Either both the inner and outer latches of the front passenger door on my 1998 Jetta TDI have become disconnected at the same time, or the actuator for my central locking system has become goofed up... I can't get the door to open. The lock button comes up OK with the rest of the doors, but when I try to use the interior handle I can hear the lever sliding back and forth, not catching on the actual latch.
Before I pull the panel and mess up the vapor barrier, is there an easy way I can find out if the actuator's at fault? Since I'm probably going to have to pull it anyway, is it possible to find an exterior handle from an earlier model that would have a lock core? It's a pain sometimes not being able to unlock from the passenger side.
tia,
terry solomonson