Thankful for the "secret latch"

So my wife took my Saturn (2008 Astra) to her chorus practice tonight. Before she left I told her it was out of gas and that she'd need to fill it up. On her way to practice, the fuel light came on and then began to blink, which, of course, meant it was running on fumes. So she stopped at a gas station to fill it up.

Now, the '08 Astra (maybe others) has a fuel door lock that engages when the car is locked. When my wife tried to open it, the fuel door lock had not disengaged. This has happened to me before, so when she called I told her to use the fob to lock the car and then unlock it and to try the fuel door again. Didn't work. Hmm.

After her practice (about 10-12 miles away), she headed for home. Fortunately, she made it to a gas station close to home, so I met her there. The fuel door lock still wouldn't disengage. So, here is how you open it:

1. Pop open the hatch back and locate the access panel to the tail light on the fuel door side.

2. Reach inside and locate the cable (not the tail light wire).

3. Follow the cable down to its base; you should be able to feel a little rubber "boot" covering the connection point where the cable meets a solenoid (I think it's a solenoid anyway).

4. Pull slightly on the cable at that connection point and to release the lock.

I am very thankful for Timothy343 for posting this solution over on Saturnalia!