Inner door handles to close the doors, both left and right, have broken off, snaping. As I did research to find replacement; I contacted over 20 different junk yards in my area and I am being told the same; "all panels have the handle broken". The only way I can repair it is by buying the whole panel from the dealer at an outrage price or buying it from a used seller which is still at least $600.00 for the pair panels. I need these handles to close the doors securely .
2003 Volkswagen Beetle: doors won't lock, open or latch
5 of the 314 complaints about the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
2003 vw beetle convertible :drivers side windows regulator and motor and broken hinge. Also the check engine light says it need coil pack and temperature sensor. Seat belt light says it need seat belt sensor. Also door latch replaced.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked when she changed gears. The failure progressed over time. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced which was done at that time. The contact also stated that both the front window regulator motors failed; the vehicle was repaired at a local repair shop. The door lock actuators failed and were repaired at a repair shop. The air bag light illuminated and the contact was informed that the air bag sensor had failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The rear windshield was beginning to detach from the structure of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 75,347 and the current mileage was 93,800.
2003 volkswagen beetle 2.8 turbo automatic engine, door locking mechanism or door latch. The problem starts with the door sticking when you open r close. Then occasionally will not shut the first time and will bounce back. After the first time this happens, if you are driving the door can swing open on its own. The door will not stay closed, or will not close properly. Very quickly the problem escalates. It will not shut at all. It bounces back over and over. If you leave it alone for a few hours and try again it will eventually shut. The driver side door broke first, got fixed, cost about $500.00. A month later the passenger door did the same thing. Less then a year later the driver side door broke again. 3 of the same part broke in a span of approximately 10 months. Called the company (volkswagen) they insist that this is not recalled or a reported problem. Very dangerous.
Door handle locking mechanism on the body of the 2003 vw beetle which my daughter, kimberly freisner has owned since it was new has a safety problem. The screws which hold these mechanisms in place and the door closed keep loosening several turns. I have tightened these units before only to have them loosen up over a short period of time. If the car was hit I think the doors would open during the crash.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle?
5 of 314 owner complaints about the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle (2%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 1998.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle
Jerking 59Airbag light 42Power windows 29Transmission failure 27Slipping 14Harsh shifting 13Won't shift 12Stalling 11Check engine light 10Seat belt 9Hesitation 8Grinding brakes 7Headlights 6Fire or smoke 5
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