Rear hatch not locking

On a recent trip to Sydney the rear hatch stopped locking:mad:. A strap got us home, but cant lock now and we had the joy of listening to the door ajar alarm all the way home :facepalm: (12 hours), though we managed to focus on other things which stopped us from going insane!

I disconnected the battery and tried fiddling with the manual release inside the rear hatch door (though being locked wasn;t the problem) but alas have helped.

Tried various threads, some help but nothing conclusive, so adding this one here and hoping someone might have an idea?

I have called VW and will go up and try a spare locking mechanism if they have in stock. If that works all sorted and at least I saved the labour, if not then ......ummmm.....any ideas?

Below are pics of the bits and pieces following removal of the internal hatch trim. Note the positioning and number of metal clips if ever pulling off yourself. Its almost all clips, but there are two Torx screws to remove as well, these are under small tabs in the bottom of the hatch door. The tabs are obvious if the you lift the hatch door and look at the bottom of it, and just pry open the tabs to reveal the small torx screws with a small screwdriver.

I did leave mine out in the sun for a bit to warm the plastic before removing (so less brittle), but with working the fingers under, and a little bit of brute force and some bicycle tyre levers (plastic) it all came off fairly easily. That said the tyre levers weren't essential.

I removed the upper trim first, then the side trims, then the main trim.

upper trim (ie top of rear window) and side trim (ie side of rear window)
Attachment 20709

main trim (ie large inside lining of rear door, below window)
Attachment 20710

both side trims (ie side of window)
Attachment 20715

locking mechanism as far as i could pull it apart and parts (covers)
Attachment 20711

close ups of mechanism
Attachment 20712
Attachment 20713

inside rear hatch with trims removed
Attachment 20714

Then just a matter of undoing two large Torx screws on bottom of door either side of the locking mechanism and unclipping the plug socket from it to remove the entire locking mechanism

Any ideas on fixes for the locking mechanism?

Hiya jimbomort, good to see you are still coming by from time to time!

No ideas on the fix, but would like to add what i think could be the cause, & for people to think about when opening the hatch... This is only an idea, mind you! I reckon it is very easy to get into a habit of pulling the hatch up whilst 'clicking' the release button (simultaneous action). I had caught myself doing this a couple of times & the latch would get stuck, & not open. Now, i lightly push the hatch closed (it is already closed) with my thumb while pulling on the release button with my fingers, & don't try & lift the hatch until the latch has released.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted for a minimal cost! Good luck.

I had the latch go on my 2011 125TSI Tig and the solution was a new latch. Fortunately I was able to close the boot and lock it (but then was unable to re-open it).The solution was a new latch mechanism. I believe this is a relatively common thing to go as the guys replacing it seemed to know what they were doing (they'd done a few before).

I think the Mk6 Golf has a similar (same) latch and the same problems with it failing so there appears to be an inherent design issue with the latch unfortunately.

Thanks gents and MGV you could be right re opening too quickly, that said from my visit to VW sounds like this is a relatively common problem.

Anyway a replacement lock unit ($130) from VW was the solution. Easy to fit. First bolt on the lock assembly, then when putting the trim back, start with the largest (panel below rear window), then the sides of the rear window then the top last.

Walking away all fixed for $130 feels pretty good and a job I would do myself again and I think most people who are happy to give such things a go could do without great trouble. The downside with trim is, it doesn't always go back quite as neat as original and while there is a little evidence of that on this job, overall I am happy with the result.