General fuel cap
- Thread starter Rose500
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General fuel cap
Absolutely.
It helps if you think of unlocking it and removing it as two completely separate tasks.
To unlock/lock the cap, you need to hold it completely still - so, holding the cap firmly with one hand, insert the key with the other hand and turn the key to unlock the cap. Then let go of the key and turn the cap to remove it. The key will stay in the cap, and you can hang the cap and key on a handy little hook provided on the fuel flap for that very purpose.
When replacing, first turn the cap until it clicks, then hold the cap firmly in one hand and turn the key with the other hand to lock it.
<begin rant>
Any dealership worthy of the name should both explain and demonstrate this on handover.
<rant over>
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If it's any consolation, Rose, I have asked the same question on here some months ago. And it was probably JR who patiently talked me through it.
Yet I still struggle at petrol stations!
To me, there's something completely unintuitive about the process.
Or I'm a bozo.......
Yet I still struggle at petrol stations!
To me, there's something completely unintuitive about the process.
Or I'm a bozo.......
No, it's a completely unintuitive process. Hence my rant about dealers not properly demonstrating this at handover.
Also I find it's necessary to be careful with the plastic 'string' that loosely ties the fuel cap to the bodyshell - it's incredibly easy to get this tangled up & trapped in either the cap or the flap. I'll bet quite a few of these end up broken after a few years in service.
Another 'delicate' item to be careful with is the glass roof blind on lounge models - several folks have had these jam or break and the dealers haven't always been keen to fix them under warranty
.
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charliestyr
Member
As described above!
I can also confirm that the plastic 'string' is weak, ours is broken. But that is after 5 years, so, not bad going for a thin piece of plastic on a Fiat ;-) To be fair though the string is.. well, not particularly useful anyway if you hang it on the hook.
Which reminds me, I need to cut the string off the filler cap as it just flails around at the moment - annoying. I always think about it when refuelling and then always forget by the time I'm home.
I can also confirm that the plastic 'string' is weak, ours is broken. But that is after 5 years, so, not bad going for a thin piece of plastic on a Fiat ;-) To be fair though the string is.. well, not particularly useful anyway if you hang it on the hook.
Which reminds me, I need to cut the string off the filler cap as it just flails around at the moment - annoying. I always think about it when refuelling and then always forget by the time I'm home.
Super Bolt
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Hi.
We recently had a problem with the actual key not wanting to go in easily. A tiny squirt of WD40 in the slot sorted this out (put the key in straight away a few times).
The wife said that since the WD, the lock its self operates much easier as your right it can be a pain!
Matt
We recently had a problem with the actual key not wanting to go in easily. A tiny squirt of WD40 in the slot sorted this out (put the key in straight away a few times).
The wife said that since the WD, the lock its self operates much easier as your right it can be a pain!
Matt
brilliant thanks guys, its just one of the issues i have with it lol. my boot it making a funny noise also and saying check number plate bulbs and stop lights and all seem to be ok. had it a week hope its not an indication of whats to come. i got it to save money, this rate ill have to start using the rs again lol.
Great info folks, I won't look a total idiot now when I go to fill up my 500 for the first time (unless the filler cap is on a different side to my present car of course :doh: )
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Why? I have a Panda - and it doesn't matter what side the pump is on, the filler cap is at the rear of the car so you can easily reach the hose around if on the other side. Never ever been an issue for me
Why? I have a Panda - and it doesn't matter what side the pump is on, the filler cap is at the rear of the car so you can easily reach the hose around if on the other side. Never ever been an issue for me
You're so right, my present car has the fuel filler halfway down the back passenger wing and if I go to the wrong side and don't park so close to the pump that its a struggle to get out the filler hose doesn't reach accross the back. I forgot my new wheels will be a lot lot smaller. :bang:
I don't think it's that weak if you take care.
My car is 3.5 years old and I've always taken care to never tangle it or twist it or get it caught and it's in as good condition as it was when I got it.
See the service manual for all that info
charliestyr
Member
Indeed, I'm sure it could last. I always treat it well but our car is used by about 6 different people, and I know it is not treated very well by the others
I did go to fill up once and find the cap just sitting in the filler nozzle/hole :shakehead:The highlighted bit is the important point here.
Knowing about the stuff that has caused other folks problems helps me to pay particular attention to those points. That's one of the great things about this forum
.The 500 is adequately robust in the hands of the mechanically sympathetic. Thus far in almost three years, I haven't lost a washer jet, my door handle hasn't fallen off, my sun blind works just fine, my brakes don't bind or squeal, my hatchback wiring is still intact, and my original breathers are perfectly sound.
But even if you made everything on the car out of duritanium, the hamfisted would still find a way to break it.
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Well I think the wiring in the hatch and the breather pipes failing are little to do with mechanical sympathy, my first replacement lasted days.
I wonder if the chap who fitted it twisted it when putting it in?
Tbh I'm a little surprised mine have lasted this long. Whenever I've had cause to remove the airbox (something else which should be done carefully on the 500), I remove the breathers & wash them inside with warm soapy water & a bottle brush
. The early version doesn't seem to be as resistant as it should be to oil & petrol.I refit them with a dab of silicone on the stubs & make sure they're not under torsion.
Is yours still an original? I ask only as my dealer would fit new breather pipes without letting customers know.
