Golf MK7 petrol cap stuck shut
Golf MK7 petrol cap stuck shut
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Discussion

BertyFish

Original Poster:

715 posts

194 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
Having problems with my wife’s golf.

The petrol cap is not opening, usual push in to pop opening is doing nothing.
All unlocked, I can grab a corner and pull slightly out.

Golf forums looks like a dealer visit.

There’s 5miles in the car, doh.

dxg

10,778 posts

290 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
Is there a release cable behind the boot carpet?

cuprabob

19,749 posts

244 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
I've had this on my Scirocco. While pushing the unlock button on the keyfob several times give the cap a slight push and hopefuly it will release.

Once you get it open, give the mechanism a little lubrication and hopefully that will solve it. Worse case is that it requires a new solenoid / lock mechanism.

Edited by cuprabob on Thursday 16th April 11:16

BertyFish

Original Poster:

715 posts

194 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
Thanks people, (no idea how I got
Lettering in title)

I’ve tried most of them, it’s soaked in wd overnight. I can’t hear the catch unlocking when the car unlocks.

Trying to slide/push the cover off which will break some lugs but can’t even do that...

mawallace

184 posts

103 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
I assume you mean 5 miles fuel in the car !

It's a common VW fault

Had this on my son's Polo - it's the same system. The only way is either to give it a massive hit - that might move it,

see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oot2T52ASqs

or pop it open with a flat instrument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENdRj8oV9Q

On the polo you have to get into it manually via the boot - see this here around 40 seconds in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jXnKKgpBYU

it's the same on the Golf - this is the only video I could find - which is not very clear !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw9cJ0C_gdw

Once you are in it's fairly east to change the actuator - which is the fault - once you have the part it takes abour 30 mins to replace.





SteBrown91

3,145 posts

159 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
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Mine is the exact opposite and sometimes doesn’t want to shut, or just randomly pops open!

I think the mech is just generally poor

BertyFish

Original Poster:

715 posts

194 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
Sorry the golf is a mk7 the last video shows a mk6 which has the manual switch in the rear boot.
Still stuck with this, think I will break the cap off tomorrow.

h0b0

9,081 posts

226 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
The wife's Tiguan had this. It started out intermittent and then became permanent. I think I went in via the boot to get it open and switch out the little pusher thingy. Part cost me $20 plus a few minutes to replace. I think there is a newer version that is meant to be more reliable.


BertyFish

Original Poster:

715 posts

194 months

Thursday 16th April 2020
quotequote all
Thanks,

Looks like I'll be stripping the boot tomorrow to see if I can find anything,

Adrian E

3,366 posts

206 months

Monday 20th April 2020
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The risk of forcing it is that you'll break the tabs on the painted cover before the solenoid side snaps off.

It is a monumentally stupid design with no manual release to save a few pence on production costs.

If you can get it open at all then some careful destruction of the solenoid arm through the gap will save the flap cover, which just slides off the black plastic hinge.

If you've got breakdown cover, just get it towed to an indy garage and let them deal with it - they'll see dozens of these and should be able to get it to release the one time they need it to in order to change the solenoid.

mawallace

184 posts

103 months

Monday 20th April 2020
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Adrian E said:
The risk of forcing it is that you'll break the tabs on the painted cover before the solenoid side snaps off.

It is a monumentally stupid design with no manual release to save a few pence on production costs.
I agree - Audi's used to have a pull cord in the boot.

Smiljan

12,675 posts

227 months

Monday 20th April 2020
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I've just looked in the owners manual for my Mk 7.5 - no mention of a manual release in the boot.

LeftLake

76 posts

179 months

Saturday 25th April 2020
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I had a similar issue with my 7.5 GTI. Turned out there is a common issue on Golf's with factory mouldings of the filler flap hinge. This piece is often not broken out of the mould correctly and pieces of plastic can get stuck behind the hinge and prevent opening. If it's the same issue as yours, the trick is to tap the bottom right hand corner of the filler flap, and it should pop out. I've been told there have been numerous cases of dealers 'shaving' off the excess plastic as part of the warranty.