Yes, if the trim panel is removed from the hatch, one can reach inside. It seems like there is an angled rod that connects the hatch button to the latch, remove the hatch button end of the rod from its holder, then the rod can be moved freely to release the latch. This was as recalled from a few years ago but hope it helps. GB
> From: [email protected] > Subject: [mk2-16v] How to open rear hatch? > Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2015 16:41:46 -0800 > To: [email protected] > > Question for the group. > > On my 1985 3 door Golf hatchback, throughout its life, I had worn through > several keys. Eventually I had three different keys. One for the ignition, > one for the side doors, and one for the hatchback/glovebox > > In an attempt to go back to one single key for doors, hatch, ignition, and > glovebox, I bought one of the chinese lock reproduction kits. I had heard the > horror stories and avoided these kits for such a long time. Then I saw the > entire kit on ECS Tunings website and thought maybe this is a decent enough > kit to refurbish all of my locks. Despite my better judgement, I bought it > since it wasn't a big investment. The alternative would be to get a > locksmith to rekey everything. what did I have to lose? > > The kit arrived and it appeared of good quality. I installed the door handles > and the rear hatch. Here is my dilemma. > > Once I had the lock cylinder and latch installed on the rear hatch, the > tolerances were such that it barely touched the release mechanism. If I > jiggled the key, I could get it to engage. But after a couple of attempts, I > felt it slip and now the rear hatch lock is completely free floating. > Regardless of the position of the key, Locked or unlocked, the rear hatch > mechanism does nothing to open the door. The key cylinder spins freely. > Pushing in on the latch does nothing. > > So how does one open the rear hatch from the inside of the car? Is it > possible to remove the rear panel on the hatch from the inside and manually > open the rear hatch? > > Any advice would be appreciated. > > -Les > 1985 Golf GL > 2.0l 16v > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MK2-16v" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mk2-16v. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mk2-16v/8CBA54ED-16E6-46DA-A2AA-AFDB02880F61%40gmail.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MK2-16v" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mk2-16v. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mk2-16v/SNT151-W19A948624E9E82D568AC17A6140%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
