Need Help: C7 fuel door will not unlock
05-20-2017, 07:27 PM
#101
Le Mans Master
05-20-2017, 11:13 PM
#102
I never measured. I had a packet of various sizes and picked one with the right sized head. The post portion was too small, so I wrapped a bit of black electrical tape around it.
Bingo. It's been there for over two years now, and the only time I think about it is when a thread like this comes along.
Bingo. It's been there for over two years now, and the only time I think about it is when a thread like this comes along.
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05-21-2017, 12:11 AM
#103
I never measured either, but I have drawers of miscellaneous fasteners lying around, and just found one that worked perfectly.
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justplainjim (05-21-2017)
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justplainjim (05-21-2017)
05-21-2017, 08:55 AM
#105
Burning Brakes
My plan is to remove the entire locking mechanism ... no more possible stuck fuel doors .. and no more annoying clicks and clacks when you open or unlock the car 
Last edited by dmhines; 05-21-2017 at 08:56 AM.
05-23-2017, 06:05 PM
#106
Racer
How about the best of both worlds
Understand the simple fix of plug in the hole; also understand of wanting everything to work as advertised; also understand being stuck at some (possibly unsafe) hole-in-the-wall gas station late at night.
I carry a flat tip screwdriver (fits neatly in the tow-hook holder above the battery). I took 2 credit cards (something I would routinely have in my wallet) and slipped them in the forward gap of the fuel door (gap nearest the front of the car, or at the 9 o'clock position looking at the fuel door), then inserted the screwdriver between the cards so as not to nick the paint.
Barely 1/4 turn of the screwdriver and the door popped off, without scratching. The screwdriver then fit into the plunger hole retracting it and fuel door is open.
I'm not against removing the entire lock; just don't want to go thru all that hassle...especially while I'm still under warranty. The plug is simple & easy, but don't want to tempt some jerk with vandalism...had a friend that left his top down in a parking lot and came back to find coke spilled all over his seats. Jerks are everywhere.
My advice: Open the fuel door and slip the painted cover off the hinge so you can see how that fits...and how easy it is. Also open the hinge and cycle the locks several times to observe the locking pin, manually pushing it back in after it's locked so you understand (and reassure yourself) that you're not hurting the mechanism.
Many thanks to the OP for sharing - I would have pried the fuel door off causing some major damage not knowing otherwise.
I carry a flat tip screwdriver (fits neatly in the tow-hook holder above the battery). I took 2 credit cards (something I would routinely have in my wallet) and slipped them in the forward gap of the fuel door (gap nearest the front of the car, or at the 9 o'clock position looking at the fuel door), then inserted the screwdriver between the cards so as not to nick the paint.
Barely 1/4 turn of the screwdriver and the door popped off, without scratching. The screwdriver then fit into the plunger hole retracting it and fuel door is open.
I'm not against removing the entire lock; just don't want to go thru all that hassle...especially while I'm still under warranty. The plug is simple & easy, but don't want to tempt some jerk with vandalism...had a friend that left his top down in a parking lot and came back to find coke spilled all over his seats. Jerks are everywhere.
My advice: Open the fuel door and slip the painted cover off the hinge so you can see how that fits...and how easy it is. Also open the hinge and cycle the locks several times to observe the locking pin, manually pushing it back in after it's locked so you understand (and reassure yourself) that you're not hurting the mechanism.
Many thanks to the OP for sharing - I would have pried the fuel door off causing some major damage not knowing otherwise.
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05-23-2017, 11:52 PM
#107
I'm not sure what you mean by "tempting some jerk with vandalism." It seems to me the easiest way to avoid that is by leaving the fuel door unlocked by having a plug in it all the time. You discovered how easy it is to open it anyway, and a vandal doesn't care about avoiding damage when easily prying it open.
There isn't any easy way to put contaminants in the fuel tank given the design of the fueling system. You can't even get fuel in it with a conventional gas can. You have to have a special funnel.
