Trying to FIX a VW Golf MK5 DOOR NOT LOCKING

Hi, in this video me and my brother Paul attempt to fix his VW Golf MK5 2008 1.6 FSI. The fault is that the rear door is not locking. This door has had very little use as the car is low mileage for the year.
We are NOT mechanics, but we do like to attempt repairs ourselves. Especially on older cars where it might not be financially viable to get a professional garage to repair the vehicle.
If you would like to support these videos, please click here / mymatevince
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[@Mymatevince]

Spoiler Saver + Riddle Question: What has 1 eye but cannot see?

[@crazymolemusic]

Potato

[@crazymolemusic]

Types of clouds

[@crazymolemusic]

And a needle

[@CLC-1000]

Needle

[@robbieaussievic]

..... A near sighted Cyclops.

[@jondough76]

I am not a mechanic by any means, but I have done my fair share of working on cars. I have never seen a car door that has a removable exterior panel. I learn something new every day!

[@lesrogers7310]

I've done my fair share of working on cars and i thought the exact same thing!

[@jeremy3998]

Same here. I have worked on loads of cars new and old but no VW's. I have never seen an outer door skin that just unbolts. Recently I had to fix the central locking unit in the door on a friend's Hyundai and it was like performing keyhole surgery.

[@garrettparmenter938]

As someone who owned a mkiv golf... this is a better solution. Plastic panel fasteners absolutely suck!

[@jondough76]

@@garrettparmenter938 Agreed! Those things can be a freaking nightmare!

[@fulf]

Its just one donwside. I think they used 3 different length of bolts. If i remeber correct its onley mk5 that the door skin removabel.

[@arunrameshmaroli]

Who all wants a dedicated automobile diy channel from Vince called Vince fix

[@lordjaashin]

nah. i don't want such channel

[@gifhornking]

The module in the window regulator is the door control unit. It’s just integrated into the window regulator to keep the assembly process of the door simpler. The electronic modules in the MK5 Golf are pretty simple and easy to diagnose. Get a cheap 20€ knockoff vw scan tool, those save a lot of time and are able to diagnose a faulty or non-communicating door control unit. And: The side-airbags are integrated into the b-pillar. Greetings from Wolfsburg, Germany ✌️

[@finlaymclellan8754]

I remember my Mark 1 Fiesta. You could almost take the whole car apart with a Phillips screwdriver and a half inch spanner!

[@Cyclops1980]

It finaly happened guys, Vince has grown a second pair of hands :-)

[@Random_4400]

Lol

[@raymoorhead3783]

I think you do yourself an injustice Vince, we watch your video's for the entire faultfinding experience and you didn't make a mistake in my opinion you learned how a door mechanism functions. Thanks for another great video.

[@bigm8738]

Wow this is just fantastic not only did you take the time to fault find but you made the huge effort to film it and edit it and then post it a big huge thankyou 👍

[@doslover]

That bit with the cardboard and the placement of the bolts was brilliant, I may have to try that.

[@MrTarmonbarry]

That is a thing that has been around quite a while , lots of different scenarios, with head bolts and camshaft bolts , camshaft push rods and other engine related parts to keep them matched up . Its a fail safe that even experienced mechanics use

[@doslover]

I believe it, I have worked with none of those things so it's new to me :D

[@MrTarmonbarry]

@@doslover I used to work on bikes and cars , the reason for keeping the parts like that is because they have worn to each other , think of it like disc pads and the disc, they all wear different on each wheel so you keep them matched to each other ,

[@cocothepoopcatdog6351]

this was great, and outside of your normal content, which I appreciate. I know my voice is only one out of your nearly 5k subs, but thank you for this, it was entertaining and informative.

[@mikethedigitaldoctorjarvis]

Good job Vince !....who here remembers when cars were easier to work on !?

[@jansdavies117]

Replaced one of these door locks on my car, very much in a 'trying to fix' mentality. Great video 👍🏼

[@mohammedayaz6144]

Hi , I am very impressed the way you explained everything bit by bit and it was very helpful, I have taken my car to four different mechanics but no one could figure out the problem because short circuit in in module my car 🚘 was draining the battery overnight, then I saw this video on KZbin and changed the window actuator with module and problem was solved, I am very thankful to you for saving lots of hassle.

