Opening the trunk of a mk4 without a battery

Is there any way to open the trunk of a mk4 (Jetta or Golf) without a battery, in the case of a junkyard, or do I have to have a battery connected, so I can use the switch on the driver's side door? Of course, keys are not an option in this case.

that is a very good question. with my mk6 wagen it only has electric opening. I know in cars an emergency release inside was mandatory. is there a passthrough from the inside? could take the back seat out

Lay down rear seat. Should be a handle, depending on year of vehicle. No handle, you would have to remove covering to gain access to actuator.

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The wagon rear hatch has a screw in the panel. Remove the screw and pull until the panel comes off. You can physically move the latch release to open it.
I think the sedan might work the same way.

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Pick the lock. Not difficult to do. Also no junkyard I have ever heard of leaves things locked. They always leave stuff open and unlocked
Just crawl thoigh the back seat

I’ve had to crawl through the back seat, after someone closed a trunk in the yard, and easily pop the truck with a screwdriver to manually move the latch mechanism. Easiest way I know to do it.


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NWFDUB said:

Lay down rear seat. Should be a handle, depending on year of vehicle. No handle, you would have to remove covering to gain access to actuator.

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^^^^This! There is a lever on the truck lid IIRC, very obvious.

The newer one's have a safety release, I'm not sure when the switch was, but older cars don't have it. (I know '04's have it and '00's don't)



Otherwise you would have to remove the (bazillion) screws that hold the cover on. With that out of the way, you just manipulate the latch. If you don't care about the cover, I would take a saw or something to cut a hole in the cover, it's pretty rigid, not sure if a regular knife "will cut it"...



The wagon only has a couple of screws inside the hand holds and all the plastic clips. IIRC the Golf is similar.

On my 99 mk4, there was a linkage hooked up to the lock tumbler. 1/4 turn would click a switch to operate the solenoid, 1/2 turn would pull on the linkage and pop the latch.

My car was not originally equipped with a child escape handle, but I added it later when I replaced the trunk lid.

-J

My 06 does not have a release inside the hatch area.


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pkhoury said:

Is there any way to open the trunk of a mk4 (Jetta or Golf) without a battery, in the case of a junkyard, or do I have to have a battery connected, so I can use the switch on the driver's side door? Of course, keys are not an option in this case.

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Opening either from the outside is tricky, and "picking" the lock may provide hours of frustration.

Federal mandate on emergency trunk release:

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...hicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release

Jetta: All cars with trunks were required to have an internal emergency release starting Sept 1, 2001. If the Jetta was built after this date, there should be a glow in the dark emergency release on the inside of the trunk wall. Having spent lots of time at salvage yards, the relationship between the build date and emergency release is not always exact. Access to the handle would be by lowering the rear seats and climbing through. If there is no emergency release, the felt covered panel needs to be removed to access the lock mechanism. IIRC there are 12 tiny phillips screws (each recessed and covered in felt).

Here's a not so great DIY:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techar...placement/47-BODY-Trunk_Latch_Replacement.htm

Golf: Since the Golf does not have a "trunk" per the NHTSA, the MkIV does not have an interior emergency handle. The Golf hatch mechanism is easier to access than the Jetta, and again requires lowering the rear seats and climbing through. The hard plastic cover needs to be removed, and then pop the mech open. BMAC is a British VW guy who has lots of good DIY videos:

How to Open Broken Trunk Lock on a VW Golf 99-06 Simple, Easy, Steps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv0kST3OzrY

Salvage Yards:

If you are at a pick-a-part, check all the nooks and crannies for a key. Although some large yards (LKQ) attempt to collect keys and zip tie them to the steering wheel, they aren't always available (or bad customers hide/take them). The key might get you into the trunk.

Many good salvage yards have batteries available for you to use to test components. Many of the west coast yards have wheel barrows with battery ready to go for customers checking electrics or lights, etc.

Some yards may have no system for storing keys, don't leave the keys with the car, or they don't want you to attach a battery- and I've been to many yards where it's not uncommon to find the occasional locked car. In this case see the attendant, climb through, and open from the inside.

hskrdu said:

All cars with trunks were required to have an internal emergency release starting Sept 1, 2001. If the Jetta was built after this date, there should be a glow in the dark emergency release on the inside of the trunk wall.

