Fuel tank door wont open - VW Golf

MrSing

Having an issue with the central locking on my 2017 Golf for the past few days and have it booked in to VW under warranty to be repaired but the fuel tank door wont open on it now. I called VW and essentially they wont do anything about it until it lets me down on the side of the road as in when it runs out of fuel.

If I bring it to the garage on Tuesday I will have to pay for a replacement car whereas if it runs out of fuel they will pick it up and give me a replacement car, this silly one size fits all approach is so annoying.

Does anyone know any fix for this even in the short term for this so that I can fill the tank?

sundodger5

On some cars you can manually release the fuel tank cover from the boot.

Not sure on the golf. A quick Google may do it though.

Sam Russell

My Tiguan sometimes does that.

It remains locked until the 'unlock' on the remote is pressed, or the release in the door is pressed, or the key has remained in the ignition. Not quite which works or does not work, so I try them all.

Good luck with it.

User1998

Common problem. You can pry the plastic cover off with a flathead screwdriver and force the fuel door open that way, but you’ll most likely break one or two of the clips.

I’ve been stuck a few times with this issue in various different Golfs

walterking

Some suggestions here

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/4954/vw-golf-fuel-filler-cap-will-not-unlock

YouTube is another place to check

MrSing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120536230#Comment_120536230

VW offered to send a technician to do this and they also said that it will probably brake something so I asked who pays to fix this and I was told that I would.

Dirty Nails

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058294514/fuel-tank-door-wont-open-vw-golf

Slap the door repeatedly fast with the heel of your hand while pressing the unlock button on the remote. Prob 60/70% success rate without breaking anything. If it's under warranty & they break it - they pay for it.

Slap it hard enough that you're pumping the plunger on the lock

MrSing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120536622#Comment_120536622

Thanks, will try this tomorrow and let you know how I get on, I've spent the whole day at other fixes including removing carpet in the boot to get to the fuel door area.