2000 jetta drivers seat not locking

thehedonist

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Location
Truckee, CA
TDI
2000 jetta
As stated in the title, I have a 2k Jetta. The seats are manual. My wife and I both drive the car and have different length legs, so we are constantly adjusting the seat. Today I got into the car, pulled the lever and pushed the seat back and it would not lock into place. I did a search on this problem, but did not find anything helpful. Does anyone know how to get the locking mechanism to engage so the the seat will lock into position?
 

3800rpmDiesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Location
Fall River, NS, Canada
TDI
'03 Jetta Wgn 5spd w/ mods, '03 Wgn 5spd stock, '05 Passat Wgn - chainless.
Same thing happened in our 2000 Golf. It was simply dirt / lack of lube interfering with the mechanism under the seat. Get some '3 in 1' spray (ie, lubricant, penetrant, and corrosion inhibitor all in 1 can), look under the seat from front & rear and you'll be able to see where the cable goes to when you pull the lever. Spray the cable, mechanism, and rails that the seat slides on (ie, anything that moves) and that should do the trick.

The above worked for me and provided over a year of perfect operation until the car was totalled :(
 

Bayou_Flyer

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Location
Mississippi Gulf Coast
TDI
2010 Golf 4Door 6M
My driver seat did this a few weeks ago (heard an audible "crack" on the way home from work one night), but luckily I drive with it adjusted rearward. I found two halves to a round plastic bracket under my seat, so I guess the cable went through it and provided the tension when the handle was pulled. Are these parts even available new/separately? I really don't need an entire seat!

You ever get resolution to your problem thehedonist?
 

thehedonist

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Location
Truckee, CA
TDI
2000 jetta
problem solved

I tried spraying some wd40 on the locking mechanism. It worked after a minute or 2 once the lubricant had a chance to soak in.
 

billybgame

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Location
Saginaw, MI
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
I had this happen this past fall, and lived with it as it was too cold here in Mich to be messing around for long periods on the underside of the seat. Thing is, it was still doing it, until very recently. Now, it's not. Seems the warmth cured it? I did try to spray some silicone under there, last fall, but it did nothing. Wasn't sure I was spraying in the right spot, so planned to try again with warmer weather, but if it's cured, I guess I'm all set. Or, will this be a recurring issue come colder weather again?
 

RabbitGTI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 20, 1997
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
B4 Passat Sedan
I love this place. The Beetle seat would not stay in position last night. I thought something was broken. Did a search. Took a look and all parts seemed good and the cable was tight, but everything down there was drier than a nun. Lubed up her sliders and pins and she just slips into place. :D
 

kharvell

New member
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Location
Mckinney TX
TDI
2003 Jetta
Worked like a charm

Hello, I am new to the forums and had a situation with my fiancé's carseat latch not locking on her 2003 VW Jetta. Being a complete and utter automotive ignoramus, I was surprised to see that the fix was in most cases lubricant. So easy it blew my mind...

So I pulled out the WD-40 and squirted (liberally) the locking mechanism attached to the rail the seat slides on, tried the latch 10 seconds later, and now I am my fiancé's hero. Thanks to you very generous people sharing your knowledge.

Also wanted to comment on another user's post that the seat wouldn't lock when it all of a sudden got cold. Same here.

Thanks again,

Kevin
 

Sbeghan

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Location
Triangle, NC
TDI
03 Jetta Wagon 5spd 390k mi
Just had to do this on my car. Here's a bit of clarification.
Scoot the seat all the way back so that the adjustment mechanism comes to the front. You will see two black U channels on each side of a brassy colored rail that runs down the middle. There will be holes in the rail which the locking pin slides into. The pin is inside a spring loaded tube, so you can't spray lubricant directly onto the pin easily sometimes. You will see a black cable going into the side of the locking mechanism. On the opposite side you can stick the straw from your favourite lubricant into the hole and spray it. Work the lever until you can feel the pin sliding in and out with the straw. Wouldn't hurt to spray a good wax or gease lubricant onto the black U channels and run the seat forward and backwards to distribute it too.
 

Bayou_Flyer

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Location
Mississippi Gulf Coast
TDI
2010 Golf 4Door 6M
In my case, after 200k miles, the pin was just low enough to not go into the hole. A little upward pressure and it clicked into place. If I dare move the seat, I have to repeat that or hear clickclickclickclickclick back and forth....
 

fruitcakesa

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Location
Vermont
TDI
04 jetta 5 spd wagon
The cold weather keeps bringing out rashes of similar issues.
The drivers seat got stuck at full extension on my 03 and my short legged wife needed it for a trip the next day.
I did a little looking at the release mechanism and saw how gummed up the innards were. A spray with brakleen , a wipe down with a towel, then lube the sliding pin and housing and it is good as new.
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
And the pin in mine didn't extend enough yesterday.
It looked to me as if the pin and holder slipped backward in the metal clip that secures in at x distance from the holed / detented track. I was going to remove the clip, slide the pin and its holder closer to the track, and then reinstall the clip.
But now I'll go with the concensus and re-apply some penetrant lubricant instead.
 

fruitcakesa

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Location
Vermont
TDI
04 jetta 5 spd wagon
And the pin in mine didn't extend enough yesterday.
It looked to me as if the pin and holder slipped backward in the metal clip that secures in at x distance from the holed / detented track. I was going to remove the clip, slide the pin and its holder closer to the track, and then reinstall the clip.
But now I'll go with the concensus and re-apply some penetrant lubricant instead.
That was my first thought and I did fiddle with the clip and pin to move it back towards the clip end to allow the pin to withdraw completely
 

Sinko

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
Huntington NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 Silver
Thank you all for your comments. You saved me today! Dropped the car key and it fell under the seat. Moved the seat back to make it easier to grab. Then it would not lock back in place. Read through these comments. On my 2003 Jetta wagon, I found it easier to move the seat all the way forward. Saw the retracted pin. A quick blast of WD-40 and all was fixed.
 

That Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TDI
2001 MKiv Golf TDI
Exciting is driving home in a blizzard on icy roads. And when you accelerate you have to hang onto the steering wheel to keep from sliding back so far that you can barely push the clutch and brake to the floor...even being over 6 feet tall.


Thank god (or Frank) for this site.
The other day when I went out to get my car to go home I found that some asshat had parked about a foot away from my drivers side door. On the other side of the car is a cement barrier, but luckily I had just enough room to squeeze in there...while wearing bulky winter clothes. But while trying to get over to the drivers side my seat slid back...and then wouldn't lock in place. I thought it was broken, and being in the poor mood I was already in, I came very close to doing some serious damage to the asshat's vehicle. Instead I just wrote some choice comments in the dirt on their car.

Thankfully the problem was just that the pin was stuck. After putting some PB Blaster on it and roughing it up a bit it seems to be working now.

I'll be reupholstering the front seats in the next week or so. Already did the rears. So the timing is good in that sense. I have to remove the seats to work on them. So while I have them off I'll clean and lube up those parts.
 

Funguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Front Range of Colorado
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen dsg and 2015 Passat 6 M/T
You are a patient Guy. Good you let the idiot know what they did though

This thread is way old by the way. I'm short so when I hit the pedal and went backward the only thing saved me was a death grip on the steering wheel.
 

ieracer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Location
CA
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS TDI
LOL, my wife had the same thing happen, accelerated and slid all the way back. WD40 fixed the problem, just gunked up, but she wouldn't drive it for a loooong time.
 

Funguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Front Range of Colorado
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen dsg and 2015 Passat 6 M/T
LOL, my wife had the same thing happen, accelerated and slid all the way back. WD40 fixed the problem, just gunked up, but she wouldn't drive it for a loooong time.
Phew! My wife would've sworn I did it to her on purpose if it happened to her. :D
 

That Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TDI
2001 MKiv Golf TDI
Just finished reupholstering my front seats. Had to remove them from the car to do that so I took the opportunity to fix this and the seat height adjustment spring as well on each seat.

I cleaned and greased the pin and sliding track on both seats.
Used Marine Grade Anti-Seize on them. Should last pretty much forever.

My driver's seat locks in place like new now.
 

jetta&golf

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Location
Manitoba
TDI
2002 Jetta & Golf
This worked for my seat, reading this thread.
I found it easiest to use a spray lubricant with a straw attachment.
Position the seat all the way back.
Spray from the outside side of the seat towards the centre of the car, through the hole in the bottom rail, which the seat slides on, in particular the hole near the seat front where the locking pin is.
 

grubyuppie

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Location
Burque, Nuevo México
TDI
01 NB ALH 5sp M/T
Pin gets gummy when cold.

Bump this to the top for the easy lube fix on a cold December morning.
I dripped small amounts of TriFlow with a straw on all the points touching the pin in the center track. Drip lube is cleaner and less fumes than spraying. No need to use massive amounts of lube if you locate the cable actuated pin.
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
My new favorite lube for things like this is "Slick Stuff" (a less expensive knock-off of Fluid Film). It even smells nice!
 

KiltedBob

New member
Joined
Jan 2, 2018
Location
Provo, Ut
TDI
2002 VW PASSAT
Look at response #8

Thank you sbeghan! Among all the responses here yours is the most detailed and helpful! Check response #8 folks! Problem fixed only after consulting it. Otherwise you are just spraying oil everywhere under your seat!
 

csteve

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Location
Worcester, MA
TDI
2002 Jetta Sedan 5-Speed
Any pictures or diagrams as to where exactly I am supposed to be spraying? I moved the seat (it's my daughter's car) and couldn't get it back. I sprayed where I think it was supposed to be, plus some. It kind of helped, but not really. She sat in it and got it to stick with me trying to move the cable from the back seat, so now it's back in. It's probably a cold weather issue, but I'd like to get the spray where it's supposed to be.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Any pictures or diagrams as to where exactly I am supposed to be spraying? I moved the seat (it's my daughter's car) and couldn't get it back. I sprayed where I think it was supposed to be, plus some. It kind of helped, but not really. She sat in it and got it to stick with me trying to move the cable from the back seat, so now it's back in. It's probably a cold weather issue, but I'd like to get the spray where it's supposed to be.
Slide the seat all the way back, then look at the rail - One side of the rail has the cable from the lever routed to it sideways. The opposite side of the rail at that spot is a hole that the plunger moves in. That's the hole to spray.
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Very timely that this thread has resurfaced - the last couple times I took my Jetta down to the shop for something, I've been finding the locking mechanism for the sliders has gotten "slow" due to the seat having been very rarely adjusted over the years/miles.

Will definitely be doing mine over the weekend.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
You must get your eyes down there, you will see what needs lubed. Also, there is a spring or lever that sometimes simply falls off.
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Oh, I'll definitely put eyes on first, but the sliders on my driver's seat get used maybe 4 times a year, so I'm leaning toward it just needing lube (my Dad had a car that basically only he drove - he set the seat once and it didn't get moved for something like 9 years until I got my license and he wanted to teach me to drive stick, so dust accumulation in the factory lube made adjusting the seat challenging)...
 
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