I had this happen to me. Called the vw dealership and they told me to to rapidly press the unlock button on my key while pressing the fuel door. After a few seconds it opened. Very stressful situation with easy fix.
@@Morgan-tf3bz I'm glad it helped you. I will say that it only worked for about a month and then the locked died completely and had to have it replaced. There is a release pull handle just on the inside of the interior panel that you can pull just in case it doesn't open. Good luck
Great informative video! Had this issue on a GTD I’d just picked up with the fuel cover having to be pulled out. Used a small nail file to take the edge off the guides and some Vaseline to keep it smooth. Works absolutely perfectly now. Thank you!
Thank you Graham, mine filler cap got stuck today when going to the filling station, couldn't open it. Came across your video and used a sucker, worked immediately! Perfect!
Thanks for this. Been looking at a Golf forum with people describing this modification, but all the photos of where to shave down the plastic were omitted for some reason. Apparently it is a common problem with mk7 Golfs.
Thanks! Interesting, I'm not on the golf forums as yet, so I just rectified for what I saw. I actually took off the painted part first so I could nail down exactly where the issue was coming from. I think the origin is the hinge deforming and pulling the whole thing down slightly, leads to needing this fix.
It's absolutely a common problem also with the skoda rapid. So now we know on some scooters and also on the Volkswagen. It's a push in pop out switch that doesn't pop out a lot of the time. It's a stupid design
This is tremendously useful I just had to pry mine open because I was almost out of gas in a high crime area and my wife was with me. I am going to superglue the plate onto the plastic armature and buy a suction cup and move on with my tremendous enjoyment of my MKVII 2018 GTI 2
Following several forum threads for advice and looking at some other videos, solved nothing. That is until I saw yours and the quite brilliant tip about using a sucker! This worked great by allowing me to pull-push the flap to and fro while cycling the remote key on-off 3 or 4 times. It was followed by the clear indications of where to shave off surplus plastic. Thank you so much, saved the day.
It makes me very happy it helped you, I got the sucker from an old iPhone screen replacement kit, super useful! I keep it in the glove box just in case I see someone else having the issue.
@@grahammcdonaldHad this issue at gas station today on my Golf GTI Clubsport MK7. Locked unlocked a few times n got it out eventually. But iv also scanned the car before with OBD Eleven device & got the "Tank Lid activaction" error, so im guessing it was reporting this error. Thanks for the practical tip on this video, will have a look if its possible to shorten that plastic thing tomorrow 👍
I wouldn't try to pry or pull hard on the lid. Better to give it a little wacking to jar it loose. Thanks for the rest of the tip though for preventing it in the future!
just had this issue but i'm surprised it might be a needs-filing issue as i've had the car 6 years now. FYI, to release the door a bit pressure on the diagonally opposite corner popped it off for me.
Update: I have just come across one of golfs that had a broken actuator instead , meaning we had to use more force to open it and then replace the actuator (part number 5c6810773h). Water had ingresses into the motor inside it. Side note:I said there was a pin that comes in, in fact the actuator pushy thing is also the lock itself.
I don't have this car or this problem , but here is my theory. The plastic hinge and door may slightly warp over time and bend upwards or downwards, so that either side of the tabs are exerting pressure/friction. You could mark it with something to imprint where it is rubbing. Then see if there is any adjustability in the fuel door hinge, or even applying force upwards or downwards. Another way other than filing, at least temporary fix is to lubricate the contact area with grease. I doubt very much the plastic piece was mis- engineered to be too big or to swell bigger in time.
It's a good idea, though I did have that in mind. The grease was not enough alone. I think the cause may be sun heat over time warping the whole plastic thing, that leads to the misalignment.
Thanks for the fix! I opened our fuel door with a sling (Golf 7). I filed the guides down as you explained and lubricated the surface with Teflon grease. For now it works fine. We will see how this turns out in the long term. I noticed one thing: When the door was still stuck, Im pretty sure there was no sound coming from a locking actuator or solenoid when pressing the unlock button on the key. After the fix, I heard this clicking sound coming from the fuel door locking mechanism after pressing the unlock/lock buttons. Does the locking mechnism has a sort of overload protection in case of a stuck door? Or is it damaged, meaning it malfunctions spontaneously? does anyone know?
