Yaris Mk 1 Fitting a fuel flap release cable

I have just fitted a new cable to my daughters Mk 1 Yaris so I thought I would post about the job because a good search here only brought up a single mention of a LHD model which obviously takes a different and shorter route.

The cable is about two metres long and runs from the release lever directly backwards along the floor and then does a 90 degree turn when it arrives at the bottom of the rear seat.  It then goes across the car to the nearside, up behind the trim and into the boot and onwards to the fuel flap.

You will need to take the driver's seat out not forgetting to unplug the yellow airbag wire first.  If you turn the ignition on while this cable is disconnected, the airbag light will come on and require diagnostics to switch it back off again so the top tip is to take the key out and hide it somewhere just in case! 

The release lever is secured by a single bolt and then the cable can be easily unhooked from the lever.

The carpet on the driver's side is tightly trapped under the door step trims so these trims all have to to be pulled off to access the cable which is secured to the floor underneath by plastic clips.  The driver's seatbelt lower bolt needs to be removed since it goes through the trim.

The centre console comes out with a single screw. 

On my daughter's 5-door Yaris I also took off the door step trim inside the nearside rear door.   In the boot, the rear seat can be slid forward for more access to the trim behind the fuel flap.  This trim doesn't need to be removed but unclipped enough to get your hands in.  It is a little more awkward this way but to remove the boot trim fully looks like you would have to take out the rear seat completely.  I did remove the two (Torx) rear seat squab hinge bolts because the hinges have the carpet trapped under them. 

For an extra £4 you can buy the small tubular plastic fitting (known as a retainer by Toyota) inside the fuel flap aperture which the cable pushes and bayonet-locks into.  The cable itself costs about £45.

I fitted the new cable starting from the tank end because you can thread it though the metalwork in the boot and into its correct position and clips more easily.  During the job, with the seat and console removed and the carpet lifted, things do look a little drastic but for the most part patience (and about two hours) is all that is required,   Pictures included.  Note the yellow cable under the seat. 

About time for a good vacuum by the look of it!  Hope this helps someone in the future. 🙂