Gas door latch thing not working?

[James]

Ok so yet another little dumb thing going on with my 05.5... the gas door latch thing is not working and I don't even know how its supposed to work b/c its dark out and I cant see in there. Basically, the last time I filled up with gas, I closed the gas door and it latched fine.. tonight (18*F) I open the gas door to fill up, get done and close the door.. what to you know.. it doesnt click/latch. WTF? Can anyone explain how this works and if it really is broken? And is it even a replaceable/serviceable part and if so, am I gonna have to give the stealership several hundred dollars for a dumb piece of ABS plastic?

James

[ctk1]

Wow, that just happened to me at my last fill up and agian 15 minutes ago. Maybe someone can help us out. I do some searching and see if I can get any info as well.

[James]

I just search on this board.. came up with nothing.. hence why I created this post.. anyone? anyone? bueller? How ridiculous is this though.. the friggin gas/fuel door, really?

James

[e-baby]

i have a 2005.5 to with the same problem i guess, i'm not sure if it's suppose to be like that but to get it to latch close the door and then push in against the gas door and it should click.

[James]

i have a 2005.5 to with the same problem i guess, i'm not sure if it's suppose to be like that but to get it to latch close the door and then push in against the gas door and it should click.

I really don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I know how to close and latch the gas/fuel door.. what actually latches it to the hook on the door is not working. Although I don't know how it's supposed to work to begin with.. if there is an ABS plastic pin that pops out that it latches to or something else but what would make it not pop out is beyond me unless its broken or frozen. I don't know.. I need someone to shed some light on this and attach a diagram of how the latch is supposed to work and the parts involved.

James

[ctk1]

Hey James,
I just went outside and tried to play with it and it wont shut, I don't want to force anything but it is annoying. I dread taking it to the dealer to get raped for something stupid.

[Mtepete]

same thing happened to me be careful i ended up snapping the plastic but im under warrenty and i stopped by the dealer on my way home guy didnt ask anything just walked over to a loaner, grabbed the piece off ot it and replaced it in like 2 seconds... and away i went.... yea i know im no help but u might be able to pull the same thing by randomly stopping in and talking to a tech in the back real quick

[BlowDro]

i have this problem with my 06 and found the solution.

when u look at the door, you will see a little black rod, underneath it there is a metal tab. put your finger behind the tab and pop it back out, VWALLLA

[carpediem1230]

Had a similar problem in December. Went to fill up, wouldn't open. Pulled the emergency release (Manual FTW), and it wouldn't close. Dealer fixed the prob. under warranty.

[Sanjman]

I believe it is spring loaded and the latch releases when you pull the electric switch. I would first check whether the switch is working. The best way to do this is have a friend pull on the switch and place your ear close to the gas tank door and see if you hear it clicking. If you do, it's probably because water/condensation got it and then when it got cold it froze the door shut. Another problem there may be that the spring is broken. The best way to figure this is to lodge something (soft enough to not mess up your paint, like a triangle eraser or a screw driver wrapped in cloth) between the body of the car and the door on the opposite side of the hinge and pull on the electronic button. If this works then your spring that pushes your door out is probably broken. If you don't hear the thing click then you might have an electrical problem.

The above suggestions came from my experience with other cars not specifically to our B7's, but the mechanism and function should be for the most part identical.

[Audi Juice]

I got fed up with mine and man handled that bitch right off the car.


JK

[jimmya4]

I got fed up with mine and man handled that bitch right off the car.


JK

2 things; car looks pretty damn nice in general im liking the rim set up, and also that kind of looks sick with the latch off kind of like its meant for the track haha. why did you take it off?

[Quattro]

not sure if you still having the problem, if you cant open it, I believe you can go inside the trunk and on the right side, remove that carpet area and find the level to open/close near the gas tank. This happened to me with my old B5, I assume it should be the same.

Once you open it, you can determine what the problem is, should be internal(behind the carpet area I mentioned)

[James]

Hey all,
I think the problem is getting lost as the posts go on... the problem is that it will not latch closed. Basically worked fine the last time I filled up, closed the door and it clicked/latched.. this time, I hit the switch, door released (which by the way it never pushed out a lot or opened on it's own, I always had to get my finger in there and open it after it was unlatched. No prying was involved, just only popped out like 2mm) filled up and went to close/latch it and it would not grab on anything.. that is the problem. Don't know what latches it and out of warranty, don't want to give the stealership hundreds of dollars for a piece of plastic.

James

[James]

i have this problem with my 06 and found the solution.

when u look at the door, you will see a little black rod, underneath it there is a metal tab. put your finger behind the tab and pop it back out, VWALLLA

I did try to pull that metal tab (I think its really just the spring that pushed the door out when the latch is released) and nothing happened. I don't think the two are connected but if I'm wrong, please show me with pics..

James

[Bart-Man]

Have this on mine as well. I just pull on the metal clip. The black nipple comes out. It closes.

Gonna have to go to the dealer to replace it just don't have time.

[James]

Have this on mine as well. I just pull on the metal clip. The black nipple comes out. It closes.

