Sliding Door Lock (Manual Door) 2012 Model California

[gatvol]

The central locking is only working intermittently on my California. Sometimes it does not lock. Sometimes it does not unlock.

Only the sliding door is affected. It could well be the cold weather that has catalysed this as the problem has only been present for about a month.

Does anyone know how to remove the door card so that I can go in and take a look. It may just be that something needs lubricating, or it may be more serious. I would rather see it with my own eyes before getting the "we plugged it in and you need to replace something costing £300" form of response

I had an Audi S5 where the driver's door lock would not open when it was cold, just outside of its warranty. Build "quality" like this is quite pathetic really.

Thank you

 

[rod_vw]

Check the contact unit on the leading edge of the door and its counterpart on the 'B'post for cleanliness / damage. Google ETKA to find exploded drawings look in the 'Campmobile' section for California specific parts.

 

[gatvol]

Thank you for the suggestion. I have just cleaned the contacts with isopropyl alcohol and see whether that does the trick.

 

[gatvol]

I have just tried it again.

Interestingly - When I locked the Van (using the lock button on the remote control), the sliding door locked as it should, as did the others on the vehicle. When I pressed the lock button again - it unlocked the sliding door, whilst the driver's door remained locked (as it should) !!!

It does not even do this consistently. Sometimes pressing the lock button multiple times unlocks the side door, sometimes it doesn't !

 

[WelshGas]

I have just tried it again.

Interestingly - When I locked the Van (using the lock button on the remote control), the sliding door locked as it should, as did the others on the vehicle. When I pressed the lock button again - it unlocked the sliding door, whilst the driver's door remained locked (as it should) !!!

It does not even do this consistently. Sometimes pressing the lock button multiple times unlocks the side door, sometimes it doesn't !

I presume you have 2 x Remote keys. Do both act in this way? When was the battery changed in the Remote?

 

[Crispo]

Hi Gatvol, ours is the same. Did you manage to fix?

 

[gatvol]

Hi. I took it to an independent specialist. We plugged the van into a diagnostic computer and then eliminated a couple of potential causes. It is not the key fobs. It is not the door contacts. Next step is to strip the door down to look at the locking mech. The guy told me that these do fail, it may be stiffness/ corrosion making the thing seize up from time to time. Or we may need a new unit.

So as of now, I just manually check that the side door is locked before walking away from the van. It works properly about 80 per cent of the time.

A more permanent fix is just another one of those jobs on the list....

 

[sprout99]

Ours is same

No pattern to it misbehaving

 

[gatvol]

Mine has been ok recently.

I know that there are many passionate VW fans on here. I began owning VW/ Audis in the 1980s. I have been through Mark 1, 2, 3 Golfs/ Jettas, Audi 80s, Audi s5. So I feel as though I am allowed to express opinions on VAG products.

My 57 plate S5 had a maddening fault. At 4 years old and in cold weather, the driver's door would not unlock so you had to enter it via the passenger door. It also suffered from intelligent key failure, amongst other things.

I suspect that the Cali is the same. Cold weather issues.

It is obviously pathetic. But if you know VWs and you talk to folk who MOT or fix VWs you know that VAG cost cutting has absolutely trashed this once great brand and range of products.

I had NEVER had any car have problems like this in my life. Doors that don't open when it is cold ? You having a laugh ? Yet it is par for the course with an Audi S5 and a VW Cali.

 

[sprout99]

i had a Mercedes CLA45 shooting brake that decided one day that ' SOS inoperative' amongst other things
it seemed to like being at the dealer....

 

[Erbster]

I have a 2017 Ocean and have a problem which may (or may not) be related. The sliding door closing mechanism intermittently makes a very odd grating noise as it activates. This winter, for a period of time the external sliding door handle didn’t work, so the door had to be opened using the internal handle. Hadn’t noticed a correlation with cold weather. When I mentioned it at last service, the dealer said, “it’s working normally”.

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[sprout99]

ours is behaving at minute - i scanned with VCDS and it has stopped logging
although the RVC calibration is still not done. I can't seem to get the calculations right