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This morning I encountered one of the most frustrating problems I’ve ever had with the car—I couldn’t open the gas cap. The key would turn, seemingly locking and unlocking the mechanism, but in the end, the cap would just spin without actually unscrewing.

If you’re in this situation, it’s likely because the lock mechanism isn’t engaging the cap to the threaded part of the tank, which is what allows the cap to unscrew.

Essentially, what is shown in the manual as a single piece (Piece 28 in the graph) is actually three parts: the threaded section (A), the lock mechanism (which isn’t shown in the diagram), and the outer cap (B). What the lock cylinder does is engage parts A and B so that turning one will turn the other.





Temporary Solution – Warning: The lock will be rendered unusable, but you’ll be able to open and close the tank until you replace the cap:

1.Remove the outer cap: Using a flathead screwdriver, pry at the edges of the cap (B) to remove it—it has clips that keep it attached to the threaded section (A) but allows it to spin freely.

2.Remove the lock cylinder: Once you’ve removed the cap, you’ll be left with the main threaded section (A) and the lock cylinder. To remove the cylinder, depending on the nature of the issue, you can either turn the key and, while turned, pull the cylinder out, or you might need to force it out using a screwdriver—the outer part of the cylinder is plastic.

3.Unscrew the main threaded section: Now it’s time to unscrew the main threaded section (A). You have two options: you can use the internal notches to pry it loose with a screwdriver and unscrew it, or you can use the outer cap (B) you removed earlier. Just reattach it without the lock cylinder, and by applying pressure, the friction between the cap and the thread should be enough to unscrew it.

Finally, with the threaded section removed and access to the tank, what I did was glue the threaded section (A) and the cap (B) together with Super-Glue3 to keep the tank covered while I find a replacement. You can reinstall the lock cylinder if you’re gluing all the pieces, though it will be non-functional.

I hope this might help someone out of a jam like it did for me.
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