The rear hatch on my 02 GTI won't open. I've used the key, the button in the driver's door, and the button on the key but it still won't budge. The motor kicks but it's like the latch/lock is broken or frozen. Any help would be appreciated.

 

take a shotgun (the bigger the better) and shoot the latch but seriously try and get it open and take off the panel on the back (like a door panel but on the hatch) then you might be able to see what the problem is. only thing is you have to get it opend first

 

Exactly. So how do I go about getting it open? [sm=headbang.gif]

 

K, im not sure if our cars are the same but... you have to open the door from inside of the car. #2 phillips (star) screwdriver, there are 2 screws under the handle of the hatch (inside) unscrew those and wiggle the cover off. be careful. now you can see the linkage of the insideof the handle. you probably only have to take a visual to see whats wrong. mine was, the two links that unlock and lock the door came loose.... you wont even need tools to fix this, its a matter of pressing the pins back in to there slots. if thats not the problem, good luck..

 

Thanks for the relevant information. I'll try it tomorrow and post up my results.

 

Okay I took off the panel and found two problems. The first one was that the linkage was unhooked and I fixed that no problem but the other problem is a bit more complicated. When the motor that moves the latch into position kicks, it goes too far and passes the piece ofthe handle that catches the latch. Thiscould be a problem with the motor or the lock cylinder, I'm not sure. What I do know is that the lock cylinder wiggles a bit more than I think it should. I really don't want to take it to the stealership but if I can't fix it myself or with some help from a buddy I will as a last resort. If anyone has any worth whileideas please don't hesitate to post them.