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A question came up today from a corvette owner that could not bring his car to the car show because his gas door wouldnt open. No one could tell him if there was a emergency switch or lever that can get the door open. Is there a way to get the door open without destroying the door. Thank you in advance for helping get this gentleman an answer.
Do some searching on here there was a guy not too long ago that had the same issue, he shot a video and did a mod, but think he lost the ability to lock the door if I am not mistaken. Think he got at it thru the driver side back wheel liner !!
Take two credit cards, slip 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), insert the screwdriver between the cards so as not to nick the paint, turn the screw driver until the door pops off (have a rag or another person available to catch the door). Then use the screwdriver to retract the fuel door locking plunger.
If all else fails, use a plastic pry tool OR two plastic cards over and under a pry tool and pop the gas door off from the FORWARD side. It snaps off and on. Then disable or replace the lock actuator at your convenience. It still closes without it, however it won't lock. ie you can open it anytime.
When it happened to me I undid two screws on the drivers' rear wheel liner then reached my hand inside. I messed with the actuator that opens the door and it popped open. I then found a random screw lying around that I placed in the locking hole so it no longer locks.
Messing with the fuel door itself seemed a bit sketchy and more prone to damaging the car.
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Originally Posted by Elk
Carry a flat tip screwdriver.
Then if the door becomes stuck:
Take two credit cards, slip 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), insert the screwdriver between the cards so as not to nick the paint, turn the screw driver until the door pops off (have a rag or another person available to catch the door). Then use the screwdriver to retract the fuel door locking plunger.
The locking mechanism inside the rear fender is quite convoluted and thus prone to either failure or falling out of adjustment. Once that happens, there is no mechanical emergency backup cable system as existed on prior C5 and C6 gens. Best to plug that hole in the Fill door to prevent locking once you get it opened to prevent this from ever happening again. POS design by GM.
As I'm sure you've already been told, some considerable disassembly is required to release the "locking" mechanism. All is explained here in other threads.
Also, note that along the way when looking for that there are those like myself who simply blocked off the hole the locking pin goes into in order to assure never having this problem. Simple and totally effective for in the future. In there infinite wisdom GM didn't think to offer a mechanical unlock cable in the back like for the door... duh.
I had this happen after pulling in to fill up and it's no fun. The issue is that the solenoid inside the quarter panel which lock the fuel door fails to operate. For me it was an intermittent problem until is flat out stopped working, leaving the lock engaged! For those of you that have a C7 that have yet to be bitten by the "LOCKED Fuel Door" bug, here's the summary of my experience. Today (8/25/2022) I had it fixed. The GM part number needed to address this issue is 84195316 which is the fuel housing. (Invoice price $67.29) The FAILED solenoid is ATTACHED to the housing and is NOT available as a standalone item. The part number on the solenoid is 42353811. (You may be able to find this on ebay if you're that brave.) The housing is replaced from outside the car and removal of the wheel and/or wheel well is not required. It took the Vette Tech 40 minutes to complete the job. If I knew it was this simple I would have done it myself. The good thing was that my out of pocket deductable totaled $100, with the balance picked up by my extended warranty policy. (The total invoice was $249.69) I'm attaching a few pictures of the housing from various angles. Interestingly enough, as shown in one of the pictures, the solenoid can be simply popped off the housing unit. However, we can all figure out why GM doesn't just stock it as a replaceable item. That would have been too simple. Just like putting in a (more reliable ) fuel door release cable. I actually had one dealer quote me a price of $549.00 to do the job! I've read that some have simply inserted a "trim panel retainer" into the hole that the solenoid pin slides to lock the door. This will allow you to access the fuel tank for refills until you can get it fixed.
After blocking the hole in door, it may not be worthwhile replacing the solenoid. It is not that easy to siphon gas through the filler as there is a partial blockage in the filler pipe. Plus, I am told that the way they get the gas out is by punching a hole in the bottom of the tank.
Interesting. Things seem to have changed. I posted about this at least 6-7 years ago when I had repair on my ‘15. Back then the only thing replaced was the solenoid with the arm.I didn’t think anything had changed in the interim. Other guys have reported just changing the solenoid not the whole thing as well.My 18’ remains unplugged and subject to failure. While plugging is common here always was a little concerned about restricting the arm even tho it’s flexible.Likely doesn’t matter if you plug indefinitely.
I had this problem today and found this thread. I used Elk's "two credit cards and a screwdriver" method (post #3) to pry the door face off and it looks like I won't have to use the "plug the hole" fix others suggested for a solution to avoid future occurrences because it appears the solenoid arm broke at point "A" leaving pin "B" in place preventing the door from opening. Once I pried the door face off I pushed the pin back and it stayed. Thanks Elk and others that contributed. Now I can go "fill her up"!
08-14-2022, 09:27 PM
C7 gas door will not open
The part number on the solenoid is 42353811. (You may be able to find this on ebay if you're that brave.) The housing is replaced from outside the car and removal of the wheel and/or wheel well is not required. It took the Vette Tech 40 minutes to complete the job. If I knew it was this simple I would have done it myself. The good thing was that my out of pocket deductable totaled $100, with the balance picked up by my extended warranty policy. (The total invoice was $249.69) I'm attaching a few pictures of the housing from various angles. Interestingly enough, as shown in one of the pictures, the solenoid can be simply popped off the housing unit. However, we can all figure out why GM doesn't just stock it as a replaceable item. That would have been too simple. Just like putting in a (more reliable 
) fuel door release cable. I actually had one dealer quote me a price of $549.00 to do the job! I've read that some have simply inserted a "trim panel retainer" into the hole that the solenoid pin slides to lock the door. This will allow you to access the fuel tank for refills until you can get it fixed.
