Eight problems related to door latch have been reported for the 1996 Volkswagen Jetta. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Well, its an old car yes and haven't had any severe malfunctions except on pretty much every latch mechanism on the car. Currently, the trunk does not open. The latch is broke and will not open with key placed in it or with release button. To open it, I have to lay the back seats down and crawl into the trunk and activate the emergency release manually. To add to the mess, both rear doors will open but under no circumstances will close again. I've had to rig a wire to pull the latch into its locked position to keep both doors closed. (resulting in the only 4 door coupe I know of!).
1996 vw Jetta - door locks would not operate when temperature is below 0 c or 32 f. This matches technical service bulletin # 57 9702 NHTSA item number 53643.
Front door latches fail to operate, causing occupants to be trapped in the car.
Cylinders came out with the key. They just stopped working and came out! I can no longer lock my car or use the key to get into it. I have to leave it unlocked and climb in through the back seat.
When driving at 35 mph passenger's side door flew open, and passenger almost fell out of vehicle due to latch being broken. Also, when shutting passenger's side door, door will pop open because of the latch being broken, and locks don't work.
Outside door locks freeze in inclement weather.
Locks have fallen apart and came out of place, causing them to become inoperative. This makes it difficult to enter and exit vehicle. Dealer has been contacted.
Freezing door locks, broken window regulators, inability to use aftermarket disc brake pads and other items are acknowledged by vw in "technical bulletins" but customer must pay for their errors. I am happy to provide additional info. About this if contacted. Customer should not have to pay for manufacturer errors (acknowledged by manufacturer. ).
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