Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

My wife called me from LA last month and told me she was a at a gas station and she (and others) couldn't open the outside flap to access the gas cap. I told her all she needed to do was push it and after it popped out, pull it the rest of the way open. In my mind I'm getting upset with her thinking "It ain't brain surgery. How much simpler could this be?!" After about 20 or 30 minutes, she said she finally was able to open the flap and that she could now fill the tank.

Well this weekend it happened to me (I think I owe my wife an apology)! I also drove to LA and stopped at a gas station to fill up and couldn't open the freakin' flap! I tried everything for at least 20 minutes! I tried pushing it harder/softer, tried pushing and releasing faster/slower, tried jiggling the door - nothing worked. I eventually almost resorted to breaking the flap off because I was so frustrated and needed to fill the car up to make the drive back to San Diego (plus I was getting tired of a bum that was hanging around offering to help me open it).

I decided to get back in the car and drive it for a while longer and hope that the movement of the car would shake something loose inside. I pulled up to a different gas station and voila - it opened fine this time.

Not sure what's happenening with my fuel door but it's happened twice now. Has this happened to anyone else? Just FYI, I have about 24,000 miles on the car now...

04, TB/W, Nav, Aero, 6MT, etc...

 

Did you lock/arm the car when you got out at the gas station? I don't know if you are aware, if you lock/arm the car, there's a mechanism that locks the gas door/flap also. Maybe it was that, try it.

 

Nope. Didn't lock/arm the car either. In fact, I even looked all throughout the car hoping there was some type of alternative manual release that would help me to open the darn thing.

04, TB/W, Nav, Aero, 6MT, etc...

 

Your car's under warrenty, so take it in to the dealer and have it checked out.

 

I figure that the problem would be impossible to duplicate and I'm in no mood to haggle with service reps. I'm just figuring that if it happens again I'm going to call Infiniti Emergency Support and have them come try to open it. At least I'll have someone else to corroborate my story before going to the dealer.

You did point out an interesting fact about the door locks affecting the gas cap. I'd forgotten about that. Next time I'll try locking/unlocking the doors a few times to try and shake things loose...Thx.

04, TB/W, Nav, Aero, 6MT, etc...

 

Mine stays locked if I only exit the drivers door and still have the passenger door locked.
If Ihit unlock on the remote, the gas door unlocks.

"I like you.....You remind me of myself when I was young and foolish"

 

If the gas door doesn't unlock when it's supposed to, then there is a malfunctioning solenoid behind the trunk mat (opposite the door).
The dealer will be able to locate it and replace it for you.

I wish there was a back-up tether in the trunk for emergencies like this, like I had in my Contour. [img]/w3timages/icons/frown.gif[/img]

Here's a link to a thread on F/A on the subject:
Fuel Door Issue
It will also explain how to open the door should it be an emergency (without doing any damage).

<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=red>GSM</font color=red>
<font color=black>Silverstone Coupe</font color=black>

 

some where on one of the g sites some one posted a picture of the solenoid, they said you go into the trunk take the lining away and you can pop out the solenoid with out tools.

 

Same thing happened to me at a gas station... I was on fumes and late for a meeting... I tried unlocking the the doors cause I heard a clicking at the back of the car.

Still the cover would not pop open. So... I had to force it open. I ended up breaking the little plastic lock then I was able to open the cover normally. Even if I wanted to have the dealer fix it I still needed gas.... LOL

Anyhow now it works great except it no longer locks. The dealer said they would replace it for me free of charge.

Anyhow I feel your pain.

BADG35

 

SoCalG35C,

Yeah that happened to me several times immediatly after I bought the car. It seems the solenoid was a little sticky but it works just fine now.

Tony

2004 G35 6MT Black on Black Sedan
Stillen CAI, Stillen Cat Back, Stillen Swaybars

 

Thanks guys for all the info and for the link to the other post. I had no idea this problem had popped up before. After reading some of the responses I think I will go ahead and take the car in to the dealer to have the solenoid replaced.

04, TB/W, Nav, Aero, 6MT, etc...