I've done some searching around and all that seems to be out there is a) oil it b) glob of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) (and use a plastic card to push up on the fuel door), c) dealer replaces the locking mechanism, but it still doesn't work well and breaks again anyway.

I've had to struggle every time I fill up.

Thanks for any tips!
etip

 

I'd take it back to the dealer until it's fixed for good..no reason to give up, because of this well known early XF problem can't be resolved by your dealer..others have gotten satisfaction..

 

OK. I'll try that. Obviously, since my car is an '09 it's long out of warranty.

 

What problems are you referring to? I've never had issues with the door opening. I have had issues with the cap. It won't spin off and putting some lube on the rubber gasket on the cap is known fix.

 

I've had the same issues ETip is talking about. You have to get creative about how you push the cover to get it to open.
Push in... nothing.
Push in and up... nothing.
Push in and down.... success!

It's like the cover is a combo lock and I don't get to know the correct combination.

 

Yeah, I did the lube and will hope that a shimmy, a push and a little direction makes it work!!

 

If you do a quick search on XF fuel door issues you'll see it's a pretty common problem. Dealer fixes dont seem to really fix it though.... Fuel door just doesn't open.