There isn't any easy way to put contaminants in the fuel tank given the design of the fueling system. You can't even get fuel in it with a conventional gas can. You have to have a special funnel.
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owc6 (05-23-2017)
05-24-2017, 07:54 AM
#108
Melting Slicks
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^^ I agree that it isn't tempting vandalism. The vandal doesn't know the door isn't locked until he tries it and at that point vandalism has already been decided upon.
Protecting yourself from vandalism is difficult and you make some concessions when you prepare for it. For instance, I live in a house with a sliding glass door that anyone can throw a rock through and come inside. Yet I lock the door when I leave. Why? The lock is a layer of protection, albeit a weak one since the door is glass. I feel the locking gas door is a layer of protection.
I see two types of gas tank vandals, the true vandals that wish you harm and the mischief vandals that are looking for a quick joke or show off move for their buddies. The gas door lock won't protect you from the true vandal that doesn't mind ripping your fuel door off to steal your gas or sugar your tank. The mischief vandal may well move on when your gas door won't open.
I have locking gas doors on all my vehicles except my C4. I have a locking gas cap on it. I added a release cable to my C7 gas door so I won't have the problem the OP has had.
Protecting yourself from vandalism is difficult and you make some concessions when you prepare for it. For instance, I live in a house with a sliding glass door that anyone can throw a rock through and come inside. Yet I lock the door when I leave. Why? The lock is a layer of protection, albeit a weak one since the door is glass. I feel the locking gas door is a layer of protection.
I see two types of gas tank vandals, the true vandals that wish you harm and the mischief vandals that are looking for a quick joke or show off move for their buddies. The gas door lock won't protect you from the true vandal that doesn't mind ripping your fuel door off to steal your gas or sugar your tank. The mischief vandal may well move on when your gas door won't open.
I have locking gas doors on all my vehicles except my C4. I have a locking gas cap on it. I added a release cable to my C7 gas door so I won't have the problem the OP has had.
05-24-2017, 09:33 AM
#109
Pro
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05-24-2017, 09:40 AM
#110
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '13
^^ I agree that it isn't tempting vandalism. The vandal doesn't know the door isn't locked until he tries it and at that point vandalism has already been decided upon.
Protecting yourself from vandalism is difficult and you make some concessions when you prepare for it. For instance, I live in a house with a sliding glass door that anyone can throw a rock through and come inside. Yet I lock the door when I leave. Why? The lock is a layer of protection, albeit a weak one since the door is glass. I feel the locking gas door is a layer of protection.
I see two types of gas tank vandals, the true vandals that wish you harm and the mischief vandals that are looking for a quick joke or show off move for their buddies. The gas door lock won't protect you from the true vandal that doesn't mind ripping your fuel door off to steal your gas or sugar your tank. The mischief vandal may well move on when your gas door won't open.
I have locking gas doors on all my vehicles except my C4. I have a locking gas cap on it. I added a release cable to my C7 gas door so I won't have the problem the OP has had.
Protecting yourself from vandalism is difficult and you make some concessions when you prepare for it. For instance, I live in a house with a sliding glass door that anyone can throw a rock through and come inside. Yet I lock the door when I leave. Why? The lock is a layer of protection, albeit a weak one since the door is glass. I feel the locking gas door is a layer of protection.
I see two types of gas tank vandals, the true vandals that wish you harm and the mischief vandals that are looking for a quick joke or show off move for their buddies. The gas door lock won't protect you from the true vandal that doesn't mind ripping your fuel door off to steal your gas or sugar your tank. The mischief vandal may well move on when your gas door won't open.
I have locking gas doors on all my vehicles except my C4. I have a locking gas cap on it. I added a release cable to my C7 gas door so I won't have the problem the OP has had.
And if you find your gas door damaged or ripped off, a prudent person might go to the trouble of having the tank drained.
05-24-2017, 10:47 AM
#111
Racer
I'm not sure what you mean by "tempting some jerk with vandalism." It seems to me the easiest way to avoid that is by leaving the fuel door unlocked by having a plug in it all the time. You discovered how easy it is to open it anyway, and a vandal doesn't care about avoiding damage when easily prying it open.
