it's always something: door latch

Somehow the door handle mechanism (both inside and out) and the locking
mechanism seem to have become detached from the actual door latch in my 92
GTI. The inside door opening lever just hangs limply; likewise the
outside one does nothing. Any suggestion for how to get the door open?

Tobin

In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, Tobin Fricke wrote:

>Somehow the door handle mechanism (both inside and out) and the locking
>mechanism seem to have become detached from the actual door latch in my 92
>GTI. The inside door opening lever just hangs limply; likewise the
>outside one does nothing. Any suggestion for how to get the door open?

If you have time before the people who will know more precisely come
by, you might consider getting the interior door panel off. I feel
confident that the solution will start there.

You may need to remove the door card in order to repair whatever became
loose or broken. I suggest that you get a Bentley service manual for your
particular car before doing anything.

> Somehow the door handle mechanism (both inside and out) and the locking
> mechanism seem to have become detached from the actual door latch in my 92
> GTI. The inside door opening lever just hangs limply; likewise the
> outside one does nothing. Any suggestion for how to get the door open?

Sounds like the linkage has come disengaged. Probably from someone trying
to use a 'slim jim' to open it. Look for scrapes around the bottom edge of
the window. Then it's a matter of taking off the door's interior panel and
fixing the linkage. The panels come off easily, there's usually three
screws holding the armrest. The rest are just clips that can be carefully
pulled out. Get a Bentley or Haynes manual to learn more.

On Sun, 7 Aug 2005, wkearney99 wrote:

> Sounds like the linkage has come disengaged. Probably from someone
> trying to use a 'slim jim' to open it. Look for scrapes around the
> bottom edge of the window. Then it's a matter of taking off the door's
> interior panel and fixing the linkage. The panels come off easily,
> there's usually three screws holding the armrest. The rest are just
> clips that can be carefully pulled out. Get a Bentley or Haynes manual
> to learn more.

Yes, that's exactly what happened. In fact, it was a locksmith doing the
slimjiming--I'd lost the key (since found)!

Removing the interior door panel seems slightly complicated by the door
being struck in the closed position. The screws holding the trim to the
door frame are sort of in the door jam, which makes them impossible to get
to with a normal screwdriver. I have to find a right-angled screwdriver
or something.

Tobin

> Yes, that's exactly what happened. In fact, it was a locksmith doing the
> slimjiming--I'd lost the key (since found)!

Sounds like that locksmith out to be paying to have the door opened since
they broke the linkage.