[@adrianhollidge2286]

Very thorough, informative video. Thanks for taking the time. I'll be looking at my rear door lock issues in the morning.

[@iangreaves5457]

Your pain is most definitely my gain. My daughter’s VW golf has faulty lock. Just waiting for 4-square socket to take it off. Without your video I would have struggled to get this far and.would have little idea of what to look for in the electronics. Thank you. Ian.

[@StezStixFix]

I can feel your pain on this one, getting those door skins and cards off is not a fun job! Excellent diagnosis as always though, and I'm certain it will help others out with the same problem! 👍

[@Mymatevince]

Not fun at all Steve. Luckily it all worked out in the end, just took the scenic route 😂👍👍

[@clickireland1113]

Video has great value mate. Saves us all ages of time and really shows A. How to take door skins off and B (not being smart) To check first tings first. Overall a video to save for many reasons and honestly we all get a pass on having to do all you have done. You've added a saturday to everyone's life who watches this with the same head scratch. And all Mk5's seem to give this head scratch. Cheers

[@mickyroo25]

Vince make sure you repaint any of the bolts that hold the door skin on if the paint is scraped off as they rust like there’s no tomorrow after removing them skins

[@MrBuck295]

I love all your trying to fix videos heck I would even watch you trying to fix a cup of tea and no tools needed

[@nathanmead6121]

Fair play mate, fantastic video really helped me out a lot! Great detail and work has gone into this video. Thanks again!

[@alainn.3556]

Super fault isolation procedure. Well done gents !

[@sihaynes]

I’m a mechanic, I know how fiddly these can be! Enjoyed this Vince 🙂

[@haraialaremus3353]

If you were used VCDS (comunication error with module) or just look at door wiring diagram, you probably find the faulty module in less than 5 minute. But it is interesting how you test all the possible points where the problem can be. Very nice video.

[@tuliturazvan7880]

Ty for this video.... I am starting to get locking problems with my Mk5.... Specially after some raining days.... Relly helpfull and specific

[@colinfielder6695]

Love the video. Just think of the time you've saved the rest of us! Cheers Vince

[@TheJohnSolid]

Thanks so much for this video, I succesfully diagnosed the right control unit of my mates golf 5 because of it! Didn´t have to bother with the outer shell either. Liked and subscribed!

[@anton005]

Thanks for this, I have the exact problem on mine, I was wondering if the left module would work on the right side to test it, now I can try that to verify a bad one. Lots of useful info in this video 😃

[@curlykipper]

A great tutorial on the door actuator which is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@danielp9721]

i never thought vw door skins come off like this you learn something everyday thumbs up

[@mattbrooks7873]

I cant believe you didnt mention the fact that after pulling the door and the lock to pieces that it turn out to be the issue. I diligently followed your video step by step pulling the car apart as i watched step by step. Grrrrrrr

[@DarkRequiemFilms]

This was an interesting video to watch. I myself have had a window in my car that stopped working a few months ago. I never use that window so I never bothered to check if its door was locking correctly. I'll have to check that.

[@MikeL-FL]

I've been working on cars for 25 years and I have never seen a door come apart like that. Normally for access to the lock you just pull the interior door card.

[@Matt463634]

The Golf mk5 was overkill in engineering, I think it was during the Martin Winterkorn era so not really surprising. I read somewhere that the build time for one car of the mk5 golf was 3x longer than the equivalent size car from other brands, say a Focus for example. Bloody nuts.

[@WaffleClap]

I have this same car, just left-hand drive version. Great tips in case I need to work on mine in the future :D

[@danielmoasa5734]

have the same problem with passenger door and i was thinking about the look as well , but the window is not working only from driver door , but now i know where to look 1st and test , cheers pal

[@davidsmith-ih2kk]

Well one major thing I learnt from this video is the doors have a detachable front skin and a detachable inside plastic skin To be honest I have never seen this before but it makes sense all the electrics that need to go into a car door its much easier if the front skin separates but it's a major find for me a fantastic video from which I learnt many things about locking and window winder mechanisms on a VW at least but I'm sure if VW are doing it other manufactures probably do the same Once again a very interesting and informative video well presented

[@leegoderz83]

Very different ! Great video my friend Made my day 😁👍👍

[@HavingFunRepairs]

Made the mistake once putting the door bolts back in the wrong place (different sizes). Especially on my MKV/MK5 VW Jetta. That is a very common fail item, done a few myself. The door switches (windows & locks) are also a common fail. Typically the solder joints go bad on their small PCBs. This past year I ended up just replacing everything. Still love my MKV/MK5 though. A very reliable vehicle.