There isn't any easy way to put contaminants in the fuel tank given the design of the fueling system. You can't even get fuel in it with a conventional gas can. You have to have a special funnel.
There isn't any easy way to put contaminants in the fuel tank given the design of the fueling system. You can't even get fuel in it with a conventional gas can. You have to have a special funnel.
05-24-2017, 05:21 PM
#112
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Apr 2002
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Reply to vettetwo: Sure. Here's the link to a previous post I put up about it:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-2-0-a.html
It took about an hour but I had already made up ver. 1.0 so I had some previous knowledge and experience.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-2-0-a.html
It took about an hour but I had already made up ver. 1.0 so I had some previous knowledge and experience.
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vettetwo (05-25-2017)
05-25-2017, 11:39 AM
#113
Le Mans Master
Reply to vettetwo: Sure. Here's the link to a previous post I put up about it:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-2-0-a.html
It took about an hour but I had already made up ver. 1.0 so I had some previous knowledge and experience.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-2-0-a.html
It took about an hour but I had already made up ver. 1.0 so I had some previous knowledge and experience.
Since you have the plastic tubing as a guide, wouldn't it be better to use a more flexible, high strength, fishing line instead of the steel cable? (you can get 50, 100, even 150 lb test line)
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; 05-25-2017 at 11:49 AM.
05-25-2017, 06:23 PM
#115
Le Mans Master
As pointed out by Gearhead, if you are checking the fuel door with the car unlocked, it should be open.
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; 05-28-2017 at 11:51 AM.
05-26-2017, 01:16 PM
#116
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '13
Instead, they rely on a locking gas door, which is not quite as secure but a whole lot more convenient.
On the C5-C6, you released the locking gas door with a button on the dash.
In the C7, it's like you mentioned- push on the door and it releases. However, the gas door is locked any time the people doors are locked. So any time the people doors are locked, like when driving, the gas door will also be locked. The thread is about what happens when the gas door fails to unlock when the people doors are unlocked; there is no emergency gas door tab in the trunk like the C5 and C6.
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 05-26-2017 at 01:18 PM.
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Z06NJ (09-26-2017)
01-07-2018, 05:25 PM
#117
Melting Slicks
Am glad to have run across this thread to avoid any unnecessary surprises when Murphy shows up at the gas pump in the middle of nowhere on a cross country trip with 1/4 tank of fuel and a locked fuel door... Thanks to the contributors who discovered the problem and created some very clever ideas to avoid/fix it.
My '11 Mustang GT has a "push locking" fuel door as does the C7, but Ford did not include a lock, so to protect the gas filler, I bought a locking gas cap - decidedly low tech but has been utterly fail safe...
IMO in future vehicles, GM would do well to either delete the fuel door lock and make a locking cap available, or reinstall the backup release.
My '11 Mustang GT has a "push locking" fuel door as does the C7, but Ford did not include a lock, so to protect the gas filler, I bought a locking gas cap - decidedly low tech but has been utterly fail safe...
IMO in future vehicles, GM would do well to either delete the fuel door lock and make a locking cap available, or reinstall the backup release.
01-07-2018, 07:30 PM
#118
Le Mans Master
Am glad to have run across this thread to avoid any unnecessary surprises when Murphy shows up at the gas pump in the middle of nowhere on a cross country trip with 1/4 tank of fuel and a locked fuel door... Thanks to the contributors who discovered the problem and created some very clever ideas to avoid/fix it.
My '11 Mustang GT has a "push locking" fuel door as does the C7, but Ford did not include a lock, so to protect the gas filler, I bought a locking gas cap - decidedly low tech but has been utterly fail safe...
IMO in future vehicles, GM would do well to either delete the fuel door lock and make a locking cap available, or reinstall the backup release.
