Volkswagen Polo III (1994 - 1999) - 1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem

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Mon 21 Jan 2008 13:56
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - jillie05
Hi, I have a '99 1.4CL Polo which I am selling today - typically the central locking has now decided not to work. It has messed up in the past, got a bit slow but now it has stopped... Not completely though, it does open all doors from the drivers side, doesn't work at all from the passenger side but to be honest I'm not sure it ever did as I never tried before. So it opens but won't lock. I have to open the rear passenger door and push down the drivers door button to lock all 4 doors.

Any one have any idea what it is and how easy it would be to put right..?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/01/2008 at 14:02

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Sat 1 Mar 2008 19:20
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - LondonBus
Ok, Polo central locking is weird.


It is vacuum based. The vacuum pump is in the boot on the driver's side. Turning a key in the lock activates a microswitch which gets the pump to fire.

Causes of failure:

a) Pump dies. You can get second hand pumps off ebay. Cost 35 quid - dead easy to fix

b) Leaks in the vacuum lines. How long have you got?

c) Failure on door to activate locking indicates dead microswitch.

I think b) might be the case of your vehicle.

I had the same problem on a 3 door CL - although the symptom involve the fuel flap not releasing (could lock - but not unclock).


I "cured" the problem by disconnecting the pump from the electrics and fitting a locking fuel cap. For an 11 year old vehicle with a non-mechanical problem, I'm not willing to spend money to get someone to fix this....
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Sat 1 Mar 2008 19:27
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - maltrap
a similair problem on my sons 01 polo turned out to be a die cast shaft that connected the lock barrel to the microswitch the 3 parts cost £8 & the fix was fairly easy.
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Wed 13 Aug 2008 10:46
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - paralyzedcitizen
I have a similar problem. at first my central locking wouldnt unlock (although i could hear a wery noise when i pressed the key fob) then it would only unlock the drivers door and now it just doesn't do anything :(. If your previous post has anything to go by then i think it might be the pump but i'm not sure at all. The real problem is i discovered that my central locking completely died this morning... as i pulled up to the pumps but failed to open my fuel cap. Basically i'm not sure if i can get home :( what do you suggest i try before i leave work and hope i make it to the pumps?
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Sat 20 Sep 2008 11:56
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - jomo
I have a similar problem with my vw polo 1998 1.4CL. My driver side door lock works intermittently and there is no tension when locking and unlocking (it is freely rotating). Now that I am having to use passenger side to lock/unlock all doors.

Anyone has any idea what it is and how easy it would be to put right..?
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Sat 20 Sep 2008 13:51
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - elekie&a/c doctor
I would think that the door lock barrel actuating pin has broken.A very common problem on Polo and Golf models.You can buy a repair kit for around £10 and less than an hour to fix,but a bit of a fiddle to do.hth
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Sun 22 Feb 2009 23:48
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - pottery
Brilliant answer - thank you
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Fri 2 Oct 2009 14:07
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - Ben Sales
Any Idea where you can get one of these kits?
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Fri 2 Oct 2009 14:28
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - bell boy
tinyurl.com/y8sfmd9
make sure you get the right kit including 3 or 5 door
i get mine from the scrappies

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 02/10/2009 at 14:42

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Sat 4 Sep 2010 15:39
1999 1.4C L- Central locking problem - manaman

Hi there I know this thread is quite old but i note you describing the replacement of the central locking pump on the VW Polo as "dead easy"...

Mine has gone and I have bought another one from eBay.

Now the power cable looks easy enough to unplug (a bit tough, but it looks straightforward, correct me if I'm wrong), but the actual pump ("vacuum pump") bit doesn't come off easily and it looks like if I tug it it'll break where it connects to the pump unit.

Any instructions / links would be most appreciated.

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