VW Jetta Door Won't Lock - Australian Consumer Law Question

DerpFactory on 05/05/2018 - 17:59
Last edited 05/05/2018 - 18:37 by 1 other user

Hope this is the right place. VW Jetta - passenger door won't lock. Just outside of manufacturer warranty.

Consumer law states that a product must work for a reasonable amount of time.
IMO being able to lock a door is crucial to driving as you can't really drive anywhere without being able to lock the door.
There are no key locks on the passenger door, nor locks on the inside to lock manually, however, there is a thing on the frame of the door that you can stick a screw driver or key into to turn which will manually lock the door. This is a potential work around but is only viable after you park, meaning your door is unlocked while driving.

I just want to know whether this is the manufacturers responsibility to repair or whether I have to pay the quoted $580 to repair it given the following:
- Other users have reported the problem can re-occur later, in the same door (like another 1-3 years later)
- This appears to occur in all VW cars, coincidence? conspiracy?
- Most VW forum users suggest the cable has worn out
- This seems like a defect worthy of recalling all affected vehicles? You don't actually know your door hasn't locked unless you physically test it
- If they are purposely using cheap cables for the locks, so that they break down and can be repaired at exorbitant prices, why should I be paying for this?

• 

  nocure on 05/05/2018 - 18:01

  so with central locking engaged, it's still not locked?

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 21:53

    Correct, it sounds like it tries multiple times, then fails

• 

  jason101 on 05/05/2018 - 18:23

  +1

  Did you buy the car new? Do you service it at the same VW dealership on a regular basis? I have found that while being ripped off at dealer services is a pain, sometimes it comes in handy with out of warranty work where the dealer will lobby the manufacturer or pull strings to get work done outside of warranty for a "loyal" customer. Most manufacturers also have some kind of 1800 number for customers to ring in, I have had some success by ringing this number and lodging complaints directly with the manufacturer and requesting they attend to a certain item I believed was not reasonably my responsibility.

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 21:56

    Yes, bought new from VW and serviced every time at the same VW dealership as soon as it comes up on the dash.

    Thanks for the number suggestion, will give it a shot.

• 

  FoxJump on 05/05/2018 - 18:32

  We have a 2013 golf
  No problems locking the door.

  If you don't wanna pay then you're gonna have to do time.

  Time calling ACCC/etc and arguing your case.

  It's worth a try

• 

  whooah1979 on 05/05/2018 - 18:43

  -4

  IMO being able to lock a door is crucial to driving

  Unable to lock a door isn’t a major fault. Unable to close a door is.

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 21:59

    Yeh, I'm worried it could be viewed that way. The only 'real' risk is that someone could jump you at the lights or any time you stop.

    Other than that, it's probably arguable that the screw driver mechanism is a reasonable alternative.

• 

  spackbace on 05/05/2018 - 18:56

  +2

  Exactly how far out of warranty is it?

  • 

    pegaxs on 06/05/2018 - 09:14

    Then we find out… 4th owner, 180,000km and car is 6 years old…

    • 

      resisting the urge on 07/05/2018 - 10:54

      And has been side swiped and repaired, badly, or got blasted with water from underneath, or left in a flooded carpark, or whatever else

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:01

    LoL at comments, no it's maybe 6 months outside of warranty. Possibly a year. Not good records kept :\
    No other owners, bought new from VW.

• 

  JimmyF on 05/05/2018 - 19:13

  +1

  Consumer law states that a product must work for a reasonable amount of time.

  yeah, but wear and tear…..

  Just outside of manufacturer warranty.

  How much?

  IMO being able to lock a door is crucial to driving as you can't really drive anywhere without being able to lock the door.

  yeah nah, The car drives fine without the doors being locked.

  Just don't leave anything in your car worth value and no one will even think twice about trying to open the car.

  • Most VW forum users suggest the cable has worn out

  So wear and tear, not covered.

  • 

    Diji1 on 05/05/2018 - 19:25

    So wear and tear, not covered.

    Most users seem unaware the warranty is worthless so why would you listen to them regarding it?

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 05/05/2018 - 21:45

    +1

    Poor design could have caused excessive wear and tear, thus covered.

    • 

      pegaxs on 06/05/2018 - 09:18

      +1

      Or door could have been opened 4000 times, causing wear, thus, not covered.

      • 

        JIMB0 on 06/05/2018 - 11:36

        Twice a day 5 times a week is 500 openings. It would only take 8 years to reach 4000. I'd reasonably expect it to last longer than that. My Japanese car is twice that age and the auto locks still work fine.

      • 

        whooah1979 on 06/05/2018 - 15:42

        +1

        @JIMB0:

        Jetta is made México. One can’t expect its reliability to be as good as Japanese made vehicles.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 06/05/2018 - 17:11

        +3

        @whooah1979:

        Thank God the consumer laws aren't racist then.

      • 

        JIMB0 on 06/05/2018 - 18:19

        @whooah1979: But its touted as a superior German vehicle. My Japanese car was made in Australia and uses a large number of locally made components but seems to keep on going with hardly any problems.

      • 

        whooah1979 on 06/05/2018 - 19:43

        +1

        @JIMB0:

        its touted as a superior German vehicle.

        Veedub making superior motor vehicles? They can’t even pass an emissions test without cheating. Nobody in their right mind would purchase a preowned veedub without a statutory guarantee.

