# Help....fuel door won't open



## Angamie (Mar 16, 2009)

I stopped to get gas on my way to work and the fuel door wont open. The car was not locked at the time. I locked and unlocked the car hoping it would unlock it but nothing. I called the service department and they told me to bring it in and they would have a look. I have an eighth of a tank of gas and they are about 55 miles away. If I can't figure it out when I get off of work, I will have to call the roadside assistance number. Any suggestions? Has this happened to anyone else? :banghead:


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## MistaRhoi (Feb 10, 2010)

It happened to me for a fraction of a second, but it eventually opened after a few tries. Good luck.


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## Angamie (Mar 16, 2009)

seems like a strange reason to have my car towed


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## 09TiguanGal (Oct 10, 2008)

did you have the ebrake on??


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## Angamie (Mar 16, 2009)

No. The e brake wasn't on. 
I managed to get it to the dealership on fumes last night. After about ten minutes of me sitting listening to thme locking and unlocking my car, they came in and said...." did you know that your car has to be unlocked for the fuel door to open" My jaw dropped in amazement that they thought I could possibly be that stupid. Just how much gas could I have put into my car in it's 10K miles? I have no clue what they did to fix it and I don't think they know either.


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## NZTIGUAN (May 23, 2008)

For what it's worth mine has to be pushed in a very "precise" spot or it won't open. That spot's much more towards the centre of the fuel door than I expected it would be when I first got the Tig. I often take 2 or 3 presses to get it right even after two years !!!

Cheers


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## tigatola (May 26, 2010)

Our 2010 Tiguan has only had four fill-ups so far, but for what it's worth the last time I gassed it up the fuel door wouldn't open. Ours auto-locks the doors after _x_ number of minutes elapse (it came set up that way), and I had to use the remote to unlock the doors to get the fuel door open. After finishing pumping the doors were locked again, but I was able to close the fuel door with a little more resistance felt at the catch.

Maybe the cable for fuel door release triggered by the door locks is sticking somewhere?


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## Angamie (Mar 16, 2009)

Im adding it to my small list of electrical problems....


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## stephengli (Sep 28, 2006)

*It happened to me too.*

I got out to fill my tig, standing like an idiot I couldn't figure out how to open the damn fuel door.
I went back inside the car to look around for a gas release door that I might have missed but none. I finally after multiple times got the door to open. It is defiantly a glitch in the electronics. It has only happened in the 4 fill ups I have got but I have a real strong feeling I will have this embarrassing thing happen again. I wait till the day comes when this lame ass electronic parking brake fails.


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## Joaltee (Oct 4, 2010)

Hi all, I stumbled upon this thread while troubleshooting the same issue, finally I jimmied it open, took off the latch and gave it a good cleaning, now it works flawlessly. Hope this helps.


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## 1afc (Apr 30, 2015)

*How I see the failure*

First post and in a hurry so please excuse. 
I was going to add photos but it appears the site only uses urls for upload and I don't use those services. If anyone wants photos to upload please contact me.

The fuel filler door lock solenoid moves a pin into a lock position so the spring loaded mechanism can't be opened. 
If you have had an intermittent fault (like we did) you can try using lubricants but unless you actually pull the mechanism apart the lubricant does not go anywhere near the problem area. 
Great if it works for you but my suggestion is that if it has happened and you have managed to get it opened again then change the solenoid asap because it will happen again.

The solenoid part number is 5N0 810 773F. The F designates the last revision (April 2015) because the one that failed on me was a D.

If you have the door open then changing the mechanism is a piece of cake. 

On a no responsibility basis, the steps are 
1. Open Tailgate
2. Remove small panel inside at right rear
3. Disconnect the solenoid plug
3a. Forgot this bit - remove the oblong rubber panel holding the cable as it passes through the hole.
4. Go to the filler and remove the torx screw holding in the rubber membrane
5. Remove the rubber membrane and fuel filler door all in one piece. Be careful that you do not damage the body panel paint with the fuel filler door, i.e. don't leave it fully open. 
6. Remove mechanism and replace with new. 

Assembly is the reverse and make sure that the overflow pipe runs to the opening at the back of the wheel arch.

IF YOU ARE STUCK there are youtube videos that show how to use a wedge to pop open the door. 

If you have the door open but don't want to replace the mechanism then just disconnect the solenoid as in 3 above. That way the item won't lock and stick in the first place. 
The door will still open and close as per normal BUT IT WON'T BE LOCKED WHEN YOU LOCK THE CAR. 
I guess it depends on what type of neighbourhood you live in. :laugh:

Good luck.


