Fixing fuel door lock/how to/UPDATE

Post by **erikv11** » 20 Jan 2016, 11:41

From Robert:

Post by **cn90** » 20 Jan 2016, 13:09

As I mentioned above, some people remove the plastic tab on the fuel door.
Small risk of vandalism (I doubt it) and you don't have to deal with this issue of door actuator again.

To remove the plastic tab, it is very easy:
1. Lift the metal tabs up a bit (#1 in RED).
2. Slide the plastic tab out (#2 in YELLOW).

I have not done this yet, but I might.

Post by **mecheng** » 20 Jan 2016, 13:41

erikv11 wrote:From Robert:

Nice video! Perfectly explained (Robert's ego is growing now as we speak

Post by **mecheng** » 20 Jan 2016, 13:43

cn90 wrote:As I mentioned above, some people remove the plastic tab on the fuel door.
Small risk of vandalism (I doubt it) and you don't have to deal with this issue of door actuator again.

To remove the plastic tab, it is very easy:
1. Lift the metal tabs up a bit (#1 in RED).
2. Slide the plastic tab out (#2 in YELLOW).

I have not done this yet, but I might.

FuelDoor.jpg

Good pic, I agree though. I am also worried about punk kids; you know....the new generation.

I've heard sugar in gas can do some real damage.

Post by **jvl** » 10 Mar 2017, 07:47

Thank you very much for this write up, Misha! I just did this fix. I had been experiencing intermittent issues for a while but the fuel door would open on the second try most of the times. Today however, I was unable to fill up at all so finally got myself to using your how-to and tackling this issue. I had to do it 'McGyver style' by the side of the road but was able to clean the rotor (used brake cleaner that was in my trunk) and oiled up the mechanism with clean motor oil (did not have anything else in my car...). Would have liked to done it on the workbench but had to do it ro be able to fill up, didnt wanna drive with the trim opened up. Took me 45 min and so far works great!

Post by **misha** » 10 Mar 2017, 09:40

Do you know that there is emergency handle in the trunk in case that fuel door would not open?

Post by **jvl** » 11 Mar 2017, 02:29

Well, there is a lever/handle on mine, but that is on the solenoid itself (so hidden deeply behind the trim), once at that point it was easier to just undo the 3 screws and clean the motor right away. I did look for the emergency handle that you (and others in other threads) mention, but did not find it. Maybe it's different in European models?

Post by **misha** » 11 Mar 2017, 03:03

It's not market dependable,all of them have it unless some previous owner(s) ripped it out.It's behind the trim and look like a piece of wire with a circled handle,but easy to find when you know where it is.
As you can see mine is EU model.
However...i'm glad that my post was helpfull.

Post by **jvl** » 11 Mar 2017, 03:43

Hmmm well mine does not seem to have it:) on mine, there is a black plastic tab at the side of the solenoid you can pull. This tab is invisible when the solenoid is mounted, so I only found out the tab was there at the point I almost had the thing pulled out. Good to know for others, maybe. No sign of a cable or wire previously being installed as far as I could tell! Thanks for the tips on disassembly, the description was so clear that I was amazed that I did not need a visual to imagine how to do it, with the parts in hand the description is very accurate and clear!

Post by **misha** » 11 Mar 2017, 05:04

Thanks!

The repair was done 7 years ago and my fuel door lock still works like brand new.

Fixing fuel door lock/how to/UPDATE

Re: Fixing fuel door lock/how to/UPDATE