Passenger door won't unlock using remote.

[CatButler]

My 2008 S3 passed its MOT earlier this week and I presumed everything was OK. However, the passenger door has just started to play tricks on me.
It won't open using the remote. The driver's door and boot work fine but to open the passenger side I now have to do it from inside.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be and the best course of action? I could do without a huge garage bill right now!

Thanks

 

[maunoooh]

I had that problem with my passenger side rear door. Just to sum up: remote unlock opens all the other doors, but this one has to be opened from the inside. Once opened, unless locked, it'll stay open. Diagnose: lock unit isn't working properly on the door, problem not in central locking. Can't remember what code it gave me on my OBD eleven but I've had friends with the same problem and same fix so sounds like a common issue.

I ordered a new lock and went to get the special bit you need to open the lock bolts (ATX or something?) and went to town on the door.

It was an easy removal process, but the door handle mechanism rod didn't go into the plastic bit on my new lock. I solved this by putting the plastic bit from my old lock onto the one I was installing, and it went in just fine. YouTube had plenty of good videos and I'd say I can now do the whole thing in 45 minutes.

Good luck!

 

[maunoooh]

Found a screenshot!

 

[CatButler]

I had that problem with my passenger side rear door. Just to sum up: remote unlock opens all the other doors, but this one has to be opened from the inside. Once opened, unless locked, it'll stay open. Diagnose: lock unit isn't working properly on the door, problem not in central locking. Can't remember what code it gave me on my OBD eleven but I've had friends with the same problem and same fix so sounds like a common issue.

I ordered a new lock and went to get the special bit you need to open the lock bolts (ATX or something?) and went to town on the door.

It was an easy removal process, but the door handle mechanism rod didn't go into the plastic bit on my new lock. I solved this by putting the plastic bit from my old lock onto the one I was installing, and it went in just fine. YouTube had plenty of good videos and I'd say I can now do the whole thing in 45 minutes.

Good luck!

Cheers for that. Yep - same symptoms here i.e. won't unlock unless done from the inside, will stay open while everything else is open, locks again OK but then won't unlock again. Fixing cars really isn't my thing so I'll have to try and find a trustworthy mechanic. Can you remember how much the new lock was?

 

[Chris-P]

It might just need a bit of WD40 like in this video:

For a leon but very similar process. I tried this method and solved the problem for nothing.

 

[CatButler]

It might just need a bit of WD40 like in this video:

For a leon but very similar process. I tried this method and solved the problem for nothing.

Cheers for that.