Hi all,

 

Anyone experienced an issue with their fuel flap sticking? It's happened to me a few times now and if I unlock the car again from the fob (despite it already being unlocked) it usually resolves it. Dropped it down to the dealers and they said they couldn't find any issue (typical).

I have KESSY and usually unlock by the handle (rather than by fob remote). Dealer thinks I need to unlock by fob for the fuel flap, but I've had the flap open before without using the fob to unlock.

 

Any one had any similar experiences with the fuel flap and KESSY?

 

Thanks

I have kessy & I have never used the keyfob to unlock the car (I always use the door handle).

I have never had problems refuelling or open the flap.

 

What settings do you have for unlocking (configured in the Entertainment unit)?

Perhaps if it is set to "Drivers Side Only" it does not unlock the fuel cap & it requires you to unlock all doors before the fuel cap is unlocked as well?

I have mine set to unlock all doors.

I have kessy & I have never used the keyfob to unlock the car (I always use the door handle).

I have never had problems refuelling or open the flap.

 

What settings do you have for unlocking (configured in the Entertainment unit)?

Perhaps if it is set to "Drivers Side Only" it does not unlock the fuel cap & it requires you to unlock all doors before the fuel cap is unlocked as well?

I have mine set to unlock all doors.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have it set to unlock all. Like you I've accessed the flap before without needing to unlock with the fob, so think the dealer is trying to fob me off with that one.

On my Superb, the fuel flap solenoid started playing up and did not unlock the flap. Nothing to do with the KESSY key at all. It simply got sticky.

How old is your car.

 

If you look at the plunger you can see it rotates 90 degrees to engage with the tab on the flap.

 

Was inconvenient with fuel running low. I rushed to the nearest dealer and a mechanic forced the flap open with a screwdriver.  He said the VAG flap solenoids fail regularly.

 

To avoid the cost and hassle of replacing the flap solenoid I simply cut away the lug on the inside of the flap that means the solenoid does not engage with my flap any more.

 

Hey-presto - risk of sticking totally eliminated. And I'm not afraid of anyone stealing my fuel of interfering with my filler.

On my Superb, the fuel flap solenoid started playing up and did not unlock the flap. Nothing to do with the KESSY key at all. It simply got sticky.

How old is your car.

If you look at the plunger you can see it rotates 90 degrees to engage with the tab on the flap.

Was inconvenient with fuel running low. I rushed to the nearest dealer and a mechanic forced the flap open with a screwdriver. He said the VAG flap solenoids fail regularly.

To avoid the cost and hassle of replacing the flap solenoid I simply cut away the lug on the inside of the flap that means the solenoid does not engage with my flap any more.

Hey-presto - risk of sticking totally eliminated. And I'm not afraid of anyone stealing my fuel of interfering with my filler.

It's 3 years old, but bought approved used so still have warranty. This sounds like what is happening with mine. Both times I've noticed it is at the petrol station with 0 miles left in the tank. On Saturday, it happened when I was round the corner from the dealer, so took it down and they booked it in to be looked at today, but they haven't found any issue.

Had the same thing a while ago. Told the dealer, they said it's a known issue and replaced the actuator during service.

No issues at all with mine, I have KESSY and I always use the door handle to lock/unlock the car.

157k kilometres on the clock.

Thanks both, I think the issue is the actuator as mardu has mentioned. Trouble is, the dealer doesn't seem to know about any Tsb for it and it hasn't stuck whilst it's been in with them.

James @ RRG (if you read this topic) - can you shed any light on this being a known issue to UK dealers?

There's no bulletin for it but you are indeed correct - the cause tends to be the unlock motor/actuator/plunger (however you wish to refer to it) that unlocks the flap and it requires replacing.

I've replaced half a dozen or so.

There's no bulletin for it but you are indeed correct - the cause tends to be the unlock motor/actuator/plunger (however you wish to refer to it) that unlocks the flap and it requires replacing.

I've replaced half a dozen or so.

Thanks for this! Will see how it goes and take it back to my dealer if it carries on.

Hope for colder weather as mine started acting up when temperatures fell below 0 C and went back to normal is temperatures rose. Maybe it's a more common issue here because our climate are colder.

Hope for colder weather as mine started acting up when temperatures fell below 0 C and went back to normal is temperatures rose. Maybe it's a more common issue here because our climate are colder.

It's funny you mention that, it did start when we had a cold snap around -4c and initially I thought it was just frozen. That was over a month ago and it's not dropping below 0c at the minute.

On 12/22/2016 at 14:36, BoxerBoy said:

On my Superb, the fuel flap solenoid started playing up and did not unlock the flap. Nothing to do with the KESSY key at all. It simply got sticky.

How old is your car.

 

If you look at the plunger you can see it rotates 90 degrees to engage with the tab on the flap.

 

Was inconvenient with fuel running low. I rushed to the nearest dealer and a mechanic forced the flap open with a screwdriver.  He said the VAG flap solenoids fail regularly.

 

To avoid the cost and hassle of replacing the flap solenoid I simply cut away the lug on the inside of the flap that means the solenoid does not engage with my flap any more.

 

Hey-presto - risk of sticking totally eliminated. And I'm not afraid of anyone stealing my fuel of interfering with my filler.

 

I've started noticing the same problem. I've always just got out of the car and popped the flap open, but my wife rang me from the petrol station last week to say she couldn't get the flap open (oo-er missus). I managed to talk her out of trying to pry it open with the key. She just happened to press unlock on the key again and it popped open.  Happened to me this morning too. I thought someone might have inadvertently changed a setting on the car, but found this thread and assumed I'm seeing the same. 

 

@BoxerBoy does the flap still close flush against the bodywork with the lug removed? I'm not due a service til next March and don't want to get caught short at a petrol station, and reluctant to have to stump up for a solenoid repair!

Yes. The flap sat flush quite happily. There was enough “spring” in the flap hinge mechanism to hold it in the closed position.

 

I had no problem prising the flap open with my finger at fill up time.

 

I slept easily thereafter. No need for dealer intervention and saved £££££££