When the gas door lock solenoid failed in my '96 850 wagon, I was fortunately able to reach a dealer before running out of fuel. Turns out the locking pin in the solenoid is plastic. The mechanic slipped some sort of narrow tool -- knife, hacksaw blade, or thin snips -- into the slot next to the gas door and cut the pin without otherwise damaging the car. Prying the gas door open would have been messy. I considered leaving it this way so as not to get locked out of the fuel filler in the future, but finally decided to let the dealer replace the solenoid, now that I know the "secret" should the solenoid fail again.

John R wrote:

> I hope it gets fixed. I understand that there is no manual override.

> I had a similar problem on a Mercedes when the hydraulic locking pin

> failed, as could the electrical pin in your Volvo. By getting access

> to the other side of the sheet metal from which the pin protrudes

> into the gas cap compartment, it was possible, with a little

> dexterity, to reach the pin on the inside and manually pull it back.

> Then I disabled the pin until a permanent fix was available. The

> question is whether there is access to a sinuous hand from the inside

> in your Volvo (and my similar car)! If not, and if the pin unit

> itself failed or jammed, would the dealer have to jimmie the gas cap

> cover rather than attacking from the inside with the trim removed?

> Ugh!