Guess people have had this issue before. Flap seems to have the pin disengaged so depsite me locking the car, the flap can still be pushed /lifted open

I assume when locking the actuator is meant to engage the pin to lock the flap and vice versa. 

Would this be a case of replacing the solenoid /actuator and if so how easy is to access. I assume I have to go in from the boot side ?

I have this one in my watch list on ebay , hopefully this is the right part 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324746197125?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338343596&toolid=10001&customid=eb%3Ag%3Avms%3Aeb%3Ap%3A324746197125%3BCjwKCAjwhNWZBhB_EiwAPzlhNhJkKtY2cHsU5EOmujuS763WENMmlfGkWAj870tC4bbJEu7GB58u4BoCIkMQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwhNWZBhB_EiwAPzlhNhJkKtY2cHsU5EOmujuS763WENMmlfGkWAj870tC4bbJEu7GB58u4BoCIkMQAvD_BwE

 

 

 

anybody ?

hi chris, i think theres a thread on here somewhere  about replacing this mechanism,im sure i saw it a while back

12 hours ago, coupe4 said:

hi chris, i think theres a thread on here somewhere  about replacing this mechanism,im sure i saw it a while back

I did have a search but will try again, thank you 

Hi Chris,

I have a 2017 A4 b9. I had the same problem earlier this year

( the fuel flap would not stay shut)

I think you will find, that you have to remove the complete plastic

moulding surrounding the fuel filler cap, to gain access to the

locking mechanism, as you cannot gain access from inside the

boot. try looking on u tube to see how it's done.

Brian.

2 minutes ago, dalswinton said:

Hi Chris,

I have a 2017 A4 b9. I had the same problem earlier this year

( the fuel flap would not stay shut)

I think you will find, that you have to remove the complete plastic

moulding surrounding the fuel filler cap, to gain access to the

locking mechanism, as you cannot gain access from inside the

boot. try looking on u tube to see how it's done.

Brian.

This is my problem as there seems to be a conflict on what people say. Some say you need to go from the outside, break the plastic to gain access to the inside which obviously means you have to replace that part. Then some say you can go from the inside ( once you have removed the boot trim ) and just replace the actuator . It is the actuator that has the red emergency release pull. 

So hence my question, which is the best/correct method as no-one seems to know 

I'm confident you have to go from the inside. You'll need to remove all trim surrounding the mechanism and flap. 

16 hours ago, Steve Q said:

I'm confident you have to go from the inside. You'll need to remove all trim surrounding the mechanism and flap. 

I was hoping that would be the best route as it is the least invasive. I have a nice video from you tube that shows the way to remove the boot lining ( though it does involve removing the rear seats !! ) and the part is arriving soon so when I do attempt it, I will take some photos and share either either my success or complete failure 🙂 wish me luck 

Chris,

I took the outside route, if you are careful, you can remove

the black plastic surround without breaking it, on mine there are

4 indentations in the plastic, (2 top/2at the bottom, you would need to

cut a small slot in each one, then insert a screwdriver to prize

the trim out.

best of luck which ever way you go.

Brian.

1 minute ago, dalswinton said:

Chris,

I took the outside route, if you are careful, you can remove

the black plastic surround without breaking it, on mine there are

4 indentations in the plastic, (2 top/2at the bottom, you would need to

cut a small slot in each one, then insert a screwdriver to prize

the trim out.

best of luck which ever way you go.

Brian.

Inside , outside, its like the hokey cokey in here 🙂 Well I am going to go from the inside first, if that fails, I shall try your method. If that fails, I shall throw all my toys out the proam, say loads of rude words and stomp back inside to have a sulk. 

Stay tuned for further updates. 

 

8 hours ago, Swisstony said:

Inside , outside, its like the hokey cokey in here 🙂 Well I am going to go from the inside first, if that fails, I shall try your method. If that fails, I shall throw all my toys out the proam, say loads of rude words and stomp back inside to have a sulk. 

Stay tuned for further updates. 

 

Please keep us posted on how you get on 🙂

On 10/3/2022 at 8:35 PM, Steve Q said:

Please keep us posted on how you get on 🙂

Well all sorted and pretty painless though it is a bit tricky trying to work out how they did it. 