[@Mymatevince]

Yeah, I think there were 3 different sizes on the door bolts! Interesting to know the failures are not just on the VW Golf. Apart from the door issues, that car has been very reliable. Cheers Shawn 👍👍

[@markhanneman2146]

Great video thanks, it shows how to test the micro switches etc.

[@KorAllRBare]

Years ago a circuit had several transistors, resistors and capacitors placed on a PCB making up an entire product or component costing around $25, and not long after that an IC replaced umpteen transistors resistors and capacitors all in one package to make up a component doing a crap ton more stuff and yet still costing around $25, and here we are today with modules made up of several IC's and their supporting components and well the cost is still around $25 bucks.. Just goes to show how we have progressed.. APU I dropped a Like their mate..

[@luisnozes2341]

Thank you. Lots of details.

[@JamieWilliamsJamminJamie]

Fair play Vince you are not scared to try and attack any job are you

[@xtcylover]

love ur content keep up the good work

[@mrjsv4935]

Nice fix, brought Ivan at Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics channel in my mind as he too often tries to repair cars with "no parts required" -method, aka. trying to fix the root cause instead of just replacing expensive parts :D

[@m4cdemos]

Brilliant. Very watchable, with a lovely approach and presentation. Exactly our symptoms, so huge thanks.

[@calzonemoto4651]

I enjoyed it. I have an Audi A4 and now if I run into this issue I know what to do!

[@vibxz3141]

Nice one mate same issues same car and colour and age t very helpfull

[@typicalpctech6674]

I'm probably about to learn if I can fix my truck lock or not :D Great videos Vince :D

[@Jeff121456]

The last window motor I worked on was on an '84 Toyota Cressida. I left most of the skin off the back of my left hand in the door panel. I wish it had had a removable skin panel.

[@bobsanders9500]

Good explanation. Thank you.

[@tomaszski9818]

Sure great job Vince again, but I was waiting for those chips exchange. Understood car was need it urgently;)

[@GadgetUK164]

An interesting repair =D Also looks like it was a nightmare tbh lol! I would take taking a car to pieces like that - knowing my luck it would start raining, or I would drop a part somewhere...

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Chris 🤣🤣 Rain would have been the final nail in the coffin on this almighty misdiagnosis!!!!

[@yvesd2002]

Hello vince, love your videos

[@crazymolemusic]

Me to

[@remokays]

Really great work here. I have to fix two doors. I will find out if the windows work tomorrow! I would love to know the name of the window/door lock motor that you found the problem in? Any idea?

[@medyassinekhadri7631]

Your video is valuable for sure👍

[@solveit1304]

Hi Vince. You could prove that fault with cheap CAT S60 smartphone with Thermal camera build-in. Great video as always.

[@scottchampion3511]

My mk7 golf had a very similar issue however was a lot easier to fault find. Because the bad door was the drivers door, it means that the little module also controls things like the electric folding mirrors which should fold in when locking the car. However the drivers one didn’t and also the same issue as here where it wouldn’t lock and the window wouldn’t work. Easy mistake Vince not to worry

[@alkydaklown]

I used to own a Mk5 gti, day one from the dealer i had the same issue on the passenger side. No electrical power. Loved that car but had so many electrical problems and leaky sunroof.

[@quintonquill]

Best investment for car work would be a set of back probes for testing wires in circuit. That way if you could have seen no voltage on power feed you would have know to back track up the line towards the next bcm.

[@Keythong]

A good old Haynes manual would have been useful on this job. Good fix Vince, well done.

[@shifty2755]

No need for a manual when you have the Internet. Haynes is old hat now. Auto Data is much better.

[@TheSammacd]

Excellent video

[@alizaslearningvideos.]

Brilliant job

[@alexrobertson232]

Interesting video ! thanks !

[@mihaidj]

Greta video lad. Kudos for it

[@dhewitt2514]

Lots of problems around this year on VW Audi locks - my A4 had a similar issue. Very common issue unfortunately.

