Superb iV charging flap

[Jimbobby12]

Morning Guys, this is one for any iV owners, I charged the car overnight then went on a short run but even a short run in these minus temperatures hammer the battery I did around 6 miles with heater and seat warmer on and I’d used nearly 30 % of the battery so went to plug in again at home only to find the flap that covers the charge plug would not open, it does move in an out slightly but the catch does not release, don’t think it’s cold weather related as I have had the hairdryer on it for a good 20 minutes but it still won’t realease, I’ve contacted the dealership for advice and am waiting for a call back, just wondered if anyone has had a similar thing happen, just glad I’m not full electric or I would be in the brown stuff.

[Patent]

It's possible for it to grab the catch weirdly and jam.

 

Don't forget it automatically locks itself shut a few minutes after you unlock the car, so it could just be that.

 

Firstly I'd try locking and unlocking the car and check it "clicks" unlocked.

Assuming it does that and it's still jammed, judiciously prod the dimple on the flap to try and unjam it. The dimple is located where the catch is so you've got a reduced risk of breaking the plastic by using that spot

 

[Jimbobby12]

Thanks Patent, I’ve tried all combinations of switching on and off on the key fob, the dealership have been on and said there is no other release that I could use, so it’s booked in for next Friday, just glad it’s not full electric 

[Patent]

Some photos of the flap mechanism if it helps you between now and 6-10 weeks when skoda can see you

[Jimbobby12]

14 hours ago, Patent said:

Some photos of the flap mechanism if it helps you between now and 6-10 weeks when skoda can see you

Thanks again Patent, at least I can now see the position of the thing that turns & locks, I am loathe to start prodding about in case I snap something, I assume at the moment it’s a warranty job and they will take a look at it a week from today. I’ll just have to get used to buying petrol for a while 🥴

[MarkyG82]

Assuming it's the same as the Passat (looks identical), there is a fair amount of logic in the system to allow it to unlock. Just read a thread on the Passat where it would only unlock if the front passenger door was opened. Owner suspected it to have confused itself into a left hand drive car. It didn't say if he got it corrected.

The cable lock and hatch lock on mine works the same. I have all doors set to unlock at the same time and don't have keyless entry (only keyless start). When I stop and get out of the car if I leave it too long (getting the kids out) I have to unlock the car again. If I leave it too long after unlocking it will need another unlock.

 

Basically if I leave it too long it needs unlocking again to be able to either get the flap open if get the plug out.

 

How do you have your door set to open?

[Jimbobby12]

34 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Assuming it's the same as the Passat (looks identical), there is a fair amount of logic in the system to allow it to unlock. Just read a thread on the Passat where it would only unlock if the front passenger door was opened. Owner suspected it to have confused itself into a left hand drive car. It didn't say if he got it corrected.

The cable lock and hatch lock on mine works the same. I have all doors set to unlock at the same time and don't have keyless entry (only keyless start). When I stop and get out of the car if I leave it too long (getting the kids out) I have to unlock the car again. If I leave it too long after unlocking it will need another unlock.

 

Basically if I leave it too long it needs unlocking again to be able to either get the flap open if get the plug out.

 

How do you have your door set to open?

 Hi MarkyG82, I have keyless entry and I have changed nothing, all doors unlock at the same time and I try the flap as soon as the doors unlock, I realise if left too long the doors will self lock, I’ve just tried it leaving the doors open and it makes no difference, it’s booked in at the dealers in a weeks time so see what they come up with

[GarySN]

My charging flap only unlocks with the remote.  it does not unlock when I use KESSY to unlock the doors.

[Jimbobby12]

54 minutes ago, GarySN said:

My charging flap only unlocks with the remote.  it does not unlock when I use KESSY to unlock the doors.

