[Lnzbug]

Hi all ! I'm new to this site and i'm not a mechanic, just a bug owner. My 2001 1.8t has had a stroke. It doesn't sense when the right door is open. I don't know where to look for the button? or wire that senses when the door is open. The interior light doesn't go on and the alarm will reset itself even if the door is wide open !!Next problem is my turbo, There isn't any!!!When I reach 3000 rpm it's like someone pulled the plug on my bug!!. The dealer wants $130 just to look at it .What can I do? My husband would try but he has no knowledge of turbos and we don't have a repair book. Any ideas on either problem?

 

[woj1978]

I have the same door problem, but with the driver's door. Not sure what the problem is, haven't really asked the dealership to look at it since it's probably another expensive fix.

 

[NBTurboFreak]

My just started to act up also on the driver side.

 

[woj1978]

Problem found (I think)

This problem has been irritating me mainly because the car doesn't know when my driver's door is open. If I don't start the car within 30 sec. of getting in, it re-locks and the alarm goes back on, the interior lights don't come on when I open the door, and the biggest problem (for me anyway) is that the chime for the lights being left on doesn't sound when I get out of the car and leave them on (by accident). Just last week, I had the lights on during the day (it was raining) and I forgot to turn them off when I got out. Luckily, I was just going to the gym, and the 1 1/2 with the lights on didn't kill the battery.

Anyway, found some info on vwvortex.com (links below) relating to this problem. I'm going to try to fix it the cheap way (myself, and replacing only the switch, not the whole lock module). Check out the links, there are some REALLY good explanations, write-ups, and step by step details on how to fix it (if you want to do it yourself). I don't have time to work on mine until next week, so I'll let you know how it worked once I'm finished.

(P.S. the links all say Golf/Jetta/GTI, but it's the same parts on the NB as well.)

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1542461
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1015107
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1835863

 

[Lnzbug]

Thanks for the links.I'll have the hubby check them out. It's my passenger door so I can live this way until he can get to it.I thought it would be a button or something easy like the old cars I'm used to driving. Thanx again for the help.

Ellen

 

[Smileybug]

This problem has been irritating me mainly because the car doesn't know when my driver's door is open. If I don't start the car within 30 sec. of getting in, it re-locks and the alarm goes back on, the interior lights don't come on when I open the door, and the biggest problem (for me anyway) is that the chime for the lights being left on doesn't sound when I get out of the car and leave them on (by accident).

I had the exact same problem with my car. Seems to be a very widespread issue but most I've heard of them happening with are the '98 and '99 models. My issue was the microswitch. Same exact symptoms. It was intermittently doing that for a while before it became constant and I couldnt deal with it anymore. I took it to the dealership to get it fixed. Cost me $450 to get the microswitch replaced. The thing about it is that it isnt just the switch...its a huge chunk of the door assembly and many people that are do-it-yourselfers on Vortex reccommended that I get it done at the dealership just because of how much of a pain it is. Good luck!

By the way, the $450 was worth it...no issue since and my drivers side door lock is much quieter and smoother.

Oh and as far as the passenger side door goes, I thought that only opening the drivers side door prevented the lock from re-engaging if opened in 30 sec, not the passenger as well. I freaked out cuz I thought my passenger side microswitch was going for the same reason but my boyfriend told me that thats how the locks work and my owners manual says that opening the drivers side door will keep the alarm off. It doesnt say anything about the passenger side. But the lights not working and such indicate a microswitch issue I believe.

Good luck to everyone dealing with this!

 

[woj1978]

Success!!!

The fix in the links I posted above worked perfectly. Everything is fixed and functioning properly. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish. For the average DIY'er, it's probably a medium difficulty repair. I personally have done much more complicated repairs than this (though not on a VW). Besides the labor I put into the repair, the total cost of parts was under $15. (The switch was about $3. The rest of the cost was a soldering iron and solder.)

In my opinion, it was well worth doing the repair myself and saving several hundred dollars. The stealership quoted me a repair cost of $400-$450. (That was replacing the entire lock module, which is functioning fine except for the switch.)

 

[munkittrick]

The fix in the links I posted above worked perfectly. Everything is fixed and functioning properly. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish. For the average DIY'er, it's probably a medium difficulty repair. I personally have done much more complicated repairs than this (though not on a VW). Besides the labor I put into the repair, the total cost of parts was under $15. (The switch was about $3. The rest of the cost was a soldering iron and solder.)

In my opinion, it was well worth doing the repair myself and saving several hundred dollars. The stealership quoted me a repair cost of $400-$450. (That was replacing the entire lock module, which is functioning fine except for the switch.)

I realize this post is ages old, but did you fix yours with the replacement part or with the soldering patch? I'm tempted to buy a new piece, but if it's just loose solder, I'm pretty handy in that respect.

Thanks!

 

[red99]

The problem with the door latches is most often just bad solder joints. I fixed mine several years ago now and it has been fine every since. Here is a DIY I put together:

http://newbeetle.org/forums/questio...ms-new-beetle/59654-door-latch-resources.html

 

[harleydave]

I realize this post is ages old, but did you fix yours with the replacement part or with the soldering patch? I'm tempted to buy a new piece, but if it's just loose solder, I'm pretty handy in that respect.

Thanks!

yeah, you might want to source someone else for that answer. woj1978's last post was March 2009, he might have moved on.