Pass.door wont open. Lock stuck. need to get in!

PaJames

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Milford Pa.18337
TDI
96 passat TDI wagon
So this morning at the good ol bus stop my son gets in the car. Well his friend does so as well. the friend starts playing with the pass door lock. Pushing the grab handle up and down etc. Well I find this out after the fact, a few hours later I cant open the door.

Well seems something is all jammed up in the door. I can use the key to try and lock/unlock the door. But the little black knob does not move. I tried opening the door from the inside, no go.
I removed the black knob and tried grabbing the metal rod with pliers. Still wont move.

So in general, I cannot open the front passengers door. The lock will not unlock, By key or inside handle pull.

Anyone else have this happen? if so how did you get to the problem and resolve it??

James K.
 

PaJames

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Milford Pa.18337
TDI
96 passat TDI wagon
correct, door wont unlock or open from either of the following.

1-key in the mentioned door , activating central system.
2-key in drivers door activating central system.
3-by trying to open said door from inside door handle.
4-By trying to open dooor while turning key or plling on inside door handle.

James K.
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
Don't you just love kids! I wonder what you're going to find in there.

I believe you can roll down the window? If so, some have had success using a "slim jim" or screwdriver to get whatever is jammed unjammed.
 

2004STARWARSTDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Location
LAKELAND, FL
TDI
2004 Platinum Gray GLS Jetta / 2006 Silver Jetta with DSG
door won't unlock

Did someone turn the kid lock for that door preventing it from being opened from the inside?:eek:
 

luceberg

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
UK
TDI
1996 Passat Estate
Have you tried pulling on the knob and operating the door handle at the same time?

If the knob wont move, then I think there is a tangle in the operating rods somehow.

You may need to take the lining off the door to see what is going on, which is quite a fiddly job.
 

PaJames

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Milford Pa.18337
TDI
96 passat TDI wagon
Measures taken so far..I have tried all posted in above posts. I even took off the black knob and grabbed the rod with a set of pliers. While trying both the door handels and turning the key. The rod WONT move.

The other problem is being the door wont open, it basically makes it impposible to get the interior door panel off. Being the rear screws are in the door jamb.

I might have to try the coat hanger from the outside of door. As posted in another post.

Will work on it today...One way or another its gonna open...TODAY! watch the smoke on the horizon...
 

undata

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Location
Gaithersburg, MD
TDI
1997 Passat TDI
This happened to me on Driver side

I know your problem is getting it open. Be as gentle as possible. I think you will find what I found when you get it open, the two large screws that (not) secure the lock mechanism have come loose.They merely have to be tightened down and the door handle and lock start working. Tell passengers to avoid slamming in the future.
 

trhaverstock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Location
Quincy, Illinois
TDI
1996 Passat TDI Windsor Blue
Mine is stuck too

What exactly did you shoot and how? I unfortunately don't have a gun.

My passenger front door is also now unlockable/unopenable from inside and out. I have scoured the threads here and not seen a successful response from anyone in the front door (back door seem easier though).

Is there any way to pound a metal yardstick or some such object in there with the window rolled down to pop up open?

-Todd:confused:
 

PaJames

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Milford Pa.18337
TDI
96 passat TDI wagon
Todd HK91, Only kidding..

Here is how I got the door open..

First I removed the pass. door EXTERIOR handle. To do this you must do the following. Open back passengers door. Get in and close the door 90% of the way. If you look through the pillar and door edge you can see the door retaining bolt/screw. I removed this, and it is a bit of a pain due to just a a$$ hair amount of room to work. Once the door handle was removed you can see the rods attaching to the door latch unit. The window must be UP for this. If you look through the small opening in the door you will see 2 levers to the left (looking through the large opening from the door handle outside of car.).. First try to open by pushing the inner lever down, it should move easily. IF the door still does not open try pulling up on the door lock knob and pushing the lever down again. If this also fails to open the door I ended up doing the following..

Return to house lock and load rifle...only kidding..

Go back to back seat and door open just enogh to see where mounting bolt was for exterior handle. If you look just below that you will see a black plastic cover. You will have to destroy it to get it off . I used a long small regular screw driver like a chisel to cut the plastic cover. Once the outter half is broken off and exposed you can start to work things over. If you look at the door latch assembly from between the doors (rear door partly open sitting outside of car). You will see the latch assembly that grabs the striker pin (gold color box) . now that the black plastic cover is off look at the top corner of the latch box, facing to the door skin. you will see a small 5.5MM nut, it might be loose. This nut is in a grove, push it up with a screwdriver (so it slides up towards the roof). While pushing this up have someone pull the inside door handle and push the door open.

Before you start this project do one thing..
Open your drivers door and remove the black plastic cover and look towards the outter side for the 5.5MM nut. This way you will be familiar with its location.

One other thing, the 5.5MM nut is reverse thread on the pass. side, so tight is left loose is right..

I will see if I can get some pics for others to see in kinda a how-to way.

This lever/nut is called a free travel adjustment bolt. picture a adjustable rocker arm. if there is too much play the valve wont open when rocker is depressed.
Good luck and let me know if ya need more info.