 

Yes GarySN I use my key fob to unlock the vehicle, in the past I could then open the flap covering the charging point but it doesn’t work anymore, I can hear the mechanism on the flap clicking but it’s not releasing

[Brockysuperb]

A long shot (and I can't see anything in the manual) but the fuel flap has always had a secondary release in the boot, behind the storage cubby holes. Have you lifted the bonnet in case there's one hidden in there, behind the charger unit? Mine does need a good hard push to release it (on the dimple).

[Patent]

On 09/12/2022 at 11:59, GarySN said:

My charging flap only unlocks with the remote.  it does not unlock when I use KESSY to unlock the doors.

Just a note, mine unlocks with KESSY. May 2021 build

[Patent]

On 09/12/2022 at 12:57, Jimbobby12 said:

 

Yes GarySN I use my key fob to unlock the vehicle, in the past I could then open the flap covering the charging point but it doesn’t work anymore, I can hear the mechanism on the flap clicking but it’s not releasing

If it clicks unlocked it sounds like the plastic tab has been caught the wrong way around. On the Passat i've had success just ripping it open, but if they are seeing you next week just keep putting petrol in it and let Skoda worry about that!

[MarkyG82]

Probably worth trying it every day though as the changing weather might let something go.

[Jimbobby12]

41 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Probably worth trying it every day though as the changing weather might let something go.

yes MarkyG82 I do keep trying it but I’m not going to start trying to force it, at the moment it looks like a warranty job and it’s booked in for next Friday, I’m interested to know how they are going to resolve it without damaging the flap as there is no other manual release and it can’t be accessed from the engine compartment as far as I can see, 

[Jimbobby12]

55 minutes ago, Patent said:

If it clicks unlocked it sounds like the plastic tab has been caught the wrong way around. On the Passat i've had success just ripping it open, but if they are seeing you next week just keep putting petrol in it and let Skoda worry about that!

yes Patent that’s my plan, it’s just the usual hassle of taking it in and getting home again and waiting for the call to come and collect it, the dealership is not the easiest place to get to from mine

[Jimbobby12]

12 hours ago, Brockysuperb said:

A long shot (and I can't see anything in the manual) but the fuel flap has always had a secondary release in the boot, behind the storage cubby holes. Have you lifted the bonnet in case there's one hidden in there, behind the charger unit? Mine does need a good hard push to release it (on the dimple).

hi Brockysuperb, the dealership has confirmed there is no secondary release and they want to have a look at it

[jackornator]

Hi, do you have any update please?  The same has happened to me too, waiting to hear back from the dealer when they can look.  Tried warming it up and covering in WD40.  When unlocking you can hear the actuator and the door does move a bit more but you don't get that 'click' when it releases.

[techsearchuk]

I wonder if there is any preventative maintenance that fellow iv owners should do to stop this from happening in the future. 

[jackornator]

I had a heat gun on it a while last night (-6°C) and it didn't help.  Today the car was parked in the sun and it's now opening again!  Whilst it was open I've sprayed as much of the actuator as I can reach with WD40 from the front.  It might be the current filthy road conditions clogging up the actuator or it might be cold related, I really don't know.  Everything seemed clean under the flap.  One other thing I can think of (far fetched) is that I have keyless entry (doesn't apply to the charging flap) and I started to get problems when I got a key battery warning.  Very far fetched as I could hear the flap actuator...  It would be nice if there were a manual release under the bonnet like there is for the plug.

[Jimbobby12]

3 hours ago, jackornator said:

Hi, do you have any update please?  The same has happened to me too, waiting to hear back from the dealer when they can look.  Tried warming it up and covering in WD40.  When unlocking you can hear the actuator and the door does move a bit more but you don't get that 'click' when it releases.

 

Hi Jackornator, my car is in the dealership tomorrow while they take a look, I hope to have some info for tomorrow night so I will post on here what they say, I would hold off trying to do anything with it as you could invalidate the warranty, WD40 can cause damage to rubber seals or some plastics, once it’s been freed up I’m going to put a light spray of silicone on the mechanism the sort of stuff you can wipe on your rubber door seals to stop them sticking in cold weather 

 

[Jimbobby12]

35 minutes ago, techsearchuk said:

I wonder if there is any preventative maintenance that fellow iv owners should do to stop this from happening in the future. 

