'97 Boxster Door Lock Peculiarities

[JP Summers]

This applies ONLY to the 1997 Model.

The '97 Model year was fraught with technical issues on the Boxster. In '98 many were corrected and further corrected in '00 & '04 when the model matured.

One of these issues was the Door Latches. I just finished repairing my doors & windows so they mostly "work".

The Left window had a corroded power supply wire in the A-Pillar. The right had a temporarily seized motor. After spending 60 hours chasing dead ends, they were both repaired in under an hour. All functions WORK!

The Door Locks are another issue all together. '97 used a completely different latch set than any other year. These have the 8 Pin plug, where as all other model years use the 9 pin. The internal electrical arrangement is also different, as is the remote lock mechanicals.

Yes, cheap $30 VW Door Latches from Amazon will work and work well. It's the exact same as the $600 Porsche Part. Mind you this is for the 1997 Model Year ONLY!

Part# 3B1837016A. - Right Latch
Part# 3B1837015A - Left Latch

Presently I can lock the car & set the alarm w/ the Key, unlock with the Fob. Window drops are exactly as they're supposed to be. All's good now.

[Franco]

Thanks for this very valuable information.

[Franco]

HI, I replaced the door actuators on my 1997 with these Front Right/Left 8 pin For Volkswagen Golf 3B1837016A and 3B1837015A. This model has 1 extra MICRO Switch inside compared to the original Porsche actuator, to make them function I opened them up and removed the 1 extra MICRO SWITCH. Purchased from tom auto parts on eBay for a C $80.98 / US $56.74 total shipped.

Thanks to all and have a great day

[Cortneysimpson]

Which microswitch in the VW PART # 3B1837016A did you disable?