Gonna have to go to the dealer to replace it just don't have time.

To everyone who has said this above.. how are you pulling on the metal clip? I am getting my finger under it and pulling out towards me and it isn't doing anything... are you guys pulling toward the front of the car rather than outward towards you? And someone has got to know how these dumb things work or have a schematic of the assembly. I haven't gotten to play around with it at all over the past 2 days as I have been real sick but any further info would be great...

[staticuxo]

last night mine would close either.. i felt like a retard trying to get it to close for a few mins while 3 other people were in my car. eventually i just kinda slammed it, and it closed, haha.. good luck man.

[Scott Evil]

The spring loaded latch (that releases when you flip the door switch) gets stuck. It is a common problem. The part has been redesigned and works more reliably.

If you are under warranty, ask the dealer to replace it. In the meantime, the fuel-door will stay closed as you drive, but it will not lock.

[Bart-Man]

To everyone who has said this above.. how are you pulling on the metal clip? I am getting my finger under it and pulling out towards me and it isn't doing anything... are you guys pulling toward the front of the car rather than outward towards you? And someone has got to know how these dumb things work or have a schematic of the assembly. I haven't gotten to play around with it at all over the past 2 days as I have been real sick but any further info would be great...

I just pull it towards me and the black nipple pops out and I can shut it. And the fuel door locks.

[scoobycarolan]

This happened on my 08 too. Thanks for the fix and a good reason to "pop a nipple". Tee hee

[James]

The spring loaded latch (that releases when you flip the door switch) gets stuck. It is a common problem. The part has been redesigned and works more reliably.

If you are under warranty, ask the dealer to replace it. In the meantime, the fuel-door will stay closed as you drive, but it will not lock.

Car is not under warranty.. again, anyone have a price or part number? Anyone have a shop manual to scan the page this dumb thing is on and post it so I can see how it works and how it's all connected? It may be serviceable and for someone like me who is OUT of warranty.. don't want to give the dealership a ridiculous amount of money for a plastic part.

[emholic]

do you have subs in the back? if you do they will break the latch on the gas tank

[James]

do you have subs in the back? if you do they will break the latch on the gas tank

no

[Erocko]

I found that if u push the latch part in, the little latch pops back out. When u pull the release in the driver door, the actuator pulls the latch in and release the door. I messed with the mounting screws to try and adjust it. That seemed to work.

[Scott Evil]

Car is not under warranty.. again, anyone have a price or part number? Anyone have a shop manual to scan the page this dumb thing is on and post it so I can see how it works and how it's all connected? It may be serviceable and for someone like me who is OUT of warranty.. don't want to give the dealership a ridiculous amount of money for a plastic part.

Okay, Sparky, keep your panties on...

You need part# 8E0-810-773-C Description: Actuator. You will probably need a Torx bit to remove the old one. I don't have a price, mine was replaced under warranty last month.

[ctk1]

Thanks for the info Scott Evil.

[James]

Okay, Sparky, keep your panties on...

really? I only asked for relevant info regarding this thing multiple times.. how do you get to it? From inside the trunk or does it all just pull through where it screws in inside the fuel bay?

[Scott Evil]

Are you bitching about free information? Must be a neo-lib.

Mine was replaced at the dealer under warranty as I wrote above. It looks like the two bolts holding it inside the refueling door can be removed. At that point, the whole actuator can probably be removed, unplugged and discarded. Install of the new one is the opposite.

The dealer did remove the trunk trim on my car to test whether the old actuator was getting power. Feel free to test that.

[James]

Are you bitching about free information? Must be a neo-lib.

Bro I have no idea what you are talking about. What the hell is a neo-lib? Bitching about free info? If you read the posts in this thread, the majority of them are something like -- bring it to the dealer, mine was replaced under warranty, yada yada -- Not really much pertinent info except you posting the part number with an attitude. I appreciate the info, but relax dude.

[James]

Ok just so there is a record of this.. during one of the warmer days a few days ago here in NY, I got out there with a Torx screw driver and removed the one screw holding on the piece where the latch-pin and that silver spring-tab are located.. the silver spring-tab that a few people said to get your finger behind and pull it and it will pop the pin out is really only just realigning the hole for the pin. That silver spring-tab is not attached to the pin or anything but that trim piece and its only used to pop the door out once the actuator pulls the pin back into the body of the car. So when I took off that whole piece, I just grabbed the pin and pulled it out as far as it could go. It seemed like it was stuck like the actuator wasn't doing it's job. Put everything back together and tried it several times and works now without a problem. I am assuming that at some point, I will have to replace the actuator that pulls/pushes the latch-pin but it's working for now. I did also check and the actuator is about $32 from genuineaudiparts.com. Not a huge cost but come on.. what is with this car and all the little dumb things that nickle and dime you to death? I thought this was supposed to be a higher end car with higher quality? I hope I don't have more of these dumb, over engineered parts go bad in the future.

[cab7a4]

This is what i did!! Just lossen the torx bit a little bit and it will be able to pop out and close easily again :)