Stowage compartment cover hatch will not stay closed - How to repair it

DJDaniel · Sep 27, 2023

The VW California / Multivan T6 has a useful Stowage Compartment in the Front Centre Console on the dash board but cover hatch will not stay closed.

The cover hatch clicks down to close and with one touch opens up.

The trouble is it is not obvious that to make it open when closed it must only be push touched at the bottom !

It seems that many people make the mistake of pushing the top to open it. Unfortunately this can break the inside catch mechanism.

The cover hatch mechanism is very simple though it is hidden from view. It works by a small wire clicking into a slot which holds the cover hatch closed (Picture 7) and then the wire slips out of the slot when push touched at the bottom to allow it to open.

How to repair it.

Here is my repair, which has so far been successful.

Remove the outer case of the cover hatch, it clips off. This is not the whole cover hatch, just the outer case to it. Picture 1. Use a flat bit of hard plastic to get in the little gap around the edge, or finger nails, to prise it off. Picture 2. There are small plastic clips holding it on.
Once the cover is off, notice in the top right a gap and a 2mm (aprox) hole. Picture 3 & 4. The hole holds one end of the wire, (the wire is L shaped Picture 10 shows the one I made) the other end of the wire, the long side, goes under the plastic clip. Picture 5. Note - The plastic clip can get bent, see instruction No 5 & Picture 4.
If you still have the original wire, put the short end in the hole and the long end under the plastic clip. Picture 5. This can be fiddly, long nosed pliers to hold the wire will help.
If you do not have the wire, mine fell down inside and was lost, get a piece of strong straight wire about 1.5mm thick. Note - it must fit in the hole with ease. I used some wire that was the spring of an Ikea clothes peg which I straightened (best to wear gloves when working with wire). First bend it into an L shape then cut the short side about 10 or 12 mm. Now cut the long side just under 40mm, about 38mm I found worked, too long and it jams. Picture 10. Round off the long end it's important as it needs to slide in & out of the slot. Now do stage No 3.
My plastic clip was so bent (Picture 5) that the wire kept falling out. So I put some glue to bridge the right side of the clip. Picture 8. I used an Epoxy glue ie 2 part Araldite 5 Minute or Gorilla Epoxy. Make sure it does not jam the free moving of the wire.
Good luck

Devaprem · Sep 29, 2023

Many thanks for this helpful guide!. I will give it a go next week and let you know how I get on

Devaprem · Oct 19, 2023

Devaprem said:
Many thanks for this helpful guide!. I will give it a go next week and let you know how I get on

Hi. After a delay, I finally found time to try what you suggested. The photo shows the slot into which the latching wire tests. The top part is broken, perhaps from too much force being applied when shitting it. This slot is path along which the latching wire runs and, with this broken, the latching wire doesn't sit securely - it just stays loose. I did try gluing it but access was difficult and it didn't work.

Thanks again for your suggestions. Hopefully they are of help to others!