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On my '02 Jetta Sedan, the emergency release handle is on the trunk lid itself, on the driver's side, as shown in the following pic:

https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techa...runk_Latch_Replacement/images_small/pic01.jpg

Looks like you'd press down (toward floor of car) to trigger the release.

hskrdu said:

Opening either from the outside is tricky, and "picking" the lock may provide hours of frustration.

Federal mandate on emergency trunk release:

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...hicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release

Jetta: All cars with trunks were required to have an internal emergency release starting Sept 1, 2001. If the Jetta was built after this date, there should be a glow in the dark emergency release on the inside of the trunk wall. Having spent lots of time at salvage yards, the relationship between the build date and emergency release is not always exact. Access to the handle would be by lowering the rear seats and climbing through. If there is no emergency release, the felt covered panel needs to be removed to access the lock mechanism. IIRC there are 12 tiny phillips screws (each recessed and covered in felt).

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As with many things on the MK4, VW did a mid year improvement update. I am going to guess it would be January 2002 build and later had the release. That means some of the 2001s had them.

Mongler98 said:

Pick the lock. Not difficult to do. Also no junkyard I have ever heard of leaves things locked. They always leave stuff open and unlocked
Just crawl thoigh the back seat

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Why don't you make a DIY sticky?

jokila said:

Why don't you make a DIY sticky?

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Because youtube like lock picking lawyer exists a d I dont have time to wipe my own behind atm lol

I bring in a small 12 V battery with 2 small alligator clips- hook them up to the terminals and presto!

Btw, I hardly doubt you can pick trunk lock unless your a professional thief or a lock smith


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you would be surprised at how easy it is with a few hours of practice to get the feel for sets, false sets, and binding, virtually all locks operate the same way, with pins, they can all be picked, even the best out there have been picked and overcome. there is not one lock with pins that has not been picked.
also

Mongler98 said:

you would be surprised at how easy it is with a few hours of practice to get the feel for sets, false sets, and binding, virtually all locks operate the same way, with pins, they can all be picked, even the best out there have been picked and overcome. there is not one lock with pins that has not been picked.
also

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The Bowley lock has not been picked. It's a brilliant design even LPL can't open. You should look it up on YouTube when you have a free moment.

I would guess the number of folks who can pick a laser cut key cylinder are pretty low.



I'm certainly not going to learn how for trips to the junkyard.



A battery sawsall or 4" grinder would be all the "key" you need for anything at the junkyard, if there is no other way.

ToxicDoc said:

The Bowley lock has not been picked. It's a brilliant design even LPL can't open. You should look it up on YouTube when you have a free moment.

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Maybe you should be the one to look stuff up before you say anything.
Actually yes it has. Had to make curved pickes. It was done a while ago. 2 years ago actually
https://youtu.be/X04qgD0hOXk
10:28 it gets picked.

I follow lock picking as a hobby and can say with 100% confidence that there is no lock on the face of this earth that has a mechanical key that has not been defeated with picks.
Now electric coded chip keys or RFID keys are impossible. For now lol. There are ways around everything. I can defeat a rfid lock with 35mm film. As long as the door jam is your typical door jam.

Mongler98 said:

Maybe you should be the one to look stuff up before you say anything.
Actually yes it has. Had to make curved pickes. It was done a while ago. 2 years ago actually
https://youtu.be/X04qgD0hOXk
10:28 it gets picked.

I follow lock picking as a hobby and can say with 100% confidence that there is no lock on the face of this earth that has a mechanical key that has not been defeated with picks.
Now electric coded chip keys or RFID keys are impossible. For now lol. There are ways around everything. I can defeat a rfid lock with 35mm film. As long as the door jam is your typical door jam.

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That guy knew what the key pins were and simply made a modular duplicate key for it. I'm not impressed

ToxicDoc said:

That guy knew what the key pins were and simply made a modular duplicate key for it. I'm not impressed

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That just speeds up the picking process. It could be done blind and this proves it. Not sure what you want here other than to not be wrong

Mongler98 said:

That just speeds up the picking process. It could be done blind and this proves it. Not sure what you want here other than to not be wrong

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I want the picker to feel pin binding or moving. Otherwise all he did was make another key. I can do the same he did. That's what I want. I want to see skill in play.