[@agde0968]

Thanks for the informative video. Cost of part on eBay china copy £5, s/h £10-20 and new in the region of £50. Therefore we’ll worth a fix bear in mind there are so many variants and my one is not currently not available, therefore a fix is very appealing vs going to VW. P.S An error code has appealed on my golf along the lines of sporadic signal from drivers door central locking switch, hope this helps others👍

[@arronbloomberg605]

Great video

[@jamiewood4280]

Excellent video Vince. Back in the 80's and 90's UK advertising convinced people these were good cars. Actually they aren't, the sound of a door closing is not a sign of quality 😐

[@cobraone1089]

Vince you could become a mechanic now 😂

[@kwikmechanic6844]

Excellent video. I’m great details. I have a similar issue with my golf mk5 where all the door la and windows work but my drivers door will not unlock or lock and the windows won’t work at the drivers door. So I am stuck with the door closed at the moment. Any ideas suggestions to get the door open? Oh and the previous owner for some reason blanked the door lock on the drivers door.

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

This was very interesting. I never saw the inside of a car door.

[@erindempsey1250]

Was waiting for the "lets get this over to the blue mat, and take it apart" 😂

[@MrTarmonbarry]

V.W Golf on the blue mat ??, now that would be different )))))))))

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Thank you. That is very few mileage car, have a mk6 that made almost exactly double. Nice to see a car video again!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Anders 👍

[@mickyroo25]

I replaced my mk5 that I’d had for nearly a decade with a mk6 and it was the biggest mistake ever it decided to run on its own oil and blow itself up at only 105k less then a year after buying it.

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

@@mickyroo25 sad to hear that.

[@shifty2755]

@@mickyroo25 Turbo seal failure?

[@mickyroo25]

@@shifty2755 I don’t know what it was but it had diesel in the oil for sure I was driving along and it floored itself was pretty scary to be honest I ended up dipping the clutch when I realised at around 120mph it wasn’t gonna stop itself and it went bang lol it got sold for spares or repairs it needed a new engine or so I was told

[@braydeny]

Big help for me fella

[@punaniexpert77]

Great video. What part number do you really look for on Ebay? I mean VW works with parts number?

[@ares1000101]

Thanks for the informative video. I didnt have quite the same issue, the cable had somehgow unclipped itself from the handle. However, when tryingf toe secure that blank lock block thing in palce, it wont become locked in place. re-watching your video, I see you mention to pull the handle out when unscrewing the screw, which I did not do.... I am trying to fix this mistake wityh no success. Do I need to tak the door skin off and reset or move something? Any ideas?

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Wait hold on Vince.. Exterior door skins that you can unbolt? Now that is neat!

[@Mymatevince]

Very nice isn't it, no welds to worry about if you need to replace the skin for panel damage. Seems to line up pretty good as well 👍👍

[@davidmcclare443]

hi i suspect the 6 wires in the door are gnd, 12v, can hi, can low, speaker+ and speaker-. can you try diagnosing the can wires on the pcb eg not connecting to chip? it could be a bad solderjoint

[@davidwall6020]

Good video. Ifs its that module that is faulty do I need to take the door skin off the access it?? or can I get at it from the inside by taking the inner door liner off?? Is that possible or in all cases has the outer skin got to come off?? Many thanks again.

[@saulgoodman7495]

An independent garage would probably charge around £80 - £100 for all this to be sorted which isnt too bad i suppose with all the work involved.

[@shifty2755]

Never go to a garage. Always go to an auto electrician for this type of thing.

[@martin54123]

My daughter has been quoted £300 to replace the door lock by VW and a local garage!

[@Waifu4Life]

Would have loved to see the ebay unboxing for this 😋

[@markennyee]

Great video My daughter has had problems with her MK5 Golf NS/rear door not locking on the remote I changed the door switch mech for a new one but the fault sort of still exists but it will lock on the drivers door lock button inside the car ? her car doesn't have electric rear windows either ? her alarm keeps triggering whether the car is locked or not any suggestions would be gratefully received but does come up with a trunk lock fault code saying short circuit to another valve ? 👍👍😁😁

[@douglasjacobs3803]

jack of all trades master of non..... yet

[@Liarpoliticians3]

I have the same problem too with a rear car door that's barely used and window too. But it's happened at the same approx mileage to what yours is showing in the video. These must be parts that VW designed to fail at 50k miles.

