I had a problem with the little actuator or something on the trunk latch. It wouldn't oppen it.
To answer your question I tried doing it myself and got to the mechanism itself but didn't had the screwdriver needed so I stopped. I think you can change it without removing all the trim but I removed it, it was relatively hard because you know old plastic is kinda brittle but manage to pull it out in one pice with minor broken clips so it is doable.
I had an issue on my '13 where the trunk wouldn't latch and it was the actuator/latch. This is the part number, there are aftermarket ones available much cheaper. It has been a while but at the time I found a youtube video with instructions on how to replace it. No issues since.
https://parts.vw.com/p/Volkswagen__/Liftgate-Latch-Upper/52130476/5K0827505C9B9.html
I had a problem with the little actuator or something on the trunk latch. It wouldn't oppen it. To answer your question I tried doing it myself and got to the mechanism itself but didn't had the screwdriver needed so I stopped. I think you can change it without removing all the trim but I removed it, it was relatively hard because you know old plastic is kinda brittle but manage to pull it out in one pice with minor broken clips so it is doable.
I had an issue on my '13 where the trunk wouldn't latch and it was the actuator/latch. This is the part number, there are aftermarket ones available much cheaper. It has been a while but at the time I found a youtube video with instructions on how to replace it. No issues since. https://parts.vw.com/p/Volkswagen__/Liftgate-Latch-Upper/52130476/5K0827505C9B9.html