Well it took about 3 days of ownership for me to bust something...

When I bought the car the fuel door latch from inside the car could not seem to open the door; no biggie...I'll just have to get out and "pry" it open. I did this the first time I got gas and it worked fine, but not the second time. I became inpatient and pulled on the damn door till SNAP...sweet! It's open. Ahhh s***, it doesn't close...

Turns out I broke the little black graphite-looking thing that moves in and out to release the door. Now the door can't close cause there is nothing for it to catch to. I removed the nut that holds the black plastic that is attached to the car and that came off fine, but didnt allow me access to the piece I snapped. It's like...in the car or something and I have no idea how to get to it. It sucks cause now I look like one of those people who forget to close their fuel door

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get to the skinny black piece that latches the door shut? Thanks...

 

Called the fuel door stopper(ref# 42-408)
P/N 0187-70-491. About a buck each.

 

Hmmm...thanks for the diagram Toadman! Very helpful, but I dont think that is the part I need...

the part I need it part of the innermost assembly that is inside the door...it is the skinny black plastic part that looks to be inserted in to center of a threaded screw. the end tip of this part sticks through the center of the final nut as well and is what latches the door shut...I broke this in half so it now sits flush with the car...I cant get to it...I have removed everything that can be removed and no luck.

 

While the door is off, make one out of alluminum and pollish it.

 

Yeah, uh....thanks.

 

LOL. I'll check tomorrow for ya, Decay. I think it's part of the cable and bracket assembly.

 

While the fuel door is all torn up anyway, you should just go ahead and get a racing gas cap or the assembly on the audi tt. The FD fuel door has always been a flimsy little bugger and would be better off being replaced with something stylish (?) and heavy-duty.

 

Thanks a ton Toadman, I would really appreciate it...and yes, I believe you are right about it being part of the cable/bracket assembly that is "inside" the car.
-Dan

 

Just for future reference, how were you trying to pop the door? pushing straight down on the trunk latch?

You have to push it down and towards the middle of the car... Just in case you didn't know that. I couldn't figure it out at first either.

 

When I first bought my FD, it went to the gas station and *tried* to open the gas door. Apparently I couldn't figure out the latch thing either, and I came to the conclusion the release mechanism was broken. So I went home, took apart the trim and stuff on the inside of the car, and then found out that you have to push the lever down and towards the middle of the car... Man, I felt stupid.

I guess this doesn't really help you out much, but I just wanted to tell the story

 

Comes with the cable assembly. P/N FD01-56-860C. About 50 bucks.

 

LMFAO !

 

Dammmmmmmmmmmit! I think the whole time I was pulling up and towards me, so the thing was probably never broken

Well 50 bones aint that bad I guess...but I have a feeling it is going to be a PITA to re-install that thing.

Edit: Toadman...thanks again for the diagrams and part numbers. Makes my job much easier

 

Not a problem. Owner's Manuals are a wonderful thing..

 

Sorry to dig such an old thread up, but I'm having a similar problem, mines opens, but the black plastic rod that usually pops out to hold/release the gas door is stuck -- I have to pry it back out everytime I use it. Is it spring-loaded? I was looking at the shop manual, but it was somewhat vague.

Can I replace the spring without taking apart the interior?

 

Does anyone have the manual pages or can give me a brief or detailed (better if you got the time) way to do this fix? I think my mechanic was a failure and couldnt figure out how to get it open, because when I got the car back, I noticed that the fuel door wouldnt shut. And does anyone know if I have to buy the whole cable assembly? Or can I just get the release latch portion? I have no idea how many parts the cable assembly is made up of....so if someone could point me in the right direction to fix this problem you'd save me the embarassment of driving around like the idiot who forgot to close the fuel door as it flaps around on the freeway. This thread never really told me what needs to be replaced, although to my understanding now, its going to take 50 bucks and removing the interior.

 

mine was broken when i got the car, i took a small screw and threaded it into what is left of the plastic, then i ground down the head a little to make it smooth...

8 months later and still working perfectly, a little ghetto, but i looked into changing out the cable. and i must say

**** THAT

 

so changing the cable would be the only way to fix that EH? well ur idea just might be what I need to do. what size screw? just a small/thin wood screw? and how did u ground down the head after u installed it?

 

damn i saw the title of this thread and thought Dan broke something else. nope, just dug up from the dead...

 

Delete this thread! Still pissed that I broke the thing

To help others, you don't need to replace the ENTIRE cable assembly, just the little braket thing at the fuel door. It was like $47 from Mazda. Takes a bit of contortioning to get to it, but the piece sits just behind the rear ABS unit. You can *just* see it when looking into the "cutout"...then stick yer hand in and jerk around till you can get it out. It's really not all that hard, which is saying something cause I am not the biggest DIY guy and even I was able to do this

 

hahahaha, good job buddy