It's standard VW design. My '87 Jetta, '81 Cabriolet, '85 Vanagon, '84 Vanagon, 01 Beetle TDI  all did this.  It's silly to slam a locked door shut, especially if your keys are still in the ignition. 

Chris.

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Dnia May 9, 2012 o godz. 17:15 pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@GMAIL.COM> napisał(a):

> Our '84 is the same way for the drivers side door, but not the passenger
> side door.
> 
> I have always assumed it was to ensure that you don't lock your keys in the
> car.
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 4:53 PM, craig cowan <phishman068@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On my '87 syncro, which does not have power locks, I can only seem to lock
>> the doors when they are closed. A key will only lock the door if it's
>> closed, and the locking "button" can only be depressed with the door
>> closed.
>> This is proving to be extremely annoying and is not the case on my other
>> two busses.
>> This isn't normal right?
>> How do I fix it?
>> 
>> The doors lock and unlock fine and with little effort while closed
>> though...
>> 
>> -Craig
>> '87 SUNROOF SYNCRO WESTY ZETEC
>> '90 GL "NEW BUS"
>> '85 Residence
>>