Petrol Filler Flap Broken

[777_cupra]

Hi, need some help urgently went to fill up with petrol tonight and the fuel filler flap won't open at all I've searched on here but can't seem to find anything.

The lever under the driver's seat feels "looser" than normal, although it does sound as though it is still pulling the cable ok.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Is there a "backup" lever hidden somewhere to get the flap open?

Does anyone have a diagram of how it all fits together at all?

Is it accessible from inside the boot at all?

Or any other ideas would be very much appreciated as there is only enough petrol in the car for another 20 miles!

It's a 54 plate 1 litre Yaris VVTi.

[Raeman]

Hi, need some help urgently went to fill up with petrol tonight and the fuel filler flap won't open at all I've searched on here but can't seem to find anything.

The lever under the driver's seat feels "looser" than normal, although it does sound as though it is still pulling the cable ok.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Is there a "backup" lever hidden somewhere to get the flap open?

Does anyone have a diagram of how it all fits together at all?

Is it accessible from inside the boot at all?

Or any other ideas would be very much appreciated as there is only enough petrol in the car for another 20 miles!

It's a 54 plate 1 litre Yaris VVTi.

Sounds like the cable has come loose a bit.

Have a fiddle around in the car, where the filler release is, maybe you can take apart the plastic housing and get to the cable under it.

It may have just slipped out of it's guide, hence why it feels loose.

If it has snapped, you won't feel anything from it.

Don't know if there's a back up lever though

Good luck. ;)

[777_cupra]

Thanks for your reply, I had a little look last night but nothing seems easily accesible, just looks like th lever disappears under the carpet. I'm guessing this is a bit of a rare problem?

[777_cupra]

fixed it today, thought i'd post my findings as due to the lack of response i can assume this is a rare problem and may help someone else out.

Basically the lever works by a metal cable similar to that on a bicyle brakes/gears pulling down a little plastic "plunger" which holds the petrol, filler cap in place.

On my girlfriends car this metal cable had snapped inside its plastic tubing through rust...not quite sure how any water or anythin got in there but never mind.

using a flat metal spatula was able to tease open the petrol flap door.

then removing the plastic trim in the boot were you would normally access the lights was able to reach through and twist the plastic till it uncliped from the body work.

Off to Toyota and £21.00 for a new cable later....

Routed the new cable through by the petrol cap....along the back of the boot and then under the rear seats on the drivers side.

Undo the 2 bolts holding in the drivers seatbelt at the bottom, and unclip the plastic sill by the door and under the dash.

then lift the carpet up so you can see the bolt which holds the lever mechanism in place... unscrew that and then unclip the old wire.

route the new wire under the carpet....clip into the lever mechanism and then put back.

all in all about 45 minutes work.

Hope this guide helps someone else in the future.

[stantheman1]

Thanks for posting a fix, guides like this are well and truly appreciated, as you say it may help someone else in the future.

[Raeman]

fixed it today, thought i'd post my findings as due to the lack of response i can assume this is a rare problem and may help someone else out.

Basically the lever works by a metal cable similar to that on a bicyle brakes/gears pulling down a little plastic "plunger" which holds the petrol, filler cap in place.

On my girlfriends car this metal cable had snapped inside its plastic tubing through rust...not quite sure how any water or anythin got in there but never mind.

using a flat metal spatula was able to tease open the petrol flap door.

then removing the plastic trim in the boot were you would normally access the lights was able to reach through and twist the plastic till it uncliped from the body work.

Off to Toyota and £21.00 for a new cable later....

Routed the new cable through by the petrol cap....along the back of the boot and then under the rear seats on the drivers side.

Undo the 2 bolts holding in the drivers seatbelt at the bottom, and unclip the plastic sill by the door and under the dash.

then lift the carpet up so you can see the bolt which holds the lever mechanism in place... unscrew that and then unclip the old wire.

route the new wire under the carpet....clip into the lever mechanism and then put back.

all in all about 45 minutes work.

Hope this guide helps someone else in the future.

Nice one! Thanks for the info! ;)

[Sico2]

You're must be joking that Toyota charges you £21 for a simple cable... My god. If it doesn't have any special attachments or endings I would most probably go to a cycling shop or maybe DIY and buy it for £5-7 or so.

[toyota_newbie]

this is a very generous post - thanks so much for the info! My petrol filler flap won't stay shut and I suspect there's a problem with the cable as the level feels odd. I'll refer to this at the weekend when I sort this out - cheers :)

[Geoff Peace]

fixed it today, thought i'd post my findings as due to the lack of response i can assume this is a rare problem and may help someone else out.

Basically the lever works by a metal cable similar to that on a bicyle brakes/gears pulling down a little plastic "plunger" which holds the petrol, filler cap in place.

On my girlfriends car this metal cable had snapped inside its plastic tubing through rust...not quite sure how any water or anythin got in there but never mind.

using a flat metal spatula was able to tease open the petrol flap door.

then removing the plastic trim in the boot were you would normally access the lights was able to reach through and twist the plastic till it uncliped from the body work.

Off to Toyota and £21.00 for a new cable later....

Routed the new cable through by the petrol cap....along the back of the boot and then under the rear seats on the drivers side.

Undo the 2 bolts holding in the drivers seatbelt at the bottom, and unclip the plastic sill by the door and under the dash.

then lift the carpet up so you can see the bolt which holds the lever mechanism in place... unscrew that and then unclip the old wire.

route the new wire under the carpet....clip into the lever mechanism and then put back.

all in all about 45 minutes work.

Hope this guide helps someone else in the future.

Well done! the cable to which you refer is a bowden cable and the remedy used to be to oil them as they nearly always break at the end. Do not oil a modern one as the liner is 'plastic' the oil will cause it to swell and jam the inner cable in the outer. The other bowden cable to be aware of in most cars is the bonnet release, I advise oiling the bonnet latch and cable, because if it ever breaks it is much more difficult to release than the fuel flap.

Regards Geoff Peace.

[ss31990]

Hi I've been searching the Internet looking for someone with this problem. I have a 6th generation toyota celica ss3. The cable stopped working completely at the door to release the fuel flap. I bought a new cable and just have to install it. I haven't tried anything like this before so I'm a bit intimidated. When I route the cable threw, should it just go easily or will I end up removing seats and carpet. Thanks for a post to follow though, they are hard to find.