      • 

        spackbace on 06/05/2018 - 20:01

        @JIMB0:

        My Japanese car was made in Australia

        That statement doesn't make sense.

        It's an Australian car, built by a Japanese owned brand. Doesn't make it a Japanese car 😂

      • 

        JIMB0 on 06/05/2018 - 20:20

        @Spackbace: Its a Japanese design made here in Australia using a lot of their processes/tooling/parts. You don't hear people refering to their VW as a Mexican/South African car or Hilux as a Thai ute.

      • 

        pegaxs on 07/05/2018 - 08:59

        +1

        @JIMB0:

        That’s because calling their VW a Mexican car doesn’t suit their agenda.

      • 

        resisting the urge on 07/05/2018 - 10:51

        +1

        @Spackbace: Depends on your perspective.

        If it was designed and engineered in Japan, if the manufacturing processes are Japanese, factory tooling Japanese… management and finance handled by the global parent… I would call that Japanese.

        It really doesn't matter where the parts are decanted, unpacked and fed into the production line.

      • 

        Euphemistic on 15/05/2018 - 06:52

        @JIMB0: drivers door is likely to more than twice a day five days a week. Commuting would be double, two drives is 4 openings. Then add weekend or other driving. Passenger door is likely to be a lot less unless carpooling for commute or using the car for Uber.

    • 

      DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:02

      This is exactly my conspiracy theory.

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:07

    Where did you see that is wear and tear not covered? I haven't heard of this before.

    Couldn't any failure be considered wear and tear? I don't think that would be fair to any consumer?

    • 

      JimmyF on 14/05/2018 - 22:09

      read your warranty document….. Its clearly stated in there….

• 

  theHMASfriendship on 05/05/2018 - 19:13

  +6

  What did VW service say when you asked them?

  • 

    Baysew on 06/05/2018 - 09:19

    +3

    Das Auto - Kaput

• 

  Diji1 on 05/05/2018 - 19:25

  +1

  Seems reasonable to me that it should be fixed by them. Contact Consumer Affairs in your state.

  • 

    JimmyF on 05/05/2018 - 19:34

    +1

    Seems reasonable to me that it should be fixed by them

    based on what?

    Its a 3+ year old car. No idea how long its out of warranty, could be 1 week, or could be 1 or 2 or 3 years. Who knows until the OP lets us know.

    Things break, not everything is a Consumer Affairs issue!

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 05/05/2018 - 21:45

      +3

      Exactly!

      Call the bikies instead.

      • 

        RockyRaccoon on 05/05/2018 - 22:06

        +5

        Absolute BS

        Bikies wouldn't be caught dead in a Jetta…..

  • 

    whooah1979 on 06/05/2018 - 06:16

    -2

    Contact Consumer Affairs in your state.

    consumer affairs or fair trading depending on the states have little to no authority to force the manufacturer to provide a remedy after the manufactures warranty expires.

• 

  altomic on 05/05/2018 - 20:15

  +2

  have you tried opening and closing it?

  • 

    retiredfeline on 06/05/2018 - 06:19

    +1

    But it's still useful for jetta-soning unwanted passengers.

  • 

    DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:12

    Opening the door or the lock? There's no key on the passenger side so it can only be locked/opened by the remove or the button in the center control area.

    So yes, that has been locked/unlocked several times.

    The door has also obviously been opened so that it could be determined whether it was locked or not.

• 

  YRT on 06/05/2018 - 08:58

  +3

  I drive a MY15 Jetta. So far I haven't had door lock issue yet.

  In some states it's illegal to park a car while unlocked. Since dealer should fix any major issues under ACL, this needs to be fixed long after warranty expires (i.e. 5 years from new at least, based on average person's expectations).
  See https://www.allianz.com.au/car-insurance/news/fine-for-an-un…

  • 

    whooah1979 on 06/05/2018 - 09:46

    Since dealer should fix any major issues under ACL

    An unlock door doesn’t affect the operation of a motor vehicle. It’s therefore not a major fault.

    • 

      YRT on 07/05/2018 - 16:46

      I'm not sure it's a minor fault either, since unlocked car is considered illegal in some states. Best OP to check with dealer regarding ACL. 5 years old car is usually fixed I believe - providing it has been serviced, not neglected, and have not covered 200000+ ks.

      • 

        DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:14

        Thanks, will try this too.
        It is under 5 years and under 200,000 ks, something like 40,000 ks.

  • 

    JimmyF on 06/05/2018 - 10:01

    -2

    Since dealer should fix any major issues under ACL, this needs to be fixed long after warranty

    So if my 5 year old car breaks down,that should be covered? As thats a 'major' issue……….

    • 

      DerpFactory on 14/05/2018 - 22:15

      -1

      Depends on the cause?

      If you didn't service it, then it's probably your fault.
      If it leaked oil / coolant for the last 5 years, then it's probably your mechanics fault? and if you only serviced at VW then surely they are responsible to fix it.

      • 

        JimmyF on 14/05/2018 - 22:24

        Yep whoosh……… That was the point of my FIRST reply. People toss around this stupid ACL claim that covers everything all the time….

        But it seems you agree with, there is more to it than just this simple statement.

• 

  Roney on 06/05/2018 - 15:26

  +1

  For theft insurance, faulty door lock must be fixed whether in public place or home. I think it's a good enough reason to present to ACL.