2005 Prius - Fuel Door Failure
*grumble* I try to stop last night for cheap gas whilst I've still got two fuel "bars" left. Pull into gas station, pull lever on floor to pop open fuel door, and... nothing. No amount of lever-pullage will pop open the fuel door. Drive from cheap gas to house of friends where I'm crashing for the evening, elect to deal with it in the morning. Down to one "bar" of fuel.
In theory, I could probably make it all the way home to my home dealership (where the car was purchased) to get them to deal with this... but it's just far enough that I don't want to risk it. Of course, it's Sunday, so no dealerships' service hours start 'till tomorrow. I need to do lots of things today-- like, y'know, drive home, do a zillion errands, and drive to the office (another 45+ miles from home), where I'm there overnights most nights 'till November. So, right now, am at the friends' house, waiting for them to come home, so I can get a 2nd pair of hands to help me try to jimmy the fuel door open (I can't reach, of course, to hold the lever up AND fiddle with the door).
Any ideas on tools or gadgets to try to pop/pry the fuel door open that won't completely bung up the paint there? If I can't pry it open, I'll be calling the nearest dealership (one town over) and asking about their "emergency" options for service...
E/T/A: Crisis solved. The 2nd pair of hands finally arrived, and a quick "I pull up the lever; he pops open the fuel door" move located the hitherto hidden issue: the plastic tether that holds the gas cap to the threaded sleeve had gotten in the way of the fuel door's latch. Lesson learned!
In theory, I could probably make it all the way home to my home dealership (where the car was purchased) to get them to deal with this... but it's just far enough that I don't want to risk it. Of course, it's Sunday, so no dealerships' service hours start 'till tomorrow. I need to do lots of things today-- like, y'know, drive home, do a zillion errands, and drive to the office (another 45+ miles from home), where I'm there overnights most nights 'till November. So, right now, am at the friends' house, waiting for them to come home, so I can get a 2nd pair of hands to help me try to jimmy the fuel door open (I can't reach, of course, to hold the lever up AND fiddle with the door).
Any ideas on tools or gadgets to try to pop/pry the fuel door open that won't completely bung up the paint there? If I can't pry it open, I'll be calling the nearest dealership (one town over) and asking about their "emergency" options for service...
E/T/A: Crisis solved. The 2nd pair of hands finally arrived, and a quick "I pull up the lever; he pops open the fuel door" move located the hitherto hidden issue: the plastic tether that holds the gas cap to the threaded sleeve had gotten in the way of the fuel door's latch. Lesson learned!