Hi,
  I have a '91 GL that is "awaiting restoration".  When I first got it I
had the same problem and had to climb into the wayback and pull the panel
off to get to the latch and release it.  The plastic fasteners generally
shatter when you pry them loose; just try not to damage the panel too much.
  If you are giving up on the power locks you can just disconnect the link
to the latch.  Then you can remove the latch mechanism and the lock by
loosening the three large allen screws.  Grease the latch and lube the lock
with Tri-flow.
  If you want to get the power locks to work that's a whole other story.  I
can describe my adventures with those it you really want...

Larry A.

On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 10:19 AM, Grungy <grungy@grungy.com> wrote:

> The rear hatch lock on my '89 Carat has failed locked.
> I can't open it with the key.
>
> The power locks failed a long time ago, when the driver door power
> lock actuator got stuck in the unlocked position. Fixed that by
> removing the power lock actuator on that door.
> The remaining power locks sometimes continued to work when I would
> lock the passenger door from the outside with a key, but that stopped
> too after a while.
>
> I could work around that.
>
> But I have no work-around for not being able to open the rear hatch.
>
> Any tips on how to get the hatch open?
> Haven't tried to peel the hatch liner off yet (with it closed).
> I can replace the lock if I can get it open, provided that I can find a
> part.
> (Too bad I already sold the one that I had from my parted-out '90.)
> --
>
> bcnu - Grungy  (Seabrook, TX)  opinions are just that.obviously.
> '60 dddPanel '69 Bug '89 Carat '11 Jetta SportWagon TDI
> g r u n g y AT g r u n g y DOT c o m
>