My '11 Mustang GT has a "push locking" fuel door as does the C7, but Ford did not include a lock, so to protect the gas filler, I bought a locking gas cap - decidedly low tech but has been utterly fail safe...
IMO in future vehicles, GM would do well to either delete the fuel door lock and make a locking cap available, or reinstall the backup release.
My C5 had a door release that was spring loaded and it just popped open when released.
The C7 actually has an actuator MOTOR that drives the lock closed, and drives it open when reversed. To manually pull the pin back you have to slowly pull it back against the motor and gear drive mechanism, versus pulling back a pin that is just spring loaded.
In the C5 design it also would fail in the closed (locked) position but it was only spring loaded closed, and not held locked by a motor and gears.
The locking fuel door is pretty much worthless anyway... All my other GM cars just have the spring loaded push in plunger that pops the door open and I have never had any problems with someone messing with the fuel..
The fuel inlet on the C7 also has double check valves in the fuel inlet neck which makes it even more difficult to get something to go all the way into the tank, and an anti-siphon grid.(even though the grid can easily be knocked out)
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; 01-07-2018 at 07:37 PM.
01-09-2018, 06:45 PM
#119
Okay, so here's how to fuel your car when the electronic lock fails.
First, verify that you have actually tried to open the fuel door correctly. Car must be recently unlocked. Passive unlock is not sufficient. Use the FOB, press unlock, open the driver door, push unlock on the driver door, verify the red light is off on the door lock button, try to open fuel door, by pushing the back half of the door in, then releasing, it should spring open.
None of that worked for me. When unlocking or locking, I was able to hear that fuel door was 'clicking', a weak noise that didn't sound substantial enough to unlock the door.
Unlike C6, there is no manual release inside the cabin. Ignore OnStar when they tell you to go looking for one.
I'm going to show how to override the fuel lock. I'm sure someone is going to complain that I'm enabling criminals. But anyone that isn't concerned about damaging your car would figure out the same thing in about 30 seconds.
here we go...
1. Pry off the fuel door.
I was just trying to get a peak at the locking mechanism by prying first the top, then the bottom of the door to see in. I used a wooden chopstick to peak in, that leverage was enough to rip off the door.
Here is the fuel door hinge, with the door ripped off.
Attachment 48139351
2. Release the electronic lock 'bolt' by pushing it to the right
Here is the a close up of the door.
Attachment 48139352
the rubberized circle in the upper right is the manual spring latch. (This is the one you push it once it locks, push it again it unlocks). It has the tab labeled with a 'D' just to the left of it. I've forgotten already, but I think if you fiddled with that , it'd release the manual lock.
Below the manual latch, running horizontally, the black cylinder is the 'bolt' for the electronic lock. it can be pushed towards the right, until it is flush with the side of the fuel filler housing. This is what has failed. When the car is unlocked, it should be retracted, allowing the door to open when the manual latch is triggered. Here it is still extended, despite the car being unlocked.
You can push this bolt to the right by jamming something into the front and then pushing sideways, or coming in head on from the left.
3. Door can swing open (make sure you push in to release the manual latch).
Here is the view with the door open.
Attachment 48139353
You can see the electronic lock is engaged.
Here is the door hinge end on.
Attachment 48139354
You can see the wedge that pushes in the electronic lock bolt if it is engaged before the door is shut. My problem is that the bolt wasn't retracting when unlocked, so the door is blocked from opening by the bolt through this hole.
Here is the door hinge from the top. You can see how the fuel door slides on.
Attachment 48139355
It doesn't look like I've done any damage to the door, it should be able to slide back on, once I get the lock fixed.
Attachment 48139356
I do not have a theory for what caused the electronic lock actuator to fail. I note that the bolt requires a lot of force to push it in, more than I would expect is normal. So I expect something in that bolt mechanism failed. The alternate expectation is that the door hinge was misaligned, causing the bolt to bind on the hole that it slides into ; but then the lock should work with the door now open, it doesn't.
