d_maniac

On my car each door has a red light on it that lights up when the door is open, and there is a light under the dash by both the passenger and driver side. I think it's called a footwell light.

Anyway it seems my car can't tell if my driver door is open. When I open any of the other three doors the car recognizes them and turns on the interior lights + the red lights on the door, but when I open the driver's door no light comes on at all.

Is there a sensor that controls this feature on the car??? It's been this way since I brought it. Any I am about to get a viper alarm and I think this problem may screw thinks up......

BikerBill

The door open/closed sensor is part of the lock module that is inside the door. There is a microswitch that is actuated by the pivoting door latch that senses the door status. On my car (2000 A4) the latch was sticky which gave rise to the opposite problem: the door would be closed but the car thought it was open.

If you take a flashlight and look into the door latch you can see and operate the microswitch with a small screwdriver. All I needed to do was to lubricate the latch mechanism with white lithium spray grease.

If you search around you can find instances where the circuit board that is part of the lock module experiences corrosion problems which results in electrical opens. You then need to take the door panel off, take the door apart, and replace the door lock module. Make sure you search for how to remove the door panel before you attempt it. It's not hard to do, just don't try pulling it off from the bottom.