Did a search on this and was surprised to come up with zero results relating to my issue. Long story short went to the gas station today, and pressed down on the fuel door latch like I always do to pop open the fuel door, and for the first time ever, I dont hear a pop sound, so i'm pressing the latch downward several times and watching my fuel door not opening.

Ended up not being able to put any gas at all is there a solution to this madness?

 

Have someone pull the lever while you use a rubber coated (insert something thin) to pry open the cover. If it resists too much, then you'll need to go another route but if it doesn't resist too much, just pry it out gently. Once you pry it open, bend the spring that is underneath the hinge part of it outward a bit, then make sure there is a little tension on it before your close it again.

 

You can access the fuel door cable and mechanism from inside the hatch by removing the plastics. More info can be found in the service manual page s-15

 

That's the backup solution to my gorilla method. ;-) ^^^

In all reality, its the better way to go. I just don't like to take things apart and hence my poor tactics.

 

Backup solutions works real well plus you dont break anythink. Just open the compartment with the jack tools, take out black foam tray, and the black cable is right there. Just give it a tug and door opens right up.

 

this happened to me also....on mine, the spring tensioner thingy broke.

you DO NOT have to pry it.
if you do, you might break the small locking bar pin inside and then you have another problem.

you can use a rubber tipped (to not chip your paint) slot head screwdriver, or very carefully with a metal one.
in good lighting, or with a flashlight, you can look straight into the 3oclock edge of the gas door and see the locking pin inside. it slides to the right to unlock the door. push the edge of the screwdriver against the pin as far left as you can get it, apply some pressure into the side of the pin, and then move the screwdriver tip to the right (effectively moving the spring right), wala, the door pops open.

that was how i did it, because i was at a gas station and didnt have internet access to search the forum, lol.

the idea of removing the trunk panels sounds a whole lot easier and safer for your paint!

try bending the spring as mentioned above, to give it more tension.
if that fails, you can order the whole assembly and door from mazda, or keep an eye out for a used one on the forum.

 

Thanks that worked my friend from work used a credit card to gently pry it open while i was pressing the button on the interior. Didnt require much force at all, just popped right out, and you were right, the metal spring needed to be bent a little back place. How something so small can become a HUGE problem lol

 

My pin doesnt even come out anymore on my fuel door. At first i just put some velcro on the inside of the fuel door and the plastic bracket around where the pin was. this worked until it eventually got wet and lost adhesion. i then siliconed one of those cabinet magnetic push latches and has never been a problem since. just push it in and the latch pushes it open enough to pull the door open by hand. Its a very ghetto rigged solution but no one would ever know its there unless i was showing them the inside of the fuel door (which would be weird). I guess the only downside is it makes it easy for someone t siphon your gas or put something in it. I just try to not make enemies.

 

When I got my car the the gas door pin would always get stuck in and wouldn't release. I tried to oil it and exercise it but it was still sticky. After looking at it close one day I noticed it had over spray on it my car is black. Cleaned up the pin with some sand paper and now it works great.

 

Mine did this also when i first got my car. The first time I tried to fill up, it wouldn't open. We just put a credit card in while someone pushed the lever and pryed it open. When looking inside we just bent the metal spring back out and Haven't had a problem since then.

 

You never see photos of this area of my car anywhere, ever. Because an idiot did a hit & run right where the fuel filler flap is. Pushed it in a good inch or more, in a basketball sized dent.

Despite the large amount of damage I havent been bothered to fix, surprisingly the fuel door actually still operates 100% fine.

Proving that at the other end of extremes, they can be tough to break :p