2002 Eurovan Sliding Door - broken?

[freeze]

I have a 2002 Eurovan Weekender. I noticed that the sliding door was not locking with the remote. I manually locked the door and it worked, but when I tested the door to make sure it was locked, the lever kinda went in and then got stuck. The door then would not unlock with the key, it was just stuck locked with the handle lever depressed. So I stuck a butter knife into the handle and gently pried it open. Then I could unlock the door and it worked fine. It still will not lock with the remote, only manually, and it jams any time you try to open it with the door locked.

When I try to lock with the remote, it goes about halfway down, then appears to be blocked by something. When I lock with the key, it goes down fine.

Thanks for any help on this!

[Xtremjeepn]

I'm pretty sure there are 2 push rods that control the door lock. One from the "button" and one from the remote door actuator. Sounds like one of yours is loose, bent, stuck. Happens sometimes on all sorts of cars for various reasons.

Pop the door panel off and take a look!


Might want to make your location a bit more specific than "United States" Then we might be able to offer better advice on things like this. Could it be rusty from being in the NE? Or maybe a water issue from being in the PNW or a broken plastic rod connector due to the extreme cold in the middle of the country? Amazing how location can help diagnose something as simple as this. And maybe someone close knows how to fix it or has the right part!

[freeze]

I updated my location. Thanks for the tips. I will take a look.

[Xtremjeepn]

May also want to ask this question on the yahoo group "ev_update". Lots more Eurovan activity there and several members in the Seattle area!

Good luck.

[Suthern]

Old thread but having this exact issue this morning and wondering what you discovered?

[Jonwid]

[Suthern]

Bentley shows removal of lower sliding door trim panel as pretty straight forward operation. Looks like three screws - one on center stop then two more on top of panel - about 1/4 of the way back then all the way in the back. Then pry off.

I was reading yesterday that there are rubber bits that are factory glue on - sometimes the adhesive fails and the panel can be a challenge to reinstall. One post included the approach of adding screws to refasten the panel. Should be interesting...

Here is a good post I found too:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630745

[Suthern]

So - I went to go get a look at this with the thought of shooting some Lithium grease into down the manual locking hole and seeing if that rid me of the issue (which seemed like binding of some sort) prior to pulling panels.

I can't say for certain what 'fixed' it but I can tell you that after lubing everything I could get to I had mad no progress.

I was fiddling with the panel as it was just a touch loose (maybe a quarter inch) in the upper front corner. I pressed it in the upper corner and then down the top. Felt a couple of positive clicks and it now seems fully seated. Now the door locks is engaging as it should.

So - maybe trying to press your panel firmly on and see if that fixes things for you. If not maybe spray some lube around. I went down the manual lock, interior and exterior door handle and latching mechanism at back of door. Will keep thread posted in hopes my 'fix' is long term.

[Jonwid]

Yeah, it turns out that the inner panel cover was actually causing the locking mechanism issues which was basically binding the lock mechanism.

I, too, noticed that the panel was not seated flush to the frame and appeared to be loose at the top left edge, just below the inside door release handle.

I found only two screws holding the door panel in place, both about mid-level. One in front and one on the back edge.

I went to lift up the panel and immediately I heard a bunch of plastic pieces fall off to the floor. Turns out that all of the plastic mounting plate tabs that grab onto the plastic pin retainers had come off of their factory glued positions on the back side of the door panel. Yup. All of them.

So the only thing holding the door panel in place was just the two screws and the top metal latches on the window sill!

I guess that 13 years of sliding door closure had eventually taken its toll on those glue joints holding the door panel in place.

I experienced a similar issue with the plastic tab mounts coming loose on the rear hatch gate inner panel when I had a lock mechanism issue there also that I needed to repair. To fix that panel, I just used some JB Weld on top of the original glue blobs, which happen to make a nice template for placing the plastic tabs back in exact position. Almost two years later and no issues with that panel repair.

So, I'm going to just do the same thing on the slider panel repair: stick the plastic mounting tabs back into place onto the panel with some JB Weld and then re-hang the panel.

The locking mechanism works perfectly fine with the panel off, by the way. Ill definitely put a little lube on the mechanism while it's accessible though.

[Suthern]

Yep - lose panel definitely binds the locking mechanism on the sliding door. Funny how such a small movement in the panel - 1/8" to 1/4" AWAY from the door in the top left corner (next to the manual lock) impacts this.

My panel keeps peeling away and I keep pressing it back. I don't really want this to become the norm for securing the van and would love a less invasive fix than panel removal (based on what I've read you end up with a bunch of hard to adhere rubber bits and blah.) Not that it can't be done, just have enough other things to do right now.

So - I've been thinking of either:

Industrial strength velcro (but concerned with thickness - I might get everything set up and not have clearance behind the panel to do more than hold it 'out of place' thereby binding the lock.)

or

Pinning it with very small screw but lots of risk if I do this blind.

Anyone have a good picture of panel off sliding door they could share? Bentley drawing turns to blur when zoom zoom.

[Jonwid]

[jjvincent]

What I found that works great for gluing those tabs back on is windshield adhesive. You can glue just about anything with it and it cures pretty quick. It only holds in most of the glass in your EV and just about every car today.

[Suthern]

[Suthern]

[jjvincent]

[Jonwid]

Here are some pics of the door panel off and the tabs and pins.

JB weld held on to most of the glue spots the first time. But I did have a couple tabs pop off from the original glue spot. The JB clung to the back of the plastic tab, but completely separated from the old glue blob backing.

This lengthened the repair time because I had to reglue with more JB on those same tabs twice. Third time was the charm. Plus, putting the panel back in is somewhat frustrating. You have to start with the top sill metal brackets and get those tucked in just right, then carefully work your way around the door. All from inside the cabin with the door opened a crack to get everything positioned. You may need to remove the middle seat/bench for better maneuvering.

I recommend popping out all the plastic pins very carefully and definitely use a nice plastic trim panel removal pry bar tool so you don't damage the pins. Harbor Freight sells these panel removal tools in a cheap but good set in the automotive section.

Put all of the pins into the plastic tabs when you are ready to re install the panel. Then after the top sill is hung and secured under the metal spring clips, carefully work your way around the panel guiding the push pins into the hole and press firmly until they click back in place.

Although leaving the original glue blobs in place makes a Great template for the plastic plates, what I might recommend is scraping off the inner portion of the glue blob down to the cardboard backing of the door panel. That would offer better adhesion for the JB Weld. As I mentioned JB holds the back of the plastic tab just fine, but it can still mysteriously detach from the surface of the old glue blob on occasion.

So far, the panel is holding nicely, and it's not causing any interference with the door lock or the latch. So problem licked for now.

[Suthern]

Good job - sounds like it was a bit fidly which is consistent with other people's experience.

I may give the automotive windshield adhesive a try - have used JB Weld with success in other places and sure I could do the same as you have.

Am I missing something on the pics - can't see any, maybe need a link?

[DRNewcomb]

I have recently experienced an issue with my sliding rear door not closing properly. I removed the trim panel and discovered that age and heat had broken the glue bonds holding the the black plastic clips to the panel. This allowed the panel to become loose, which somehow interfered with the door's function. I'm looking for suggestions on what sort of glue to use to reattach the clips.

[dixoncj]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=655956

[Jonwid]

We were having issues with the slider not locking on the 03 GLS. I took off the whole inside door skin and reglued all the plastic tabs. Ultimately, that didn't help solve the non-locking problem.

What finally helped the non-locking problem was this: 2 screws placed just so into the door to hold the panels tight to the metal door frame. Locking problem completely solved, and it doesn't look too bad!