Door Lock Malfunction in Cold Weather

Hello TDI drivers!
The freezing winter temperatures of the past few days have brought back a problem on my Audi A3 that I had completely forgotten about since last winter: The door lock on my driver's side is sensitive to frost.
Yes, yes, many will now say that the lock cylinder is frozen, in which case a de-icer for locks might help. No, the key turns very easily , and the central locking system opens all the doors!!! Well, the matter isn't quite so simple. Also, the door seals are completely free of any signs of icing.
And now the best part: In cold weather, the door can be easily unlocked from the inside. But from the outside, even if you were to rip off the doorknob, absolutely nothing would happen!!!! The doorknob can be pulled up all the way, but the door remains locked like a safe }!!?#!
Currently, I usually open the driver's door using this trick: Hold the vehicle key in the "Open" position to operate the electric windows, then reach through the open driver's window and grasp the interior release lever, and *plop* , the door pops open.
Does anyone have an explanation for this?
Once the vehicle has warmed up again (e.g., after being in a cold storage facility), the driver's side door lock functions normally.

Thank you for your tips, suggestions, and explanations. I'm mainly interested in finding a solution (as one might expect).

Regards,
Alex.

Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

'Hi,'

'I've been having the same problem for the past few days, but it's with the passenger door this time. The central locking system opens all the doors, but I can't open the passenger door from either the outside or the inside. Strangely enough, this problem only started after the side window was replaced. Could there be a connection? I haven't looked into fixing it yet because of the rather cold temperatures. I just hope I don't have to remove the interior door panel to get to it. I would appreciate any tips.'

Hello,

Several microswitches are mounted on the locking cylinder. In the past, it has repeatedly happened that these switches were misaligned due to manufacturing tolerances.

Hi,

I'm just wondering why I've never had this problem before?! The car is now in its sixth year, and the doors have always worked perfectly even in very cold temperatures.
Well, maybe the first problems are starting now, because it's not pre-heating anymore. Today, at -14°C, for the first 5 seconds it sounded like it was only running on two cylinders and almost stalled, but then it recovered. Yesterday, I tried starting it without pre-heating (it was -9°C), and it wasn't quite as bad. So, I guess I'll check the fuse first.

Hello Donalexo,

The locking cylinder is controlled from the inside via a cable.
From the outside, check the door handle. Make sure that operating the door handle correctly engages and disengages the door lock, and that the door lock allows the lever from the handle to move freely.
However, to do that, you'll need to remove the door panel.

Hello Michael II,

Do you know the internal structure of the door lock in more detail? Do you perhaps have a link (maybe even with pictures) to information about the door lock?

I am grateful for any information.

Regards,
Alex.

Here's some additional information about the vehicle, in case the model year is important (-> Michael II).

Audi A3 1.9 TDI, 66 kW (no modifications), first registration 12/96, approximately 125,000 km.
Trim level: Attraction, no winter package included!

Regards,
Alex.

Hey everyone.

Is the winter this bad, or is it just something from VAG?
I also have a problem with the door locks. In my case, the doors wouldn't latch closed. Opening and closing them worked fine, but when you shut the door, it wouldn't stay locked, meaning you had to hold the doors closed from the inside during the ride (both driver and passenger)!!! However, this only happened until the vehicle was a bit warmer; afterwards, the door locks functioned normally. After this problem occurred three times in a row after a cold start (after being parked for a long time), I got angry and used my fist to hit the metal around the door lock from the outside . Since then, it's working again . However, I think there was water or something similar in the locking mechanism, which caused a malfunction. I bought graphite spray right after that to lubricate the door locks from the inside (it's supposed to help), but since the problem hasn't reappeared after my outburst, I haven't used it.
Well, nothing is quite winter-proof...
My auxiliary heater has also been malfunctioning since yesterday (after having run up to six times a day at temperatures below freezing). I suspect it's the glow plug again. I'll go to a Bosch service center on Monday to have the error codes read.

@ampec

It's not just you who has the door problem! I know it from my Passat too, somewhere. I've tried everything possible, but I haven't found a solution! Maybe there's a helpful tip here?

Hi,
This winter, I also experienced most of the problems mentioned above. A thin, Teflon-containing spray with the Ford logo (embarrassing) provided temporary relief. However, it's also possible that the troublesome ice simply evaporated due to the dry weather.
I'm definitely going to take off all the door panels when the weather is nice, remove the locks as needed, and verschandeln all the moving parts, treating them with a water-repellent grease. I'm thinking of something containing Teflon.
Old trains that are no longer worth repairing will be scrapped after 10 years; they can't really be made functional again anyway.

Hello,
About 1.5 years ago, I sprayed both of my car's door locks with Teflon lubricant to fix a squeaking noise. Until now, I haven't had any problems with the locks sticking on this particular Golf III.

My previous car, also a Golf II, received the same Teflon spray treatment. In this case, it was specifically due to sticking locking mechanisms. Since then, I haven't had any problems with it.

Best regards, Andy.

Over the past few days, I started working on a popular project. First, I disassembled the doors on the driver's side.
When disassembling a "100" model, it's important to take the instructions literally; simply removing the interior trim is not sufficient.
Result: There was only one Bowden cable each, and they looked good. The door locks, however, looked worse. Specifically, the locking mechanisms were not in good condition, although the cylinders themselves seemed fine. The grease that was present had become very dry, and the galvanized parts showed the typical whitish layer of corrosion.
I then lubricated everything with Teflon grease and am now waiting for really hot weather. The locks tend to stick in the heat.

@everyone,

I just replaced the door lock (driver's side) on my VW Passat 3B, manufactured in December 1998. The microswitch was defective.

The new lock from RAR is supposed to be almost brand new.

Everything is reinstalled. All the control cables are connected.

The door is closed AND IT WON'T OPEN ANYMORE!!!!

What could that be?

Ich kann innen ziehen und aussen am Türgriff ziehen. Nothing is happening.

And that's on the driver's side door!

Please help me with a tip.

Sure, no problem. Here's the translation:

'Thank you in advance.'

Greetings.
Peter.