First of all, you have to remove the plastic casing on the door its self. I.E if you bend down and look up at the door handle on the part to the far left you should see a "slot" that looks like a screwdriver could fit in. manover that piece off and underneith you will find the key lock.
P.S I have just bought a brand new passat and only found this out by the dealer demonstating.
how i can open back door passat 1998
the microswitch that operates as a sensor is apereantly inside the lock mechanism in the door: http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/
Use your key to unlock the door.
disconnect the battery and try to open manually from inside
I had the same problem with my '96 Passat when i got it. All i had to do was to put my key in the driver side door and wait until all the doors were unlocked. That unlocked my fuel door as well. you.
on centre console near park brake
Dissconnect the positive battery terminal. Open the drivers side door. Leave door open. Reconnect terminal. With door open start car. Should be good to Go.
in my passat they're inside the dash. open the drivers side door. on the left side of the dash (the part that actually touches the drivers side door when the door is shut) there is a panel that is removable. take that off. behind the fuses you will see the relays.
It is located at the end of the dash on the drivers side. The panel faces the door so you have to have the door open to access the panel.
open the door
The rear doors on a 1998 Passat will not open if the lock is engaged, the child proof switch has been flipped, or the door release is broken. Repairing this problem begins by narrowing down the root cause.
The open door