So the good news is that I was able to fuel the car and get it home. I'll need to decide if I take it to the dealer, I dread them ripping apart the whole right side panel to fix this on a car with less than 1500 miles. Part of me wants to just hack saw off the bolt and go without a locking gas cap.
I'd love someone on the forum with a C7 to check two things for me:
a) When you normally open your fuel door, the lock is retracted, right? (It doesn't stick out as shown in the picture).
b) With the fuel door open, if you lock your car, the lock both should extend. Right? (it's safe to close the fuel door over the extended bolt, but why push luck, just unlock the car again).
keywords:
Corvette C7 Stingray fuel door won't unlock
fuel door stuck
First, verify that you have actually tried to open the fuel door correctly. Car must be recently unlocked. Passive unlock is not sufficient. Use the FOB, press unlock, open the driver door, push unlock on the driver door, verify the red light is off on the door lock button, try to open fuel door, by pushing the back half of the door in, then releasing, it should spring open.
None of that worked for me. When unlocking or locking, I was able to hear that fuel door was 'clicking', a weak noise that didn't sound substantial enough to unlock the door.
Unlike C6, there is no manual release inside the cabin. Ignore OnStar when they tell you to go looking for one.
I'm going to show how to override the fuel lock. I'm sure someone is going to complain that I'm enabling criminals. But anyone that isn't concerned about damaging your car would figure out the same thing in about 30 seconds.
here we go...
1. Pry off the fuel door.
I was just trying to get a peak at the locking mechanism by prying first the top, then the bottom of the door to see in. I used a wooden chopstick to peak in, that leverage was enough to rip off the door.
Here is the fuel door hinge, with the door ripped off.
Attachment 48139351
2. Release the electronic lock 'bolt' by pushing it to the right
Here is the a close up of the door.
Attachment 48139352
the rubberized circle in the upper right is the manual spring latch. (This is the one you push it once it locks, push it again it unlocks). It has the tab labeled with a 'D' just to the left of it. I've forgotten already, but I think if you fiddled with that , it'd release the manual lock.
Below the manual latch, running horizontally, the black cylinder is the 'bolt' for the electronic lock. it can be pushed towards the right, until it is flush with the side of the fuel filler housing. This is what has failed. When the car is unlocked, it should be retracted, allowing the door to open when the manual latch is triggered. Here it is still extended, despite the car being unlocked.
You can push this bolt to the right by jamming something into the front and then pushing sideways, or coming in head on from the left.
3. Door can swing open (make sure you push in to release the manual latch).
Here is the view with the door open.
Attachment 48139353
You can see the electronic lock is engaged.
Here is the door hinge end on.
Attachment 48139354
You can see the wedge that pushes in the electronic lock bolt if it is engaged before the door is shut. My problem is that the bolt wasn't retracting when unlocked, so the door is blocked from opening by the bolt through this hole.
Here is the door hinge from the top. You can see how the fuel door slides on.
Attachment 48139355
It doesn't look like I've done any damage to the door, it should be able to slide back on, once I get the lock fixed.
Attachment 48139356
I do not have a theory for what caused the electronic lock actuator to fail. I note that the bolt requires a lot of force to push it in, more than I would expect is normal. So I expect something in that bolt mechanism failed. The alternate expectation is that the door hinge was misaligned, causing the bolt to bind on the hole that it slides into ; but then the lock should work with the door now open, it doesn't.
So the good news is that I was able to fuel the car and get it home. I'll need to decide if I take it to the dealer, I dread them ripping apart the whole right side panel to fix this on a car with less than 1500 miles. Part of me wants to just hack saw off the bolt and go without a locking gas cap.
I'd love someone on the forum with a C7 to check two things for me:
a) When you normally open your fuel door, the lock is retracted, right? (It doesn't stick out as shown in the picture).
b) With the fuel door open, if you lock your car, the lock both should extend. Right? (it's safe to close the fuel door over the extended bolt, but why push luck, just unlock the car again).
keywords:
Corvette C7 Stingray fuel door won't unlock
fuel door stuck
