Attachment cord for fuel cap

[m3 z]

MY rubber attachment cord has broken.
Went in to the dealer who said I needed whole new cap which as mine is coded for key lock would be over 200$.
I felt this was excessive and wonder if there are any alternatives short of replacement of fuel cap

[Vinci]

I could be wrong about this, but I don't think the original caps actually came with a cord. I know that the keyed versions don't. Also, if your fuel door locks with the doors, you don't need a coded cap at all.

I bought a new coded locking cap from the dealer a few years ago for a LOT less than $200. I think it was somewhere around $60, and I remember being very surprised by that.

Check out www.bmwpartzdirect.com and see if you can get one through them. That was who I used.

[pwhitt]

are you talking about his part?

http://realoem.com/bmw/showphoto.do?id=16111184664

how do they code this part for locking? on mine the access door locks.

i was never aware of that option... must be one of those fancy M things. not that i'm jealous or anything.

can you just replace it with the one shown? that doesn't have any locking features and is $11.

[gmushial]

It sounds like BMW has dealt with gas caps and locks in a variety of ways over the years. I also have a 99 Z3 (non-M) with the locking attached cap. You didn't say were the attaching cord broke, but I would try to fix it vs replace. If the break is in the middle, I'd simply get a larger diam piece of tubing that the cord just fits into, maybe an inch long, and glue (rubber inner tube patching glue) the two ends equal-length into the new piece. If the break is at either end, then would pull the pushin rubber plug, pull the old end out and glue what's left in instead. Should be a 5 minute job.

[Vinci]

Up until 04/99 production models, the Z3 (regardless of model) came with a locking gas cap that matched the doors and ignition.

At and after 04/99, the fuel door was added to the central locking system, and a locking gas cap was no longer needed.

[mpire]

I would love to have an alternative to the old and brittle tether.

I just bought a new one for the EB and added new rubber O-rings to the other two cars.

[gmushial]

I would love to have an alternative to the old and brittle tether.

I just bought a new one for the EB and added new rubber O-rings to the other two cars.

I don't know about an alternative, but fresh replacement is pretty easy and cheap to come by:

http://www.firemountaingems.com/deta...p?PN=H202032BS

I've also seen it on amazon and ebay. One can generally get rubber, synthetic rubber, silicone and vinyl 3mm cord.

[Bear Grylls]

Strange my door locks but the cap is free with no dangle deal

Lol at 200 dollar gas cap.

[vivo]

My cap seems to have the plastic cord broken too. Here's what I do... I take the cap off myself.... I put it into the holder made into the filler door, I pump my gas..., I put the cap back on and close the filler door. I do this to prevent scratches and dents that the attendants will make on the quarter panel as they bang the fender with the pump filler!

Then I buy $200.00 worth of gas and say ahhhhhh

vivo

[Terry F.]

My lanyard also broke but somehow I've managed to fill the tank without it. I think that gas cap is the most over engineered part on my car. No wonder it is expensive.

Terry

[SNR727]

My '99 had the locking cap with the Pro Strap™ - but my '98 just has a regular old gas cap. No lock. Similar to Terry F. my tank still fills easily enough.

Though when I go to the city, there are occasions where I wish I had a locking cap.

Never realized there were Z3s out there with a fuel door tied to the central locking. Definitely learned something today.

Thanks.

[Navy90]

One of the only faults on my recent acquisition is the broken lanyard / tether on the gas cap. For the heck of it I looked it up on this forum - sure enough there is even info on this here.

This place covers everything!!!

[Bob Lindquist]

I would love to have an alternative to the old and brittle tether.

I just bought a new one for the EB and added new rubber O-rings to the other two cars.

Did you buy a whole new cap with the teather?

I don't know about an alternative, but fresh replacement is pretty easy and cheap to come by:

http://www.firemountaingems.com/deta...p?PN=H202032BS

I've also seen it on amazon and ebay. One can generally get rubber, synthetic rubber, silicone and vinyl 3mm cord.

How are you terminating it on the ends?

[Randy Forbes]

One of the only faults on my recent acquisition is the broken lanyard / tether on the gas cap. For the heck of it I looked it up on this forum - sure enough there is even info on this here.

This place covers everything!!!

Sometimes, we even make stuff up, just so we can talk about it...

[Bob Lindquist]

Ah then there is the impossible connector to find.

The one the brake ABS sensor plugs into on the body wiring harness. They are brittle and can't be found in the parts list anywhere.