Jetta Trunk/Gas Door Interior switches only work with driver's door open

Hello all,

I'm a new owner of a 2006 TDI and so far it's been a bumpy ride (financially speaking).

I bought the car out of state from a small dealer who got it from VW Credit. Long story short, I got the car with only one key...a valet key. He recommended I buy the remote keys/fobs from EBay and have the dealer cut them. Well, after doing so, the dealer told me they wont cut the keys...claiming that the EBay keys "break out key cutter bits" because they were steel (and not brass). Calling another Atlanta-area dealer, I told them I had BRASS keys but they wouldn't cut them because "the brass keys ruin our bits because they're not steel". Okay, I'm sensing a scam here.

So I find a local locksmith who charges me $75 to cut the keys, then go to my VW Stealership who charges me $120 to tell me the keys "wont program because the transponder chips wont communicate with our computer". I'm then faced with the choice of dealing w/ the EBay key seller and trying it again (risking yet another $120) or buying them from the dealer ($100 for the two blanks to put on my FOB's). yep, paid the stealer the $100 and another $120 for the second visit to get those programmed. Geez, I'm waking up in a cold sweat at night with nightmares of still paying for keys.

My NEW problem is my interior gas door and trunk release switches only work when the driver's side door is CLOSED. If the door is OPEN, they dont work. So my wife, who consistently forgets to pop the gas door on her new car, has to get BACK INSIDE the car, close the door, pull the remote gas switch, then get back out to pump the gas.

Is this a result of the programming done by the VW Stealership to program the keys?

Someone please tell me I don't have to go.....back......there.......

BTW, after my second trip to the stealer to get the keys programmed, the mechanic said that he hears a "clankity clank" after the engine shuts down. He mentioned something about the DSG Dual Mass flywheel. They wanted $100 to "check it out". I declined and had my own mechanic look at it. It appears that the sound is from the DMF and, based on our research, COULD mean I may be facing having to replace THAT in the future. There are no other signs of failure...no "pebbles in the engine" sounds or hard shifting, etc. But this was definitely "insult to injury" after the key fiasco (which cost me about $600).

Someone also please tell me that I have not bought into a vehicle that is a money pit. Please?

(I have done an oil change and use the oil change kit from World Impex. We dont hear any camshaft "slap" so hopefully we can dodge that bullet). Sheesh.

Any suggestions on the remote release deal?

Great forum, and I appreciate all the great info I have already gleaned here. Thanks to all.

Dave

Get the car to a GURU now. VCDS could have taken care of the key issue and all GURUs will have it.
Yes, you need a new DMF. (GURU, now)

click here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044


Bill

Thanks Bill. Ever heard of the remote release issue? Is that something that needs to be reprogrammed? If the dealer screwed it up, they should fix it...

Doesn't your car have a warranty? I should think that ALL of this should be covered...
...unless you bought it "as is"...

As for the fuel/trunk release...possibly broken wires between the door and the door frame...

no warranty...it was used and "as is".

I wouldnt think wires would be the problem. The trunk and fuel door release switches work fine as long as the door is closed.

There are several wires that run through the rubber bellows between the door and the A-pillar.
There are some recent threads on it and yes, they involve the fuel door and trunk release. The bellows has a hidden release catch.


Here is one thread:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=276816&highlight=wires+broken


Bill

As stated above check the wiring loom from A pillar to door for your trunk/gas door release problem.

Daveinater said:

no warranty...it was used and "as is".

I wouldnt think wires would be the problem. The trunk and fuel door release switches work fine as long as the door is closed.

Click to expand...

Your initial post said they only work when the door is OPEN. Which is it?

Erratic behavior of said door switches is possibly symptomatic of a partially broken wire, which is not uncommon for this vehicle.

sorry for the confusion....been a long labor day weekend and too many hours in the sun.

The switches only work when the door is CLOSED. My wife has to get in the car, close the door, activate the fuel door switch, then get back out and pump gas. (I have edited my post to correct now)

I will check the wires.

Thanks again,

Dave

UPDATE:

Based on 40X40 and D-Cell's suggestion, I looked at the wires going into the door. All looked fine but after looking further toward the door, I found a large thick orange wire in the harness that was just about totally broken. When I moved it, the "warning light" on the bottom of the door lit up and I was able to open the trunk and fuel door with the door open....the problem was found!

Now, soldering and shrink-wrapping the wire was painful, but I made a small jumper (extension) wire and used vice grips to gently grip the shortest wire (going into the door) while also holding the boot back.

Speaking of the boot, thanks to the instructions on this forum, I was able to pull the boot back from the pillar side by using needle nose pliers and grabbing the "knob" via it's top side and putting the other side of the pliers into the "crease" under the knob. I squeezed and tilted the pliers upward and the boot came right off the pillar. I just pushed the door side into the door which worked fine. Getting it back out and the door in the groove of the boot took a lot more time and patience but it's doable. The boot is firmly in place and the light and remote trunk/fuel cap releases now work fine.

Interesting how nothing else electrical in the door was affected...just the bottom light and the trunk/fuel door release (only affected when door is open---when door was closed, they worked fine).

Thanks to all for the spot-on advice.

I have spoken to my local Guru once (we both happen to work for Delta here in Atlanta...small world) and when we can get together, I will have him listen to the "clankity clank" noise on shutdown. Based on what I've read, this is a precursor and I need to pay attention for further signs of degradation of the DMF. So far, the best deal I've found on the DMF is about $550.00. I'm going to keep my eye out for anything better but that seems like a good deal in comparison to other prices I've found.

Thanks again!

May consider removing the valve cover to inspect the camshaft sometime in the near future also.

Had Roger, my local guru, look at and drive the car tonight. Great guy and no appearance of camshaft issues. Will probably change the timing belt/water pump even tho the seller told me it had been done (dealer, and no proof).

Roger in the So. Atlanta area is a great guy and very knowledgeable. This guru deal is a really cool thing. I'm just a bit confused about why he isnt living up in the fog on a mountain top? Plus, he seems a little young and doesnt have a long white beard.

Oh well, he knows his stuff!

Thanks all.