plac
GTI Master
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Right, but does the act of installing the door skin unsettle it in some way? It's hard to tell...but I aim to find out.
no, it doesnt. it is super tight.
Right, but does the act of installing the door skin unsettle it in some way? It's hard to tell...but I aim to find out.
Holy hell, that thing defies the laws of physics. I can't possibly fathom how that thing ever worked in the first place. First of all, ANY movement of the lever and the spring pops off...it barely attaches. Then I thought well, maybe if I put the door skin on and reassemble it I'll be fine. WRONG. I got the skin on (just attached to the handle and one bolt on front and back) and installed the handle, and lock cylinder, tightened them up and not a pop. As soon as I pulled the handle as if to open the door normally, the spring popped off.
Plac, do you know if the dealer replaced the latch mechanism? I'm wondering if it's broken? There is just no way in the world that thing could work. No way. Anyway, I wave the white flag, off to the dealer today...
Anyway, I wave the white flag, off to the dealer today...
FYI, they quoted me 3 hours, but only used about 2.
3 hours at my dealer is like $400..
Well, I bought my car as a used 09 with 1,500 miles on it. It came from out of state, and they need to smog it to get it registered. The dealer I bought it from is an hour away and they agreed to fix my door handle in exchange for my trouble of driving it out there. So, I lucked out BIG time.
It's amazing though, I don't see how they fix it. It is impossible without replacing something.
Its what we already talked about. They must assemble it, and then use that special tool to reach thru a hole and attach the spring. Remember, the handle doesnt need to move much to release the door. Still, I want someone to video them doing it some day. That is the ONLY way I will ever get over this nightmare experience I had.
This whole thing completely blows my mind. I have yet to encounter something on a car that I couldn't figure out and admitting defeat on this project is a huge fail in my eyes.
HAHAHAHAHA dude... are you quoting directly from my own thread?
same for me tho actually.. i couldnt really move the handle at all without it popping off. i wish i had an x-ray machine now, so i could watch it operate inside the door.
Well, I'll make it my personal challenge to figure it out. I'll let you know when I do.
What I don't get is how so many people remove their door handles and don't run into this issue. Do those people just life with wobbly door handles?
no. thats not what knocks it off. pulling the handle is what knocks it off.
It really is the most frustrating experience ever. I just got my car back, and it's working fine. I spoke with the tech who did it and he said that he just removed the latch, put it back together, and reinstalled it and he said there was nothing out of the ordinary. I asked him about the tool and he said he just took the door apart instead to make sure nothing was broken inside. All he claimed to do was put the spring back on the lever. I assembled it and popped it off a dozen times and spent an hour just studying it and couldn't figure out how on earth it works.
My conclusion is that VW techs must put magic gnomes in the doors to re-attach the spring after it falls off the lever. As soon as you remove the lock cylinder (or cap), he escapes and you have to take it to the dealer because only those techs have the power to tame the gnomes into the door.
Really, that's my only logical explanation. I'm still dumbfounded by this whole situation and today I view myself a lesser gear head as a result. Seriously, x-ray vision would be so money. I'm dying to see how that damned mechanism works!