1. getting the boot liner off to gain access

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfbyfQ-735Y&list=FLNrEzF0hwD1r9VeGFJy1Cig&index=5

That video shows you how to get the boot liner off ( though the section about the rear seats is only applicable if you have folding rear seats. I dont so I skipped that part. )

2. The replacement part

This is the part you will need. It usually comes with the solenoid /actuator with the rod which is pushed backwards to unlock and forwards to lock. You also get the emergency red cord which allows you to open the fuel cap if the pin  is locked.

3. Removing the old one

This is by far the hardest part as couldnt work out how to remove it at first as there are two bolts/screws on the other side which you can see circled in this photo. 

They are screwed in from the other side which made me scratch my head a little until I tried loosening the shaft of the bolt a little from this side with pliers turning anti clockwise. This meant as they disengaed a could feel the unit free itself. Then realised it was a sliding mechanism thingy so they slide along two slots in the internal skin of the boot. 

Slide them to the left and they then pop out and the unit comes free. 

4. Replace the old with new

This is just a case of loosening the bolts that come with the unit just enough that they can slide back in the slots. Test it first before it tightening up the bolts. Just lock and unlock your car and you will see the pin engage. 

Then slot the pin back through the grommit that is the side of the fuel flap, slide onto the slots and turn the bolts tight. Then take the red emergency cable and slot it over the hex 

Button up the side of the boot lining, stand back and admire your handiwork 🙂

 

Pleased to see you got it sorted.

Brian

On 10/6/2022 at 8:11 PM, Swisstony said:

Well all sorted and pretty painless though it is a bit tricky trying to work out how they did it. 

1. getting the boot liner off to gain access

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfbyfQ-735Y&list=FLNrEzF0hwD1r9VeGFJy1Cig&index=5

That video shows you how to get the boot liner off ( though the section about the rear seats is only applicable if you have folding rear seats. I dont so I skipped that part. )

2. The replacement part

This is the part you will need. It usually comes with the solenoid /actuator with the rod which is pushed backwards to unlock and forwards to lock. You also get the emergency red cord which allows you to open the fuel cap if the pin  is locked.

3. Removing the old one

This is by far the hardest part as couldnt work out how to remove it at first as there are two bolts/screws on the other side which you can see circled in this photo. 

They are screwed in from the other side which made me scratch my head a little until I tried loosening the shaft of the bolt a little from this side with pliers turning anti clockwise. This meant as they disengaed a could feel the unit free itself. Then realised it was a sliding mechanism thingy so they slide along two slots in the internal skin of the boot. 

Slide them to the left and they then pop out and the unit comes free. 

4. Replace the old with new

This is just a case of loosening the bolts that come with the unit just enough that they can slide back in the slots. Test it first before it tightening up the bolts. Just lock and unlock your car and you will see the pin engage. 

Then slot the pin back through the grommit that is the side of the fuel flap, slide onto the slots and turn the bolts tight. Then take the red emergency cable and slot it over the hex 

Button up the side of the boot lining, stand back and admire your handiwork 🙂

 

Glad you got sorted 🙂

On 9/29/2022 at 9:07 AM, Swisstony said:

Guess people have had this issue before. Flap seems to have the pin disengaged so depsite me locking the car, the flap can still be pushed /lifted open

I assume when locking the actuator is meant to engage the pin to lock the flap and vice versa. 

Would this be a case of replacing the solenoid /actuator and if so how easy is to access. I assume I have to go in from the boot side ?

...The main reason for this lock's failure (that I have repeatedly witnessed) is where the motor contact terminals plug in to the motors brushes. This is because the motor can move very slightly due to the torque still applied to its worm drive once the mechanism has reached its limits either direction.

 

These terminals simply push in/pull out with slender pliers from the lock body. The poor conductivity occurs between the contact's inner pin and the armature brush contacts inside the motor. Often this can be restored simply by repeated extraction/insertion of the contact terminals (ensuring that you note their orientation, as the motor end of the terminal is offset). There is no requirement to disassemble the lock body unless any of my solutions here haven't restored connection to the motor. 

 

Whilst extracted, the terminals can also be cleaned with e.g. a glass fibre tipped contact cleaning pen. However, both these methods may only restore operation for a short while before again losing good contact. 

 

My suggestion is to remove both terminals from the lock, then 'tin' the motor ends of the terminals pins with solder making sure there isn't too much excess. This gives the motor's brush contacts better chance to retain good connectivity. 

 

Please "Like" this comment if either solution works for you.

Edited October 20, 2025Oct 20 by VTecnician
Mashed up the quote with my response.