My 96 850 GLT has started something new in the past two or three months. I will pull into the fuel station, turn the ignition off, unlock the doors and sometimes the fuel door will not open. Unlocking the doors again does not release the fuel door, and I have had to use the wire release in the trunk three or four times now. This is a real intermittent problem and only occurs about every third or fourth fill up. None of the other locks have failed to function as designed. Any ideas??? Can the locking unit for the fuel door be going bad?

Oliver

64 122S
66 1800S
86 245DL
96 850GLT

Thanks for the feedback. Think I'll try the WD-40 fix first and then move to the remove and replace option.

Thanks again.

Oliver

I sprayed WD-40 around the release pin in both the locked and unlocked position (with the fuel door open obviously) and make a point of holding the unlock button on the dash for a moment longer than may seem necessary to unlock the doors. There's always a little downbeat after the initial unlock that I think may be the fuel door solenoid. It's worked so far, knock on wood.
--
Charles Grammer - '93 245 (138K), '96 850 (166K)

Just happened to my 850 a couple of months ago. Started as intermittent, but got worse. Ended up just buying and replacing the solenoid. Was not a difficult fix. You may want to plan to take off the interior panels and remove that solenoid, and then make a trip to the dealer for parts. You may entd up driving around for a couple of days without the interior panels installed. The reason I am suggesting this is becuase, when you remove the interior panels, you end up breaking some of the plastic fasteners. So, not knowing what you will need to get the whole thing back together, I would suggest planning for having the thing apart for a few days.

The same thing happens on my 93 every once in a while. My mechanic wanted some ridiculous amount, $150.00 I think, to fix it. Not worth it--I'll just continue to use the wire in the trunk as necessary...

My mechanic suggested simply disabling the solenoid-- charged about $40 for it.
The gas cover door still seems locked. And I could purchase a gas cap with key.

Lunchman