What do you do when you can't get the fuel door open on the 2001 VW Beetle?

Place fingernails under outer edge of fuel door. Lift and push door towards the middle of the vehicle. This has always worked for me since the fuel door release stopped working correctly. You can acces the fuel door release cable from the inside of the trunk. Just remove the circular plastic cover inside the trunk nearest to the fuel door, pull the cable until the door releases. To fix this problem permanently you will need to tighten this cable.