2002 MK4 Front Door Wouldn't Open Door From Inside Or Outside

I have a 02 MK4 Jetta TDI and I couldn't get the drivers door open,and I tried everything I found online on forums, websites, youtube. Most places told me to bust the door card, take off the metal panel, and hit the lock with a hammer until it opened. I studied it for quite a while, and finally took the back door off, and used a high speed air saw to cut though the latch that was deadlocked, and the door opened right up. With the door open I did not have the damage the door card, and was able to replace the actuator with a new OEM VW one. The latch was beyond repair in my opinion. If I did it again I would use tape to protect the paint since I put a small scratch in it. I made a video of what I did and uploaded it to youtube. Hope if you cant get your door open no matter what you've tried as a last resort this may help. Any thoughts please let me know!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWIWLc8i3t4&t=7s

dockter75,

Excellent job on figuring out a way to get the door open with out destroying the door panel. Thanks for making the video and posting the link.

Eric

Nice video! Congrats on thinking outside the box!

Thanks for the reply's! I hope this helps some people that have the same problem. I really studied that door actuator it seemed like a total waste to destroy a perfectly good door panel.

Pure genius, seriously!

But what amazes me more is the tool organization as seen from 3:56-3:59.

About the tool organization let me explain. The weather quickly turned form 40 above F to like -30 F and I had to get the car inside to work on it I got caught off guard. I had to really quickly make room in the shop. I never planed on doing a how to video but when it worked I wanted to share it with the community that has helped me many times before.

I mean no offense. I love to see real people, posting real clips in their real time enviroment. Leave the fake/staged stuff for TV.

And like mentioned before, great "thinking outside the box!"

None taken! Hope it helps other members that's the main thing. Now on to putting the tools away