I went to fill up the other day and found I couldn’t open my fuel flap. Anyone know of a method to open it manually??  I have it booked in but could do with filling up before hand!

Its a known problem Just give it a sharp tap in the centre of the flap, works every time for me

I’ve tried pushing it everywhere. No difference but maybe I need to be a little more forthright!!  Thanks. 

Dont push it, just a sharp tap across the centre should free it.

Yes, when I first picked mine up I stood at the petrol station thinking " how the h*ll do I open this"....

 

after lots of prodding & pushing it eventually opened.....

 

Still struggle with it now.....

 

I guess every car has to have a design fault.....🤔

Never had a problem opening ours after 30 months and nearly 26,000 miles. Need to treat it gently like a woman and access will be provided.

I have had the car since new and it has 24k on it. Never had the issue before but it hasn’t needed filling up since February due to lockdown restrictions. 
 

Am guessing something has seized up!

5 hours ago, BCEly said:

I have had the car since new and it has 24k on it. Never had the issue before but it hasn’t needed filling up since February due to lockdown restrictions. 
 

Am guessing something has seized up!

Give the flap a good thumping whilst locking and unlocking the car............

4 minutes ago, Berisford said:

Give the flap a good thumping whilst locking and unlocking the car............

FLAP could be code for WIFE.

HI folks

 

I've done as everyone has suggested but the fuel flap refuses to open so I think it's a warranty job.

 

Thanks for your help.

The filler cap on mine refused to budge on first use, took about 3 nudges to get it working on first fuelling.  It had prob never been moved since the car was built in July ‘19, first refuelling end June ‘20 after collection.  Since then filled up twice and it popped open on first press.👍

 

Will keep giving it a good thumping in mind for future though. 😀

I have 2019 Karoq with same issue - fuel flap won't open and close properly (no matter where and how you nudge/kick/thump it) - I have to keep at it like a moron at the gas station and lose several minutes trying to get it to close properly

 

Will have to book a trip to dealership to get this sorted

 

Btw at the gas station there was a dude with a new Kodiaq, and he had similar trouble opening fuel cap

Guess its a Skoda wide issue (googling this issue comes up with numerous hits) with fuel flap mechanism 😕

Edited 11 July, 20205 yr by Fux

Gave it all a good lube with silicone spray and no problems since.

I've shaved a bit of material off the latching pin so that if the flap decides to stick again it can be encouraged to open with just a little gentle persuasion........... not that it's been any trouble of late.

 

Edited 12 July, 20205 yr by Berisford

Thanks for all those who replied to this question. It turns out the locking mechanism on the fuel flap was broken and needs replacing (under warranty thankfully). 

Mine would not open, so tried all the good advice but none worked. Took it to main dealer who tried usual tricks and failed, then used brute force and broke locking mechanism. All working parts replaced under warrantee. By the number of people reporting this issue I suspect there is a design or manufacturing fault.

Sounds like a similar issue to mind. I don’t know if they had to break anything but the report I got back said it was the fuel flap actuator. 

I have this issue intermittently. Most recently no amount of hitting, slapping or tapping, nor locking or unlocking worked. The thing that seemed to do it was to open the tailgate, then use the key to lock then unlock several times with the tailgate open. I actually heard the actuator in the fuel cap working. I then pressed lightly and the cap opened as normal, no force needed. Not sure if it was total coincidence but the fuel cap unlocked, which saved a huge problem as I am just about to drive 450 miles from London to Edinburgh…

It's easy to check that the latch is moving freely when the fuel flap is open. Mine seems OK, but I gave it a squirt of graphite to lubricate it just in case.

Cut a piece of the plastic off the lid where the locking pin rotates into place.

 

Lid will never lock again.

 

Guess who cured a troublesome Superb a few years ago.

Dear All,

 

Did anyone attempt to remove the inner lining by working at the points marked in blue ?

 

I am so tired of sucking.

I bought my 1.5tsi Karoq in September 2018 and, after about 4 years, my fuel flap started to play up - very frustrating and quite embarrassing on the forecourt. It gradually got worse over the next year so I booked the car in with my dealer under the warranty bit of the 'All-in-one' agreement. No problem, they fixed it; apparently it is caused by a dodgy solenoid.

Edited 19 July, 20241 yr by StEdmund
speeling

There are two distinct issues and they occur on many VAG models with this design of filler flap latch and acutator.  One is the latch sticking in the filler flap (it has to rotate through an angle to latch and unlatch).  This can be fixed, or prevented, with silicone spray or graphite lubricant, which will need repeat treatment if it washes away.  The other is actuator failure, which needs a replacement solenoid.

 

A really crummy design with two flaws, and it has gone un-fixed for at least 10 years, as it occurs on a family Leon from 2014 as well as a 2023 Karoq.

 

"There are two distinct issues ........"

 

I suspected that might be the case as, before taking the car into the dealer, I tried spraying with silicone lubricant as suggested by other contributors - but that didn't work.

Looking at the part shown on an eBay listing, it looks like there is a manual way to operate it, pulling a red string. Perhaps accessible through the same panel on the interior where you get to the back of the rear lights?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276401112321