Hello all
l recently brought a 2004 Fiat Panda Dynamic love the car but having real problem with fuel cap. l open the flap but on the cap there is no key lock so all l can do is turn cap anti clock wise with my fingers but it just doesnt open. Please help me as my car needs petrol
Thank you all and look forward to posting on this forum :bang:

No lock is normal, Panda's don't have one.

When you say you can't open the cap, is it stuck or spinning?

If stuck, you need more force.

If spinning, it has a mechanisim to prevent overtightening, it's possible that this has broken.

Panda is my partner's car, so I don't have it in front of me to look at.

Does the whole cap sipn, or can you see a part that doesn't move? If so, you could carefully tap that part with a chisel to unscrew the cap.

If the whole lot is spinning, I'd try to carefully drill a small hole through the two parts, then insert something like a bar or screwdriver to lock both parts together, in order to remove it. I'd want to have a spare cap for reference though, to see where I needed to drill.

I'll have a look at her fuel cap tonight.

Obviously, be very careful about drilling, any doubt, take it to a garage.

maggieann said:

Hello all
l recently brought a 2004 Fiat Panda Dynamic love the car but having real problem with fuel cap. l open the flap but on the cap there is no key lock so all l can do is turn cap anti clock wise with my fingers but it just doesnt open. Please help me as my car needs petrol
Thank you all and look forward to posting on this forum :bang:

Click to expand...

Hi. Just spinning..?

Or so tight you cannot turn it?

Mine has a locking cap..so no great experience of your issue

should unscrew anti clockwise and click clockwise

If it spins freely in both directions its broken and will need replacing

Sometimes you can get away with pressing hard downwards while unscrewing

If that fails try squeezing the sides in while undoing

Failing that the top unclips around the edge. Not sure if its possible while on the car.

Top should break off quite easy then carefully tap the lower part off

You can do what's in the video but be careful and only drill the outer part

Just tried this on my car and it worked but you need strong fingers

hello thank you for your reply it doesnt spin quick or difficult to move just wont come of
when l first brought the car and was fiddling with it l managed to open and fill up
but it was tricky . Now got no idea
Hope you can see this photo

Thank you lve just put a picture of it on ,hope you can see it

Just push in whilst turning anti clockwise..

It sometimes requires a VERY strong anti clockwise twist to undo, especially if you have previously turned it clockwise fairly firmly.

When I say VERY, that's exactly what I mean!

maggieann said:

hello thank you for your reply it doesnt spin quick or difficult to move just wont come of
when l first brought the car and was fiddling with it l managed to open and fill up
but it was tricky . Now got no idea
Hope you can see this photo
View attachment 185790

Click to expand...

Hi again.
Sounds like fiddling \ brute force is required.. maybe 'phone a friend'...

And don't overtighten.

gr J

I've tried what you've all suggested thank you but still cannot open it

Try and get your fingers towards the outer edge while pushing down.


The close edge the more leverage you have. You can use the outer edge but press down with the other hand.

Koalar thank you so much lve managed to open it with your advice. ??

Glad you got it open, my partner has told me she sometimes struggles.

Well done

Might be worth a drop of oil on the rubber seal. Don't use 3 in one or WD40 as they dry sticky.

A bit from the dipstick will be fine.

I'm glad I'm not the only steve145 thank you

koalar said:

Well done

Might be worth a drop of oil on the rubber seal. Don't use 3 in one or WD40 as they dry sticky.

A bit from the dipstick will be fine.

Click to expand...

I will thanks again