Had this exact issue 2 weeks ago.

I have an 88 Wolfsburg with power locks. The van was sitting for 6
months. Went to open the rear hatch and it would not unlock.

Like you I crawled inside, removed the back panel. Then noticed the
latch mechanism was not working properly for whatever reason.

I grabbed a flat head screwdriver and pushed on the latch mechanism to
push into the unlock position. Be sure the lock on the outside key
hole is in the unlock position and press it in before you start the
process though. Worked perfectly, had it open in 3 minutes. I
lubricated the entire thing and it has been fine since.

Robert
NY

On Aug 6, 2009, at 12:51 AM, David Clarkson wrote:

> I went to unlock my rear hatch a few minutes after closing it and
> found
> that the lock/latch did not pop and unlatch as usual. Dutifully, I
> first
> checked  the archives but found nothing really useful. I lubed via
> the key slot
> to no  avail. I know that I will need to crawl inside and remove or
> partially
> remove  the interior rear hatch panel to find the problem. My
> question is
> will I likely  find something broken that will need to be replaced or
> possibly a rod that has  come loose? The diagram in the ETKA is not
> real clear but
> there does appear to  be a rod that may be possible to slip loose.
> Anyone
> had this problem? What did  you find or have to fix? Yet another
> challenge on
> the list of must do/should do  items for the Westy. Thanks everyone.
>
> David Clarkson
> 90 Westy 266K