At a total guess, if the door was stuck in a too far in position, perhaps then the locking pin that comes through could not get through as it was not lined up.
if anybody is somewhere cold, you might have an issue with ice, which can be fixed with pouring warm water and then drying with a towel before that freezes
This is happened to me a few minutes ago, i was unable to opening it at the gas station.. I locked & unlocked the car a few times, try pulling it using car key ..not working at all ..the strange thing is this problem appearing from nowhere cos like all other pervious time its always opened smoothly by touching with one finger..also no clicking sound whatsoever..i need go to the grage
I had this happen to me. Called the vw dealership and they told me to to rapidly press the unlock button on my key while pressing the fuel door. After a few seconds it opened. Very stressful situation with easy fix.
Perfect, it’s working now ! Thank you so much
@@Morgan-tf3bz I'm glad it helped you. I will say that it only worked for about a month and then the locked died completely and had to have it replaced. There is a release pull handle just on the inside of the interior panel that you can pull just in case it doesn't open. Good luck
This one is the winner here. Thank you!
Good info, though I think your situ was different to the one in my video
Thank you!
Thank you, you just saved my day! Even though our car doors were open, the fuel tank door was locked. A click of the keyfob worked!
Great informative video! Had this issue on a GTD I’d just picked up with the fuel cover having to be pulled out. Used a small nail file to take the edge off the guides and some Vaseline to keep it smooth. Works absolutely perfectly now. Thank you!
Thank you Graham, mine filler cap got stuck today when going to the filling station, couldn't open it. Came across your video and used a sucker, worked immediately! Perfect!
Thanks for this. Been looking at a Golf forum with people describing this modification, but all the photos of where to shave down the plastic were omitted for some reason. Apparently it is a common problem with mk7 Golfs.
Thanks! Interesting, I'm not on the golf forums as yet, so I just rectified for what I saw. I actually took off the painted part first so I could nail down exactly where the issue was coming from. I think the origin is the hinge deforming and pulling the whole thing down slightly, leads to needing this fix.
It's absolutely a common problem also with the skoda rapid. So now we know on some scooters and also on the Volkswagen. It's a push in pop out switch that doesn't pop out a lot of the time. It's a stupid design
Hello I came back to this video after filling both sides a little bit & it works perfectly seems to be working with no issues now thanks man :)
Thank you so much 🙏, you video just saved me from going to the service
This is tremendously useful I just had to pry mine open because I was almost out of gas in a high crime area and my wife was with me. I am going to superglue the plate onto the plastic armature and buy a suction cup and move on with my tremendous enjoyment of my MKVII 2018 GTI 2
At the gas pump trying to pry it open with a credit card. Your video saved the day, thanks. My car was locked 🤤🤤 Now I feel like an idiot
Following several forum threads for advice and looking at some other videos, solved nothing. That is until I saw yours and the quite brilliant tip about using a sucker! This worked great by allowing me to pull-push the flap to and fro while cycling the remote key on-off 3 or 4 times. It was followed by the clear indications of where to shave off surplus plastic. Thank you so much, saved the day.
It makes me very happy it helped you, I got the sucker from an old iPhone screen replacement kit, super useful! I keep it in the glove box just in case I see someone else having the issue.
@@grahammcdonaldHad this issue at gas station today on my Golf GTI Clubsport MK7. Locked unlocked a few times n got it out eventually. But iv also scanned the car before with OBD Eleven device & got the "Tank Lid activaction" error, so im guessing it was reporting this error. Thanks for the practical tip on this video, will have a look if its possible to shorten that plastic thing tomorrow 👍
@@tredfxman with that error code sounds more like your actuator has gone to me.
I wouldn't try to pry or pull hard on the lid. Better to give it a little wacking to jar it loose. Thanks for the rest of the tip though for preventing it in the future!
just had this issue but i'm surprised it might be a needs-filing issue as i've had the car 6 years now. FYI, to release the door a bit pressure on the diagonally opposite corner popped it off for me.