James K.
 

trhaverstock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Location
Quincy, Illinois
TDI
1996 Passat TDI Windsor Blue
James - thanks for the detailed workup! At this point, I wouldn't overlook shooting the lock off, hehe. I have been laid up with bad flu today and going to give this a shot tomorrow night after work. I'll get back with the results. Thanks again! -Todd '96 B4 Sedan 160k miles
 

trhaverstock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Location
Quincy, Illinois
TDI
1996 Passat TDI Windsor Blue
Yes!!! Thank You!!!

FIXED ONE PROBLEM, CREATED ANOTHER......

Ok, I finally got out tonight and followed James' directions by opening the back door and sneaking out that screw. BTW - it is reverse threaded like all the other components are. I got it out, popped the handle, and got the door open!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT TIP! I had the door open in 10 minutes! :)

What was wrong: :p
The problem was that the previous owner attempted some surgery (did a poor job) and did not line up hoses and wires properly and they were binding the inside handle. I've had this car for 5 years now. And on the outside handle, the ole pin had popped out so my first time repairing this I jammed the pin back in and put some JB Weld on it since I had that in a drawer. Voila - back in business!!! Thanks JAMES!!

What I broke and need HELP on::eek:
My driver's door handle now takes 3-4 pulls to open the door. I thought I would be clever and JBWeld the pin on that handle since I already had the tools out and had pulled the door panel to see how the wires and air hose should be properly routed. I found it had been epoxied probably by the previous owner and it was ok. I put it back in and now it takes 3-4 pulls to open the door. I removed and replaced it 4 times and can't figure out what I screwed up or destroyed. This B4 is a 1996 and has 155K miles. This looks like the original handle. Do I need a new handle or is there a clever adjustment to do? I ran out of mental steam to pursue this further tonight.

If anyone has further suggesions it would be most appreciated!

-Todd
1996 B4
 

trhaverstock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Location
Quincy, Illinois
TDI
1996 Passat TDI Windsor Blue
EBay for new door handle??

Ok, to fix my problem above I priced a new German door handle for the driver's side at $100+ at World Impex and found one on EBay at

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-P...016QQitemZ260171905829QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Should I steer away from this (Chinese junk like those phoney Hella fog lights that often pop up there for cheap and are junk) or do I not need a new handle and just need to make an adjustment?

Thanks! -Todd
 

trhaverstock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Location
Quincy, Illinois
TDI
1996 Passat TDI Windsor Blue
Fixed it - for future endeavors....

I got the idea off of another thread:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=168288&highlight=door+handle

and added an (approx) one inch long piece of 1/4" (90% confident on that size) fuel line onto the white plastic "hammer" that pushes down on the "stuff "that opens the door (see photos in the above URL). That solved my problem and made for a MUCH easier opening door via the outside handle!!! I even found some brand new plastic handle gaskets for the handle in a ziplock goodie bag of spare parts I got from the previous owner when I bought the car in 2004. Back in business baby! Thanks to all who provided help on this issue.
 

Hintertux

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Location
Fort Walton Beach, FL
TDI
2013 Beetle TDI DSG Candy White
I have a problem with my handle too, as a temp fix I swapped the rear door handle with the front one. Works fine as I have the keyless entry option. I found a door handle at partsmommy.com for $26.63 (free shipping for orders over $49.99) This ebay guy wants $13.66 shipping... I figure I get something cheap for $10 to cover the $50 for free shipping... I am thinking a new wiper switch and ignition switch. Puts me at $52.66
 

Herm TDI

Vendor
Joined
Nov 21, 2001
Location
Richmond, Maine...The far side of Witsend
TDI
2002 Golf GLS Malone Stage 3, P+520 nozzles, 11MM Inj pump, Sachs VR6 clutch, Stelth Race Pipe, Immo Deleat, EGR Deleat
Thanks for this write-up:
Today had the passenger-side f/door on my A-3 fail (inside/outside) to open.
With the help of this info I got the door open (removed the out-side door-latch).

A few words on the A-3:
The "screw" is a T-30 torx tip which is common R/H thread (righty-tighty)
 

nh nam vet

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Location
Raymond, NH
TDI
2- 97 Passats , 02 Jetta
Reviving an old thread with good information and a solution from PaJames.

I cheaply acquired a 1996 B4 GLS 137K ABA gasser with a broken timing belt. It is straight, complete, has 4 lug wheels with great tires and a good windshield to boot. To fix or convert to TDI? To be determined.

The problem: I can't get in the driver's door, from outside (butchered handle) or inside.

The PaJames solution: I opened the back driver's side door and got in. I then closed the door almost completely until I could eyesight the door handle screw. I then used a long (12" shaft) Phillips screwdriver to loosen the driver's door screw and removed the handle. Then I got lucky and got inside by using the inside door handle. I then installed a good working drivers door handle, with an 1 1/4" of rubber fuel line over the white activating plunger to guaranteed good contact on the inner door latch arm.

With the door now open, I located the 5.5 mm head free play adjustment bolt. It was way down in its travel limit; at the bottom actually. Using my 5.5 mm wrench (aka small needle nose Vise Grips) I loosened the 5.5 mm and positioned it upward in its travel slot with a very small screwdriver, and tightened the 5.5 mm bolt.

I actually got it wrong on the first try because the door would not close. After the second adjustment, bringing slightly down from the top of the travel limit, and then retightening, the door would both open and close easily, from the outside and inside.

Thanks, PaJames and all other forum members for keeping these B4's on the road. Jeff
 
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