UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi All
Newbie here, hoping that someone might be able to offer some advice to my central locking nightmare...!

I have a 97 Mk3 5 door hatchback. A while ago the driver side door lock stopped working - when you put the key in it turns with no resistance at all so obviously doesnt pop open the lock. I started to use the passenger door to get into the car, until not long after, that too decided to break. This time it actually made a snapping sort of noise like something inside the lock had popped or given way.

So now i am down to entering the car through the boot by reaching through the entire car to manually unlock the doors. A right pain in the arse, especially in Tescos car park in the rain...!

At times now the central locking will activate itself whilst im driving, up, down, up down - and also when its parked, making the car unlocked whenever it feels like it. This happens at random times, and luckily it seems to have stopped doing this recently.

I have no idea where to start with this problem, and i dont really fancy taking it to a garage for them to charge me the earth whilst the spend hours messing about with it.

Has any one else here had a similar problem?
Anyone know what this might be, or how i might go about fixing it?

Many thanks for you time reading this post - Appreciated.

Acer

If your car is a 1997 model, that makes it a Mk4 not a Mk3, so you should probably move your post to that section.

I know there is a common problem with a pin breaking inside the locks of the Mk4's which could explain the snapping noise and the locks not working. If you know your way around a toolbox, it's easy enough to check and fix. If not, your dealership will be familiar with the problem.

Not sure about the central locking, that may be a related problem, or could be caused by a dodgy contact or the like. Either way, you could pull the central locking fuse as a temporary fix to stop it spuriously unlocking itself.

If you search the forums and I'm sure you'll find more specific information.

retro wrote:If your car is a 1997 model, that makes it a Mk4 not a Mk3, so you should probably move your post to that section.

how come?

according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Polo
and
http://www.answers.com/topic/volkswagen-polo-mk-iii

mkiii has been produced in years 1994-2000/2

so 1997 perfectly fits within this timeframe

Err, well it's a bit complicated.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 3 is what Volkswagen would call the '2F' (1990-94). It is technically a facelifted version of the Mark 2, but as the number of changes were significant, it is more commonly referred to as a new mark.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 4 is what Volkswagen would call the
'6N' (1994–2000). This is a completely different design to the previous marks.

So, although the Wikipedia page is technically correct with it's model codes, it doesn't reflect real word usage.

Err, well it's a bit complicated.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 3 is what Volkswagen would call the '2F' (1990-94). It is technically a facelifted version of the Mark 2, but as the number of changes were significant, it is more commonly referred to as a new mark.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 4 is what Volkswagen would call the
'6N' (1994–2000). This is a completely different design to the previous marks.

So, although the Wikipedia page is technically correct with it's model codes, it doesn't reflect real word usage.

must be complicated, you told him twice!

retro wrote:Err, well it's a bit complicated.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 3 is what Volkswagen would call the '2F' (1990-94). It is technically a facelifted version of the Mark 2, but as the number of changes were significant, it is more commonly referred to as a new mark.

The car we refer to on here as the Mark 4 is what Volkswagen would call the
'6N' (1994–2000). This is a completely different design to the previous marks.

So, although the Wikipedia page is technically correct with it's model codes, it doesn't reflect real word usage.

Thanks for the thorough answer. Actually, for two of them!

I wonder... if you say that above mentioned pages are technically correct, why would you go against the flow and instead of following the proper (?) marking you introduce your own and wreak havoc and misunderstanding?

I'm sure a lot of newcomers feel a little bit misled just as I do!

Cheers

Hey dude. I think you may need a new central locking pump that can cause problems like this. Worth checking the mkIV section out. Theres some good guides on how to take the pump apart and clean the contacts (often the problem).

If its not that, you can get one from a scrappy for a few quid

Peace!

polocoupcl wrote:must be complicated, you told him twice!

Sometimes people need telling twice

Sorry about the double post everyone. Computers don't like me.

barthek wrote:I wonder... if you say that above mentioned pages are technically correct, why would you go against the flow and instead of following the proper (?) marking you introduce your own and wreak havoc and misunderstanding?

I'm sure a lot of newcomers feel a little bit misled just as I do!

Cheers

It's not that we introduced our own system to wreak havoc (though I dare say many of us do enjoy a bit of wreaking).

I think It's more of a historical thing. I've had several Mk2 and 2F Polos, and I've always known the 2F's as Mk3's. In the UK at least, that is how they are most commonly known.

Like I said, the 2F is technically a facelifted Mk2, but to the untrained eye it looks like a newer Mark. Obviously when they were first introduced, the VW dealers advertised them as the 'New!' Polo, so I guess people just assumed that it was the Mk3. This works better for the dealers as they want people to upgrade their old Mk2 to the new model, so they're not about to tell people the 'New' Polo is actually just an 'Old' Mk2. So the 2F became commonly referred to as the Mk3 and has been ever since.

Hope that all makes sense!

I've noticed this confuse some people a few times. It would be easier if every body just used the 'part number designations' like 2F or 6n or 9n etc. Although it can become more complicated like this because my 6n, is actually a 6n1 0p4 [mk4 16v] but at least it starts the same.

dare i say 86c? thats another way to confuse everyone!

also, moved to mk4 (6n) section!

SpikeyG40 wrote:dare i say 86c? thats another way to confuse everyone!

also, moved to mk4 (6n) section!

Yeah that might do it too, especially in the crossover years. Shouldn't you say the 6n1 section 'cos it's definately not a 6n2

Maybe an admin could rename the mk1-7 forums to include this other designation too, just a suggestion. It may over complicate things.