Hi, can anyone tell what could be wrong with my back driver's side door. It will not unlock for inside or out. I also have another problem (which after looking at some threads think this is not connected.) The Driver's door has no courtesy light , inside or the red warning one on the door. I was told it could be the door motor. How do you get to that with the door closed. Is there any old threads explaining how to go about this. If the door panel is damaged how much can you expect to pay for a new one. Or should i just let the dealer do it, how long would it take them to do and what would the parts cost.

With your rear door, I suspect that the lock is not receiving an unlock signal or the motor is jammed. You could first remove the interior trim on the B post. This will give you some access to the wiring, where you could check for broken wires. If you find any broken wires here you could temporarily bridge the break and see if the door unlocks. You could also try carefully banging the area of the lock with your hand whilst operating the remote locking to see if the lock releases. Another alternative is to remove as much interior trim as necessary to allow access to the door panel peripheral fixings (look at the other rear door to see where the fixings are). A last resort is to force the trim off, this will cause damage, it will be costly to replace (£100s I should think) and you'll be lucky to find a second hand one for a L & K. Any of these methods, though not really technically challenging will take time, for which the dealer will charge at the usual hourly rate. Once the panel is off, you may need to break the lock to get it to release.

For the drivers door it is likely that the micro switch has gone on the lock. A lock will be around £90, replacement involves removing the trim panel, lock barrel, moving one leg of the window regulator. You will need some Torx bits (T15 & T30?) and a spline bit (No. 8?) for some of the fixings.

you can remove the door pannel without causing any damage. undo all the bolts in handle and then prize it off with your hands this will break a few plastic trim clips ( 37p each from skoda) if your lucky it wont .

then if its the motor you need to smash the plastic cover off it so you can see the metal mechanism. then you have to fiddle until you find the right bar to press in and this will unlock the car it is a pain but it cheaper than going to the stealers

the new motor is around £90 and once the door is open takes a couple of mins to fit.

it took me 4 hours to do mine but it can be done and isnt that hard just a little fiddly good luck

Thank you for the replies, they are a great help. It looks like some of my Bank Holiday is sorted out.

Just one thing, if I break the back door lock. Will it stay shut until I can get hold of a motor? (if req)

no it wont if you remove the mechanism

leave it in place and just remeber what bar you pushed to unlock it bit fiddly but will mean the door can still close

Hi Shappy,

I had the same problem on mine, was told by Skoda I would have to replace the door motor and the interior panel which would have cost loads,

I took it to my mechanic who cut the cloth area of the door panel off ( a bit messy ) once he released the lock he sprayed some white grease on the mechanism which worked a treat! it has been fine since.

The same thing started to happen to the drivers door so i got in early with the grease with the same success.

I now spray all the door mechanisms every 6 months now as a prevention.

Hope it helps

Hi to you all, an update. I have been able to remove the back door panel without damaging it. I somehow managed to release the door without originally damaging the lock. So now I have to get hold of a new or used lock and fit it. While I removed the lock I stripped it down and did get it to work but I am not sure whether to trust it so I will replace it. Just incase anybody wants to know how i got the small torx screws out i used a set of small thin nose mould grips to grab the head.

As for the front door micro switch, just in case I decide to have a go replacing this, can you tell me what micro switch to get and where to get it from,(before i start the job) would maplin have them.

Cheers and thanks for your help.

Edited 1 May, 201016 yr by shappy

Hi Shappy,

I had the same problem on mine, was told by Skoda I would have to replace the door motor and the interior panel which would have cost loads,

I took it to my mechanic who cut the cloth area of the door panel off ( a bit messy ) once he released the lock he sprayed some white grease on the mechanism which worked a treat! it has been fine since.

The same thing started to happen to the drivers door so i got in early with the grease with the same success.

I now spray all the door mechanisms every 6 months now as a prevention.

Hope it helps

your mechanic is not very good then as you dont need to cut the pannel they come off in a couple off pulls and only damages the plastic clips that cost 37p from skoda lol

This is 8 years too late but .... I've had the same problem on my Roomster, the nearside rear door wouldn't unlock, either with the key or the central locking switch by the gear stick and I was fearing the worse. I started looking at videos on Ebay showing how to remove the inside panel when the door is closed, not an easy job.  But then, by luck I have to admit, I came across an easy way to unlock the door. Start the engine !  Yes I know it sounds daft but with the engine started, a lock/unlock press on the switch by the gear stick unlocked the door. I also tried using the spare key, with the engine running and that too unlocked the door. Turn the engine off and it won't unlock, turn engine on and it does. My Skoda also has a funny with the hatch back door, half the time when I unlock the car this door stays locked. What do I do ?  I open and close the off side rear door, and then the hatch door opens !  So before you rush to rip off the inside panel with the door locked try what I've just mentioned.

Turns out AnthonyH is onto something. I got to spend my door-lock-fixing time watching the football with cool beer and warm nachos!

THANKS!! :D