Friday afternoon, just before 5pm, and it's dark. I was trying to fill up for the weekend, but the fuel flap refused to unlock, no matter how many times I unlocked and relocked the car. Checked the owner's manual, which told me to use the emergency rip cord hidden behind the boot side trim. It was ****** well hidden, because I couldn't find it! Drove to Bexley Audi, and despite it being nearly closing time, one of their service guys was extremely helpful (pat on the back for Clayton, there) - not something you'd expect a forum member to say very often about a dealer, but credit where due!
Scrabbling around in the dark, he managed to locate the rip-cord (already broken and dangling at the bottom of the inner wing) and hauled on it to retract the pin holding the filler flap locked. With it open, we tested it again. Every time I hit the lock button on the fob, the pin shot out into the locked position, but it refused to budge when I pressed the unlock button. It would only unlock manually. The only thing to do in an emegency was to disconnect the wiring to the solenoid, disabling it altogether in the unlocked position. That at least allowed me to put fuel in.
For a longer term fix, though, it needs a new solenoid and new rip-cord. Has anyone had a similar experience that they could give me the benefit of?
Scrabbling around in the dark, he managed to locate the rip-cord (already broken and dangling at the bottom of the inner wing) and hauled on it to retract the pin holding the filler flap locked. With it open, we tested it again. Every time I hit the lock button on the fob, the pin shot out into the locked position, but it refused to budge when I pressed the unlock button. It would only unlock manually. The only thing to do in an emegency was to disconnect the wiring to the solenoid, disabling it altogether in the unlocked position. That at least allowed me to put fuel in.
For a longer term fix, though, it needs a new solenoid and new rip-cord. Has anyone had a similar experience that they could give me the benefit of?
