Q: Gas filler door stuck, almost ran out of fuel
I almost ran my tank dry the other day when I had to drive home with very little fuel because the gas filler door on my 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t open when you pull the lever! It was pouring rain and I couldn’t get it open quickly so I decided to risk it. A car with 58,000 miles on it should not be having problems like this! Very disappointed. What do I have to replace to get this to STOP?
The fuel door on the Santa Fe has an electrical actuator to open the door and a back up release cable inside the vehicle near the door. The two main causes for the fuel door to not open are either a faulty electrical actuator or a worn door tension spring. Your mechanic will check if the door spring is defective by pushing the release and having an assistant lift out the door. If the door opens, the spring is defective, otherwise, they will proceed to use the emergency release cable. If the door opens normally while using the cable, then the electrical release solenoid needs to be tested to determine if it is receiving power. I suggest YourMechanic diagnose your system to solve this issue.
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