MEgearhead
Veteran Member
Thought I'd post this in case it helps anyone else.
My son stopped at the gas station to fill up my '16 A7 but couldn't get the fuel door open. He tried the emergency remote pull cable but only broke that.
The remote cable is accessible through a removable side panel in the trunk/cargo area. The A7 has two quarter-turn fasteners, while the Q7 just prys out.
I had to just muscle the door open, and then it wouldn't latch, which was better than locked closed. At least we could fill-up and get home.
The service manual states to puncture the molded seal around the fuel door housing in 4 locations marked, and replace the housing. However, you can use plastic trim removal tools to get behind the seal and pry out the housing without damaging it if you're careful.
I had to remove both the fuel and AdBlue caps to get the housing out.
Once you get the housing out, tie a pull string or wire on the emergency release cable (if it's not broken), release the two terminal connector, and the lock actuator unscrews from the housing with two T20s. The new actuator part # is 8V0862153B.
Since our '15 Q7 has been acting temperamental I replaced it also. It uses the same part number.
I broke the old actuator from the A7 open to determine the failure mode. The little motor inside was completely rusted and the whole mechanism bound up. The new part seems to have a revised seal on the actuator post. I think I'll be a bit more careful washing out the fuel door area after filling with AdBlue and overflowing it because the Q7 is a royal pain.
My son stopped at the gas station to fill up my '16 A7 but couldn't get the fuel door open. He tried the emergency remote pull cable but only broke that.
The remote cable is accessible through a removable side panel in the trunk/cargo area. The A7 has two quarter-turn fasteners, while the Q7 just prys out.
I had to just muscle the door open, and then it wouldn't latch, which was better than locked closed. At least we could fill-up and get home.
The service manual states to puncture the molded seal around the fuel door housing in 4 locations marked, and replace the housing. However, you can use plastic trim removal tools to get behind the seal and pry out the housing without damaging it if you're careful.
I had to remove both the fuel and AdBlue caps to get the housing out.
Once you get the housing out, tie a pull string or wire on the emergency release cable (if it's not broken), release the two terminal connector, and the lock actuator unscrews from the housing with two T20s. The new actuator part # is 8V0862153B.
Since our '15 Q7 has been acting temperamental I replaced it also. It uses the same part number.
I broke the old actuator from the A7 open to determine the failure mode. The little motor inside was completely rusted and the whole mechanism bound up. The new part seems to have a revised seal on the actuator post. I think I'll be a bit more careful washing out the fuel door area after filling with AdBlue and overflowing it because the Q7 is a royal pain.