[@chumley24]

My Audi A4 has similar problems with rear drivers door not unlocking , obv thought it was door lock or solenoid but now gonna check window works first and whether it recognises the door open on the lcd display so may save me some time , fingers crossed so this footage may be invaluable to me ..

[@38911bytefree]

Some VW make "accurate" use or the motor on the window mechanism, since it used as position encoder (by counting ripple pulses) and to measuring the current to trip the pinch protection system. Putting the new board with the other motor could (if this was the case) make this functions to missbehave (pinch protection triggers at different force of when the windows reach the end). Unsure of this would apply to the GOLF. Usually the system that have this features do the actuator learning each time the battery is reconnected to calibrate the windows.

[@typhdecker4099]

Vince fixing cars, what's next? Planes? :B haha nice video

[@ABomB42o]

I'm a career flat rate mechanic. Live in New York worked at chevy Honda and Toyota. I wish all door skins were removable. Would have saved me a lot of blood sweat and tears in the past.

[@jensschroder8214]

My Skoda Octavia 2009 has the same disease. Door locks that break. I also have door locks from the Golf V in it. I've already replaced three, the fourth only opens only from the inside.

[@rayyanshehzad8025]

i havent pulled apart my door panel yet but for me my door locking and unlocking is very on and off. would there be a faulty part for that or could it be an easy fix?

[@getyourkicksagain]

Damn, I wish my car had removable door skins. It would make working out some dings SO much easier!

[@chrisryan3445]

Oh god, this brings back horrible memories of trying to get the door handle off mine to do this job. Didn't matter what I did it was stuck good and proper and ended up hack sawing it in half and getting another one. It just would not come off as I had seen in countless videos.

[@odhrxn7920]

Have this happening to be right now. Looks like it’s time to give up just won’t move 🤣. I thought I was just pulling it incorrectly

[@abdriver5563]

Hi Vince , thanks for the video . Is that car an american model ? Saturns had removeable door skins also .

[@Nick-yj4yi]

You have to change the Radio. The Stock RCD 300 is Really Bad. Put in the RCD 310. MUCH BETTER

[@RWL2012]

what's the difference...?

[@Nick-yj4yi]

@@RWL2012 The sound is MMUUUUUUCCCHHHHH better. And the signal is a little bit stronger. But you have to make sure you have a 2008 Golf 5 or newer. In the older cars you have to change a gateway.

[@khalbeydoun3454]

i have VW gti 2008 2 door, i have the same probelm with the driver side door, the window goes up and down, but it wont lock or unlock with the remote. even if i press the lock button on the door itself it doesnt lock, but the unlock button works. i was working on the window the switch the other night and i found coffee all over the connector that goes to the window switch. when i press the lock or unlock on the remote the little light on the door flashes, please advice me what do you think the problem is ?

[@davesmith7671]

I had to do this so many times on my polo 9n although that one the door skin came off then there was a metal plate inside rather than the door skin coming off outside. Nice to watch the process but not be doing it again.

[@andrewunsworth9060]

Good video

[@LSpitz_]

So my divers side door when it’s open doesn’t show up on the dash it’s open so it auto locks a lot. Would replacing this part fix this issue ?

[@jamesashbolt2704]

I'm up to 4:50 however the window pillar which seperates the rear window and the quarter window is much longer than what you have here and completely blocks clear access to the latch. DId you hacksaw yours off? I have a Golf mk5 btw.

[@RichardHeadGaming]

those three caps could be dry and causing ripple. Check your 3 V circuit for A/C instead of DC.

[@MsLampalampa]

Befors u do this try to take out that small rubber seal from inside the Door drill a small hole on top of locking actuator and put a squart of wd40 in that hole. That fixad the problem for me takes litterally 2 minutes:) Mine would get stuck in locket position now it works perfekt. If i did it with my few tools anyone can do it. That rubbear seal in the door is right om top of the actuator so it’s easily accessible for the drill and the hole is drilled right untop of the actuator so that wd40 runs down through the whole actuator that way and lubes it unstuck.