Volkswagen Touareg door locks problems

Filed Oct 9, 2026 · Body · MA

The interior door release mechanism broke, trapping my wife in the driver's seat and unable to open the door. Our VW dealer was not able to evaluate the broken mechanism for several days so we took the vehicle to a local repair shop. A disabled senior [XXX] was unable to exit the vehicle, unable to climb over the center console or into the back seat which is a serious safety issue. The outside door handle release was still functional and I was able to open the door. If I were not at home, my wife would have had to call a neighbor, police or fire department to free her from the vehicle. Photograph of broken part is part of this report as well as receipt for the repair. A quick web search indicates several other owners have had this issue. No injury except a bruised arm trying to reach the exterior door release (unsuccessfully). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 1, 2017 · 60,000 miles · FL

The door locks on both of the back doors have stopped working. Can not open either of the rear doors. This problem was not caused by any specific event that we know of. First one door stopped working and about a week later the other door stopped working. I would not be surprised if the other doors failed soon.

Filed Feb 3, 2014 · Body · FL

All of the exterior door handles are extremely loose and one of them I have to make sure that the handle goes in all the way because my kids sit in the back seat and I'm afraid that the door might swing open one day and an accident may occur. Also the door handles sometimes don't open on the first pull whether its from the inside or outside.

Filed Jun 4, 2010 · Airbags, Body · 95,000 miles · NJ

2004 vw touareg v-8 many problems but 3 worth reporting: for no apparent reason passenger door could not be opened or unlatched by using any known means including the inside door handle or outside door handle, electric lock actuator clicks as if the door is unlocked but the door can not be opened or unlatched. Vehicle had to be brought to vw dealership and worked on by destroying the door handle to open the door and perhaps cutting a whole in the body pannel at the cost of 2 hours of diagnostics, 8 hours of labor to open door and probably 2 or 3 additional hours of replacing door handle if body of door is not bent, plus parts vehicle has many electrical glitches including but not limited to intermittent malfunction of air bag igniters....once again having the potential to cause serious harm occupants given the right circumstances this is a potential dangerous situation and has made me lose all faih in this manufacturer. Vehicle lunges forward when stopped at trafic lights and beginning to procceed on a green.

Filed May 26, 2010 · Locks · 59,000 miles · CA

Sensors on the door handle for the 2004 vw touareg failing to work. I put my child in the back seat and shut the door and the locks engaged with the keys inside. 2 yr old child was locked in the car until I could break into the house and get a spare set of keys.

Filed Jul 12, 2006 · Electrical · 33,000 miles · CA

I've been having various problems with the electrical system on my 2004 vw touareg from the purchase date of 08/19/03. The alarm would sound, without cause, the doors would not unlock and various switches would not work at times. All of the problems were random. I brought the car in for repair several times. But, the problems were not fixed. In april 2006, my car battery was replaced because it was no longer handling a charge. The battery change was a warranty item. After the battery change, the electrical problems became more frequent. My turn signals began to act up. When I signal for a right turn, the blinker will click to the left one to three times, then to the right. I told murrieta vw about the problem and brought the car in for warranty service on 06/30/06. They couldn't find a "fault code" and couldn't make the car duplicate the problem. So, they didn't fix the car. I video taped the problem five times, on two different occasions after the 06/30/06. I also have two different witnesses who witnessed the problem. I e mailed the videos to murrieta vw and scheduled an appointment. I brought the car back on 07/08. Murrieta vw wasn't able to diagnose the problem. I feel that the car is now dangerous. If I were to signal a right turn at an intersection, with an oncoming car assuming that I am turning left because of a defective turn signal, I could end up in an accident. I'm not looking for special treatment from vw. I just want my car fixed. 2004 vw touareg serial# w v g c m 67 l 04 d 002863.