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## epc (Feb 16, 1999)

My fuel door was stuck once a couple of months ago, when it was at night, about 0 deg F, 50 miles from home, pregnant wife on board, no gas left in the tank. Yeah, I was stressed.

I poured hot water over the door, thinking that pressure car wash and the very cold temperature caused ice to form in the latch area and prevented the door from unlocking. That didn't work. The manual told me there was no emergency manual release and that I should call the Roadside Assistance. The very nice lady at the Roadside Assistance told me to keep locking and unlocking the central locking system by using the key fob. I had done that before. But at her urging I tried many more times. And it worked.

To this date I am not sure whether there was really ice there or the solenoid was just acting up. My Tiguan is a March 2014 build, so it does not have the latest revision of the solenoid. I don't what I will do now. But at least now I have a bit more knowledge on this subject. Thanks to the previous poster.


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## gzilins (Jul 27, 2013)

*fuel door won't open*



Angamie said:


> I stopped to get gas on my way to work and the fuel door wont open. The car was not locked at the time. I locked and unlocked the car hoping it would unlock it but nothing. I called the service department and they told me to bring it in and they would have a look. I have an eighth of a tank of gas and they are about 55 miles away. If I can't figure it out when I get off of work, I will have to call the roadside assistance number. Any suggestions? Has this happened to anyone else? :banghead:


Yes. The other day was the third time it happened. First two times, eventually it opened after sitting in the garage. This time went to dealer. Drove into service. Sut off car; unlocked car from inside. Explained what was happening. HE tried to open that door. No luck. I went to wait; he took car to service bay. During drive to service bay, car automatically locked. He told me later I hadn't unlocked the car -- I told him I did, it auto locked. He unlocked car. Door opened. Nothing they can do 'cause they can't duplicate problem. Went to chat at VW website. Explained above. Was told someone from VW would contact me. She did today. Told me nothing they can do 'cause they can't duplicate problem. In other words, too bad have a good day.


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## snootypoodle (Dec 23, 2016)

*happened to me also*

I had to turn off the car and hit the unlock fob button whilst pressing the fuel door to open. Only happened to me the one time, but I've read elsewhere that this is 'somewhat' common for Tiguans.


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## [email protected] (Nov 28, 2018)

Morning 

I have the same issue with my Passat B8 2015 ( fuel trap is not opening )

I looked on some video on internet, one guy managed to open the 2012 model with something but on 2015 the BIW is slightly different with a different rubber and design ( but i guess is using the same faulty part which is the actuator is it ? ) 

Someone advice me to open and locked the kar from the inside, maybe maybe the keyless is doing some miracles - i do not believe but i will try 

Finally i am looking to solve this by myself by removing the faulty part ( 20£ is the actuator from ebay ) 

Can you send me some pictures from your good job ? i am wondering if i can remove the part just by pulling the rubber a little bit away on the right hand side without getting the entire mechanism outside ??

Your support is very much apreciated 

Cheers


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## HBWT (May 30, 2018)

I'd think that it needs to be done like this...and this way only...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VlVmQXgyc8


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## gumbymac (Jun 28, 2013)

THis is what I had to do when mine started acting up. It's the solenoid going bad. A bit expensive to fix, like $150 I think. It wasn't covered by my extended warranty either. Until you can fix it yourself, just push in on the fuel door while pressing unlock on the key fob.


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## Tommy D (Oct 10, 2000)

Mine was giving me problems intermittently. I was able to get it open by repeating locking and unlocking via key fob, while pushing& prying the fuel door. Once it is unlocked, I simply unplugged the connector for the fuel door solenoid, which is easily accessed through the panel in the hatch. The fuel door is now permantly unlocked( still latches in place), but I am not very concerned that someone will steal my gas. Its worth a try since it costs nothing and just a minute of time.


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## tig11 (Dec 20, 2015)

I had same problem two days ago . Did lock /unlock process with key fob while prying door lightly with plastic screen install tool. Popped open in a second . I subsequently lubed release mechanism with silicone spray while working release button in and out. Works great now..


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

Holy cow. I had this happen to me too on my 2015 tig yesterday. Luckily I had almost a full tank of gas so was in no hurry for gas, but just wanted to top it all the way up.

Had to lock and unlock and eventually got the door opened.

Anyone have pictures on what to do with regards to opening the back panels to disconnect stuff in case this happens again when I'm out of gas?

This definitely seems like some kind of design or production flaw since a lot of people experience this issue.


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