Petrol Cap locked closed

[etaf]

Hi, 

Went to petrol station and could not release the petrol filler flap 

Dropped the back seat, and the emergency release cable , also did not work 

tried a bit of WD40 around the side of the flap near to the solenoid no change

tried opening the car locks , waiting a minute and unlocking again (shown as a fix on A6 same issues)

Garage say they will have to take the interior out and its quite a big job 

any suggestions ?

I have a quote for a new flap, hinge , solenoid and sticker from Audi main dealer for under £100  - NOT Painted 

so i'm thinking maybe cheaper to break off the flap, maybe cut off with a multitool m BUT sparks will be a big issue around petrol filler, so not likely a goer, any more unders how to break without damage to the rear panel itself, I could live with a slight mismatch in colour on the flap, rather than spray the entire rear quarter 

All ideas welcome 

 

[cliffcoggin]

Look in the boot for a plastic cord, (I believe it is orange,) behind the lining fabric which you pull to release the fuel cap.

[etaf]

thanks , ried that as mentioned 

Quote

Dropped the back seat, and the emergency release cable , also did not work 

 

[cliffcoggin]

Sorry, missed that.

[etaf]

no problem, thanks for trying to help

[Steve Q]

I would be very careful about grinding near the fuel flap. You can try and break it off but I bet it'll give up more of a fight than you think. If you can remove the interior yourself then you'll save tine/money on labour. 

Cheers

Steve

[etaf]

thanks Steve, 

Yea suspected that maybe a fight 

Any clues on removing the interior, been trying to find a youtube on how it all comes apart , not done a lot of that, and usually loads of hidden clips 

I can see just 2 screws near the rear, but nothing at the front......

and if i do get the interior out  , i'm wondering how that may help , or is a metal box with the solenoid screwed in from the front ? and so nothing to be accessed from the rear anyway.

 

[Steve Q]

Good point I'm not sure. I think you're going to have to bite the bullet and just get it to a garage. 

[etaf]

thanks, yep, garage said it was a big job, so expensive I suspect

[etaf]

Discussions with Audi, and based on the call its  a known issue, and I had it fixed this morning, they even offered for me to POP in and they would manually open so i can use and get petrol in.

Not sure how they got in, but they had to replace the plastic on the flap, hinge etc, no need to remove interior or remove the wheel.

£96 all fitted parts labour vat included, 2yr warranty on solenoid , fitted while i waited about an 1hr, good covid safety too.

Must be a very easy way in , possible breaking the plastic on the flap, not sure how.

This should really be a "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE" as the remote cable should work, but they said if the solenoid is faulty, the remote cable does not work.

[cliffcoggin]

Thanks for the update. That was remarkably cheap for Audi. Kudos to them.

Very odd about the manual cable. I assumed its function was an alternate opening method in case of solenoid failure. 

[etaf]

yep, thats exactly what its supposed to be, BUT, they said that the remote cord would not work if the solenoid was broken. from the conversation, this happens frequently, he even said often, when he gets the calls ,they usually don't have any petrol or very little, but if i could get to the garage they can pop the flap.

They would not tell me how they did it, but it must be easy, they do not have the wheel lock, and the wheel stayed on the car and i dont think they took any interior trim as it had a child seat in, and nothing moved.

They must have a tool, that breaks the plastic lock, the plastic part attached to the flap itself.  know they had to break the plastic inner surround to replace the solenoid

I was surprised at the price , i thought that would be the cost of the solenoid alone.

Then they did a full car check and video , and i was really surprised that the cam belt needs replacing every 5 years or 140,000 and apparently the time scale has been increased from 4 years. Plus various other things, full service, brakes , brake fluid , almost £2K , so thats when they make the money.