Filed Jun 7, 2006 · Locks · 6,700 miles · FL

Inside door handles "stick" open, and when you close the car door they pop back open since they can't catch the lock. I have had the door lock handles malfunction on two different cars of the same make and model. On one occasion while closing the door more gently, it wasn't noticed that the door didn't actually catch. When I went to drive away, then stop... The door flew open narrowly missing a pedestrian. The door flew open so quickly I actually checked the car for frame damage since I was sure the door would be bent. It was actually ok. When reported to my dealer the door lock was fixed under warranty, but not cited as a known hazard or recall.

Filed Nov 7, 2005 · Locks, Suspension · 15,000 miles · NY

Door handles stick on all four doors. Last year, my husband was in the passenger seat as I went around a corner, the passenger door flung open and my husband almost fell out. Luckily he was wearing his seat belt. The door handles were replaced by the dealership. However, the door handles have started sticking again. I have to pull the handle and let it go quickly to loosen the handle so it closes fully. I noticed with 1000 miles on my vehicle that there was a pull in the front end. I took it to the dealer and they said it needed to be aligned. They refused to pay for the alignment, my tires were completely worn to the tread bars with 15,000 miles on all four, they were cupped. The manufacturer replaced 2 tires and I paid for 2 tires and a 4 wheel alignments. *nm

Filed Sep 18, 2005 · Electrical, Suspension · ME

I am having trouble with my vw touareg v6. Since then I have had numerous visits to the dealer for failures in design. Footlight would not shut off when the car was off due to trunk door latch being broken at time of purchase. Tires were wearing faster than normal and the alignment was bad. I was given new tires, however, when I asked if this could happen again, I was told yes and they were unsure what vw would do in the future. Tire pressure light goes on and off at any time. I was told this was a malfunction that happens when you have numerous computer options. It came on after a tire rotation and oil change and the dealer said "don't worry, it will reset itself and go off".radio has mysteriously stopped working for 24 hours at a time. Car has actually been dead on two occasions and has left me stranded. I was told by the dealer that the battery in the touareg can't support the car and the computer modules. I was told there was nothing that could be done about this as the battery was fully charged. I was told this was a mistake by vw and I would have to live with it. I was also told to not drive in the city as this makes the problem much worse. I was told that they aren't sure how that happened, but simply resetting the car made it return. Cd player would not work,car was "reset". I find this car to be the biggest joke ever made. I unfortunately am over the mileage for the lemon law in maine (I have 27,000miles on the car). I really think things are getting worse in my car the longer I have the thing. My biggest concern with the car is that there is a possibility it could stop working at any moment. I feel I should not have to carry a self jumping system in a practically brand new $34,000 car. I was also told by my dealership when I stated I was thinking of selling the car, that they didn't blame me as they had heard a lot of people say that about the touareg. Yeah, I feel really safe with this car. I think it is time someone do something about this car and vw.

Filed Jan 16, 2005 · Brakes, Electrical · MD

On two occasions my 2004 volkswagen touareg v-8 experienced complete electrical system failures. The vehicle would not start on these two occasions. There was no electrical power as if the battery were completely depleted. I did not cause any electrical/battery drain, I.e. Leaving on lights or leaving any electrical equipment on. Local vw dealership service conducted an analysis and found several faults stored. But the service adviser said none of the stored faults indicated what caused the complete electrical failure. First incident was april, 2004 and most recent dec. 28, 2004. I also experienced numerous other electrical and/or computer malfunctions. These malfunctions were related to: all-wheel drive system, drive line system, stability control system, anti-lock brakes, steering input, door locks, interior lighting features, tire pressure monitoring, and keyless remote. All-wheel drive system, drive line system, anti-lock brakes, and steering input malfunctions occurred four total times. Dealer/service could not "duplicate" the problem and no repairs were made. The door locks and interior lighting problems were constant but dealer/service could not "" the problem. The tire pressure monitoring was repaired and has been problem free since march 2004. The keyless remote door lock/unlock was repaired and works better but has not been problem free.