Fuel door stuck - and fixed

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AvH

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2019
Messages
14
My (rarely used) fuel door did not pop open after pulling the switch. I found in the manual there is a manual override in the trunk - a pull cord. That worked the 1st time, but the second time it remained shut - hence I could not pump gas.

I eventually was able to pry the door open with a wooden kitchen spatula... After watching some youtube videos I learned how to take the filler door out and disassemble the door control module. Water came dripping out and the pin was stuck. I cracked it open and found the electro-motor inside was rusted and stuck (see photo).

I ordered a replacement from audipartsstore.com:
Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
8V4-862-153-B Actuator $15.41 1 $15.41

Pretty inexpensive (the similar part for the A4 was ~$25).

I put the new part in (2 screws) and everything working again. I did have a check engine light which may or may not be due to this issue (fuel door is one of the OBD2 codes) - I was able to clear the check engine light using a generic Bluetooth OBD2 scanner with iOS app.

My car is parked outside, and we did have a few big rain storms. That could have caused it. But the car wash I typically use has high pressure jets, so that may be a more likely cause of the water getting into the module. Something to keep in mind.

My tip: if the door starts to act up, replace the module before the door gets stuck at a bad time. Do it yourself, as I'm sure the dealer charges $500 or so (that's what they charged for changing the 12V battery, which actually was because they did not tighten the cable property after a service visit... ugh, dealers!).

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