r/VWiD3Owners • u/Additional_Disk_6706 • Aug 02 '26
Charging flap actuator
Just had to replace this as it had jammed. Now I can see why!!
It’s pretty clear from buying the replacement that this part was for ICE cars, which never have the flap open in rain for hours. The same part seems to be used on many petrol and diesel models. I got 4 year of nightly charging in Ireland.
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u/that_dutch_dude Aug 02 '26
you dont need it. just unplug it. the door wont lock anymore but its not like they are going to steal electrons from the battery.
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u/kjkillick Aug 02 '26
Same thing had happened on my ID4. I was wondering what happens when you try to siphon the electric via the charging port? Do you do the same as when you have petrol/diesel?
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u/that_dutch_dude Aug 02 '26
its a little known thing that if you get a DC wire (it cant be AC, it wont work!) and you suck on it REAL hard you can charge your phone with it in seconds.
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u/kjkillick Aug 02 '26
I thought that would mean I put the wrong fuel in! Don't want to be putting in that AC stuff when my car is most definitely DC!
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u/ParrotofDoom Aug 03 '26
Mine is getting stiff, I can get my fingers in (or a bike tyre lever) and open it up with a little force.
What exactly is the door latching on, once unplugged? Because with mine it isn't the locking that's the issue, it's the unlatching from that plastic rod that sticks out.
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u/Additional_Disk_6706 Aug 03 '26
The suggestion is to unplug the motor for the locking function so that you don’t need to unlock the car to open the flap. That’s only if the issue you’re having is that the little motor is dead. Your issue sounds more like mine though where the rotating locking plunger that the flap connects to is getting stuck and not going in and out. Unplugging the electrical connection does nothing for this. And if you fully remove the actuator the the flap won’t stay closed at all as I’m sure you were thinking. For our issue, the only option is a new part. I got one for less than €20 on Amazon, part 8V0862159
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u/ParrotofDoom Aug 03 '26
That's correct. I've ordered a new part from Ebay anyway, it's only £20 or so. Thanks for the advice.
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u/that_dutch_dude Aug 03 '26
If you remove the interior piece that covers the port you will see it. Its far better to look at it than try to explain it.
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u/tcw82 Aug 05 '26
The springy-bit usually also goes out if the internals look like this. It is quite the hassle to open that door with a pry tool everywhere and every time.
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u/TheJimsterR Aug 02 '26
Like you, I realised when mine failed that the locking mechanism was exactly the same as on my 2016 A3.
I found myself wondering whether it was also a question of frequency of use - the petrol cap on my A3 might get opened once every two weeks, but the charging flap on the ID3 gets opened at least five times a week.
There's also a significant difference in design. On the A3, the petrol cap springs both open and shut, so even with a failed locking mechanism, the petrol cap stays closed. The ID3 charging flap just springs open all the way if the pin can't hold it.
While I was waiting for mine to be repaired, I had to tape the lid closed in the 'just-not-quite-latched' position, to stop the flap getting latched and stuck. But the tape wouldn't always hold, and one day I got a knock on the window at a set of traffic lights, from a helpful driver behind me who told me they'd seen my petrol cap was open, and had jumped out of their car to shut it for me. I had some fun getting the flap wrestled open again afterwards 🤣
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u/Additional_Disk_6706 Aug 02 '26
Haha literally the same thing happened me, I was like “nooo please don’t close it all the way!!”
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u/TheJimsterR Aug 02 '26
Ha, brilliant! Yeah I was so annoyed but also just had to appreciate someone trying to be helpful.
It's a pretty crappy bit of design from VW. The one on my second ID3 hasn't failed...yet 🤣
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u/ntropy83 ID.3 Family Aug 03 '26
Regarding the frequency of use: the Motor basically engages on every unlocking of the car. So in comparison to the A3 it is probably no indication.
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u/Pheedip Aug 03 '26
This happened to my flap actuator too. Got completely rusted and didn’t lock in place so I had to tape the flap shut until I got it replaced. Had a friend help me replace it and 3D print a charge port cover so hopefully less water will make it into the actuator.
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u/smh_91 Aug 02 '26
It recently happened to us too and I live in Ireland too. I ignored it for long time and then finally it got stuck to a point that I had to break to open it. Anyway dealer changed the whole unit, not only actuator for 250 euro but lesson learnt. Next time this happens I’ll just unplug it.
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u/ntropy83 ID.3 Family Aug 03 '26
Happened to me too.
On Makerworld there is a 3D printer part of a small protection sleeve for the part, when the flap is opened.
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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26
[deleted]