 

Hi techsearchuk, as I’ve mentioned earlier I would say a light spray on the mechanism of silicon (but not WD40) should help keep things turning

[Jimbobby12]

32 minutes ago, jackornator said:

I had a heat gun on it a while last night (-6°C) and it didn't help.  Today the car was parked in the sun and it's now opening again!  Whilst it was open I've sprayed as much of the actuator as I can reach with WD40 from the front.  It might be the current filthy road conditions clogging up the actuator or it might be cold related, I really don't know.  Everything seemed clean under the flap.  One other thing I can think of (far fetched) is that I have keyless entry (doesn't apply to the charging flap) and I started to get problems when I got a key battery warning.  Very far fetched as I could hear the flap actuator...  It would be nice if there were a manual release under the bonnet like there is for the plug.

 

I’ve tried an hairdryer on the flap for about 20 minutes and it made no difference, it’s also been parked in the sun for a couple of hours most days but it still won’t work, I would be careful using WD40 I think Silicone spray is much less harmful to plastic or rubber components the sort or stuff you use on draw runners & curtain runners,

 

Interesting what you say about the key battery, I was getting the warning a few weeks ago left it for a couple of weeks then changed it for a new battery not one of those cheap cards that have about 30 batteries for a pound, it was a pack of 2 Duracell for around £5.00, but today it has flashed up again to replace fob battery, perhaps I’ll try the other battery, as you say though it’s a bit far fetched but worth a try

[Madandra]

Hey everyone. I joked this group after looking for a solution to the same issue as you are having this week. I have also tried everything from steamer, kettle of hot water, de-icer and hair dryer and after 2 days of frustration I walked past the car and gave the flap a couple of light jabs and it popped open. I was really surprised. So I’ve now dribbled some oil on the catch and protracting arm so hopefully this will stop future issues. 

[Jimbobby12]

On 15/12/2022 at 14:30, jackornator said:

I had a heat gun on it a while last night (-6°C) and it didn't help.  Today the car was parked in the sun and it's now opening again!  Whilst it was open I've sprayed as much of the actuator as I can reach with WD40 from the front.  It might be the current filthy road conditions clogging up the actuator or it might be cold related, I really don't know.  Everything seemed clean under the flap.  One other thing I can think of (far fetched) is that I have keyless entry (doesn't apply to the charging flap) and I started to get problems when I got a key battery warning.  Very far fetched as I could hear the flap actuator...  It would be nice if there were a manual release under the bonnet like there is for the plug.

 

Hello folks just an update, the car has been in the dealership today to resolve the issue of the flap over the charging point refusing to open,

 

 it turns out the actuator that releases the flap is faulty, so they have ordered one in and will fit it on Tuesday, 

 

it’s always the same these days they carry very little stock and the first visit is usually followed by another, I can understand this my only gripe is they are very reluctant to give you a timescale of how long the job will take which can seriously mess your day up, I’m talking if it’s a 2 hour job I’ll go to a Mc Donald’s or Wetherspoons have a breakfast spend some time on my iPad & head back, sometimes they say it’s booked in for the day even if it’s a small job so you wait and wait for the phone call, and have to arrange a lift there & back or try and get a bus if the dealership is on a bus route from yours, 

 

I told them that it’s this sort of thing that makes me look for another dealership when I renew, but probably most are the same

 

I also found out while I was there that Skoda no longer produce the Octavia phev  the superb will be the only phev they sell which makes me wonder for how long and if they do pull out of the phev market what will that do to the resale price of your Skoda phev  we’ll see.

[Patent]

Interesting they've pulled the Octavia iv!