Sounds to me like the locking mechanism is broken or jammed. The locking mechanism is the claw looking thing near the outer rim of the door. Cold weather will normally turn the OEM grease into glue. A body shop will be your best bet on getting the door open.
Make sure the driver's side door is unlocked otherwise fuel door will be locked automatically. If unlocked then there is a problem with the fuel door switch.
there is no latch inside the vehicle. When the doors are unlocked, push on the left side of the tank cover and it will spring open.
Go to Linens and open the unlocked locker next to the door. Open the toolbox inside it and get the plier.
There is not release. The fuel door has a lock. When the doors are locked, the fuel door is locked. When the doors are unlocked the fuel door is unlocked. When the doors are unlocked, press on the front of the fuel door (the side closest to the front of the car). It should pivot open.
If the lock switch is set to unlocked and it will not open from the inside or outside, the door lock arm may have fallen lose. Take the inside door panel off and check around the door levers and door lock.
I had the same problem with my '96 Passat when i got it. All i had to do was to put my key in the driver side door and wait until all the doors were unlocked. That unlocked my fuel door as well. you.
Its possible to open any door from the out side but it was only ment to be open from the inside.
there should be an access panel in the rear cargo area on the left hand side..open it and you should find a pull cord inside the door..pull it to open the gas door
First you make sure the doors are unlocked. If they aren't the fuel door will be lock. If they are unlocked all you have to do is push down on the right side of the fuel door and it will swing open then untwist the fuel cap.
The gas door is locked or unlocked with the other doors on the car. If the car doors are locked the gas door will not open. If the car is stopped with engine off and the doors unlocked you should be able to open the gas door by pushing on one side of it. If this doesn't work, you have an electrical or mechanical problem with the gas door.
Make sure the door lock is set to the unlocked position, then pull on the door handle.
Are you ever out of luck, cause you need to remove the door panel to rectify, but you need to open the door to remove the door panel.....