Drivers side door wont lock...need help asap!

**sCeRaXn** · 09-02-2008 08:42 AM

So yesterday i took my girl and her friend out to get some grub. We left he house and stopped at the store, and both doors passenger side doors were working fine. Got to the restaurant and neither one of them would open from the inside. So when i got home i took them apart to find that both of the cables had popped off of the door handle for some reason. So i put them back on and safety wired them so that it wouldnt happen again.

I was happy with my success, until i locked the car so i could go back in the house. As soon as i pressed the lock button i heard a weird clunking sound coming from the drivers door. It turns out that the lock knob and arm fell down into the door. So i took the door apart and put it back together. When i tried to lock it again, the knob went down an 1/8th" or so and came back up...but all other doors were locked and the alarm lights were on. I was hoping that it was just the knob, but it turns out that it wont lock at all. I cant even manually lock it by pressing down on the knob.

Im assuming that the locking mechanism is fubar'd, but i thought id check here to see if anyone has had this problem before. I really need a working lock because my job takes me to some shady places, and i wont be comfortable leaving it at most of them. The CRX is down right now getting turned into a full time racecar, and the Bronco gets 9mpg so i hate driving it lol. Thanks in advance.

**highPSI-S4** · 09-02-2008 08:47 AM

From my experience you can't push the lock down on the drivers side to lock the door. it must be done using the key.you can only press the knob on the other locks. Just use the key to lock it.

And if it doesn't lock when you press the button on the remote and the knob goes down and comes back up, something in the door isn't right.

**sCeRaXn** · 09-02-2008 09:06 AM

It wont lock using the key either. When i had the door apart i looked to see if anything was keeping the arm and knob from going up and down, but nothing was blocking it. Its almost like the lock is jammed or something.

This is a stupid question, but what year a4 has the same locks as the s4? Im gonna try to find the part somewhere other than the dealership, because $190 is absolutely retarded for a lock lol

Thanks for the help man.

**aurora1** · 09-02-2008 11:14 AM

I have the same issue. My lock broke and I have not been able to lock my car for the past month. The dealer didn't even quote me a price. They said I would have to bring the car in and pay 100 for them to look what was wrong then quote me.

**sCeRaXn** · 09-02-2008 01:29 PM

Yea man Audi dealers really arent the easiest to work with. Everyone in my general area pretty much sucks ass. They still havent figured out what part ill need to fix my window. They said theyd have to "cross reference" some things to find out. I dont understand why they dont just go look at the parts to see which one i need.

**Rajan147** · 09-02-2008 02:49 PM

i remember reading about this when i had a passat, it might help diagnose, seeing especially since the passat was a B5

http://www.taligentx.com/passat/main...lockmechanism/

**aurora1** · 09-02-2008 03:44 PM

Seriously, the dealers do suck. Thanks for the link, I was thinking of having my door handles shaved.

**sCeRaXn** · 09-02-2008 07:19 PM

Thanks for the link man. That door shell and inner panel look completely different than mine, but the window and lock look basically the same. Im sure that will come in handy one of these days. Fortunately, i dont have to use it now because my lock just decided to start working again. I dont know how, but im not gonna complain lol.

This is actually the second time that this car has fixed itsself. The first time was when the secondary water pump sprung a huge leak after the car had sat on the jackstands for a month or so. When i first started the car it leaked out close to a half a gallon of coolant. I cut it off and looked around then decided to start it again to see if i could pinpoint the leak, but it hasnt leaked once since then.

**Rajan147** · 09-02-2008 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by sCeRaXn

Thanks for the link man. That door shell and inner panel look completely different than mine, but the window and lock look basically the same. Im sure that will come in handy one of these days. Fortunately, i dont have to use it now because my lock just decided to start working again. I dont know how, but im not gonna complain lol.

This is actually the second time that this car has fixed itsself. The first time was when the secondary water pump sprung a huge leak after the car had sat on the jackstands for a month or so. When i first started the car it leaked out close to a half a gallon of coolant. I cut it off and looked around then decided to start it again to see if i could pinpoint the leak, but it hasnt leaked once since then.

no problem, the guts of these vw/audi are pretty close so, if anything its at least a starting point.

**sCeRaXn** · 09-03-2008 04:19 PM

Well my locks are still working, but my sunroof decided to shit the bed today. I swear man, its one thing after another with this car. Its starting to get really old. I dont mind spending a little money and time on it on occasion, but averaging $550/month over the past 5 months just on repairs is getting insane lol.