Sliding door will not open

[mikeybjettaman]

I went to my van a few weeks back and found the sliding door would not open. I finally had a chance to look at it last night and this is what I found.
The interior and exterior handles move freely but don't do much. The interior lock won't operate. I took off the interior panel and had some further prodding. i found that the part holding a cable that coes towards the rear of the door was in the forward position. When pulled back, the interior lock could be operated. It also appears thet the metal rod that goes to the rear of the door has snapped. I guess the rod snapping would be the cause of the problem but it could be a symptom instead. Has anyone else encountered this? (I did do a quick search before posting). If the snapped rod is not the cause, what do you suggest?

Cheers,

Mike

[Plasticman]

gre

[mikeybjettaman]

Hi MetalMik8y,
Thanks for stepping forward. The door is currently closed. The rod has snapped towards the rear. The remaining rod part is about an inch or less long. I gave it a tug with unsuitable tools at the time and there was no movement. Now I know that is where to be, I will try a little harder. As far as I can tell, not many people have had this problem therefore I would guess only VAG would stock the parts. I was thinking of using a clamp from a central locking kit once I find out why its snapped. I think the rod snapping may be a symptom rather than the cause. I'll take some pictures the next time I get a chance to have a go at it.

[mikeybjettaman]

Ok, I was looking at the rod last night and it is snapped towards the rear where it passes thorugh a small hole. It has left only 1cm (the part that attaches to the rear catch). I am now on the hunt for a reasonable priced replacement. No idea what caused it to fail. I don't think I had been too rough with it.