Update: I have just come across one of golfs that had a broken actuator instead , meaning we had to use more force to open it and then replace the actuator (part number 5c6810773h). Water had ingresses into the motor inside it.
Side note:I said there was a pin that comes in, in fact the actuator pushy thing is also the lock itself.
Thank you! Has soon has you said car unlocked, did that and works!!!
This is so helpful thank you-all done and working again 👍🏻👍🏻🙂
Great thanks. So just this spring is tired after 6 years work and plastik need more space. Thanks
Thank you so much appreciated
Thank you very much, so easy made my day! 😊
thx bud you re the best
Thank you so much. This is helpful
I will have to give this a go. My 2019 is just starting with this nonsense, and I'd just as soon not keep solving the issue by smacking it!
Very cool you found a solution
Thanks for the tip.
I don't have this car or this problem , but here is my theory. The plastic hinge and door may slightly warp over time and bend upwards or downwards, so that either side of the tabs are exerting pressure/friction. You could mark it with something to imprint where it is rubbing. Then see if there is any adjustability in the fuel door hinge, or even applying force upwards or downwards.
Another way other than filing, at least temporary fix is to lubricate the contact area with grease. I doubt very much the plastic piece was mis- engineered to be too big or to swell bigger in time.
It's a good idea, though I did have that in mind. The grease was not enough alone.
I think the cause may be sun heat over time warping the whole plastic thing, that leads to the misalignment.
What a simple fix! Thanks
Thanks for the fix! I opened our fuel door with a sling (Golf 7). I filed the guides down as you explained and lubricated the surface with Teflon grease. For now it works fine. We will see how this turns out in the long term. I noticed one thing: When the door was still stuck, Im pretty sure there was no sound coming from a locking actuator or solenoid when pressing the unlock button on the key. After the fix, I heard this clicking sound coming from the fuel door locking mechanism after pressing the unlock/lock buttons. Does the locking mechnism has a sort of overload protection in case of a stuck door? Or is it damaged, meaning it malfunctions spontaneously? does anyone know?
At a total guess, if the door was stuck in a too far in position, perhaps then the locking pin that comes through could not get through as it was not lined up.
J
Thanks, it really helps!
Worked perfect mate. Cheers 👍
Thank you, very helpful. Problem solved.
I have the same problem on polo tsi...hope it will out for me
Thanks!!
Thank you for the video
181k views, good job volkswagen 😂 thank you Graham
Excellent, thanks
Thank you!
Thank you so much!
if anybody is somewhere cold, you might have an issue with ice, which can be fixed with pouring warm water and then drying with a towel before that freezes
Thansk that worked
Dumb question but what's the sucker thing actually called so I know what to look for to buy?
It came as part of a iPhone screen replacement kit. I'm guessing most of those kits would have similar. Look up "screen replacement tools" on eBay.
This is happened to me a few minutes ago, i was unable to opening it at the gas station.. I locked & unlocked the car a few times, try pulling it using car key ..not working at all ..the strange thing is this problem appearing from nowhere cos like all other pervious time its always opened smoothly by touching with one finger..also no clicking sound whatsoever..i need go to the grage
Perhaps the locking pin is stuck for you.
Old comment now, but see my pinned comment.
I got this problem now wanted to get fuel but cant open it even when the car is unlocked, tryed te lock and unlock but still stuck ....
Im getting mine replaced happend twice 2nd time it didnt want to open at all mechanic said its a common problem
I got the opposite issue- fuel door does not get locked after I lock the car
I’m guessing water ingress in the actuator, …and that needs replacing. Let us know!
Nothing is working for me yet.
This is 2023 and vw can't design a decent fuel cap.. very bad , just happened to me.
You’re not saying a 2023 VW did this are you? (That’s a sorry state of affairs of so)
@@grahammcdonald 2016
Ah, no Adblue. must be nice.
super
Didnt work for me
I still have no idea what is happening with mine. Half the time I can't get it open, half the time it doesn't close.
I imagine the actuator has died, probably due to water getting in it.