys once before I figured out what was happening. This past weekend I spent an afternoon tearing apart one of the doors and retrofitting the replacement Burgess switch as discussed in the thread. Got to have a Dremel with a very fine bit and some 2-56 hardware.

Now something that most other car owners take for granted...dome lights when you open the door...happens for me too. Luxury!!!
 
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dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
Try removing the battery from the FOB. You'll have to manually lock and unlock any doors,but this may help with the doors locking themselves.
 

hillelectric

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Location
Idaho
TDI
2002 Jetta Automatic
Same thing happened to me twice, both times with a toddler in the car. First time took a lock smith, second time I had a valet key zip tied up underneath car. I did the "stupid $3 door switch fix" on drivers door and then later on passenger doors as they failed. Worked good and fixed problem but rather time consuming and takes some fine detail work on small parts. My drivers door has failed again after two years. Thinking of rigging a spring loaded push button switch on the drivers door and wiring into circuit so I don't have to deal with it anymore.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Yes, these guys are all over it.
In the meantime, always click unlock twice before locking and to leave it unlocked, open one of the doors that does work. What happens is, the door doesn't know it's been opened (or closed) and responds accordingly.
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
It is probably broken solder joints on the circuit board where the pins from the plug attach. If you decide to replace the latch assembly, please let me know (just PM me). I'll buy your old one.

Cheers,

PH
 

Ed ke6bnl

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Location
High Desert So. Ca.
TDI
2002 TDI Jetta
I assume the left and rt. door lock assembly are different BUT can the switch from the rt. side be used on the left, I have access to a rt side door. and the other 2 rear doors. thanks
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Although I've not pulled a passenger module apart it's definitively possible that the microswitch is NOT transferable... it's not a symmetrical part top to bottom or side to side IIRC.

The same replacement Burgess switch will fit either side, because it doesn't have the plastic rivets built into the case (hence the need to modify the existing holes somewhat) and so can be flipped over.

The other thing I'd say is that unless you have access to a brand new module for parts there's a good chance the switch in a used module is already well worn towards broken... if not already broken. I have never seen defective solder joints unfortunately.. always wear on the switch's plastic nub.
 
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