Fuel door lock broken!

[McDani3coupe]

Ok so if you look at the inside of your fuel door you will see the little actuator that locks the fuel door shut. Well somehow mine got broken off?:( My chilton's says nothing. I refuse to take it to the stealership because they will charge an arm and a leg to get it fixed, but I have no idea how to fix it! Anybody know what to do? Meanwhile my fuel door is just kind of chillin there! And does anyone know if the lock being actuated has anything to do with the fuel pressure settings? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks -LoGaN

[jamin325i]

the actuator pushes a plastic pin thru a rubber sleeve when the car is locked. the pin comes thru the hole about 3/4 of an inch to prevent the fuel door from opening.
i pulled the passen. side insulation to replace the rear shock and discovered how this little pin worked and how difficult it is to properly replace to operation.
it doesn't have anything to do with fuel pressure.

confirm yours is broken. spray silicon into hole- it may have dirt blocking-, leave fuel door open, lock car and see if any part of pin emerges.
if it doesnt, then pull that side insulation in the trunk; in so doing you should note a quarter size plastic tab mounted in the insulation which pulls straight out on a plastic line about 15 inches long. the line brings with it the pin-3 inches long- or what is remaining of the pin if broken.
the line has a loop in the end and has pulled the pin out and seperated it from the actuator. the parts are all plastic so are designed to be re-assembled.

in reassemly, remove the actuator held by 2 torx screws, reinserting a good pin into the actuator slot, looping the line about the sleeve end of pin and inserting the pin into its rubber sleeve.
it helps to be a contortionist as the pin should be held in the sleeve while the actuator is torxed back to its mount, all this while holding back the trunk insulation because the plastic line is kind of short.
then if the sleeve is not straight one must align it by rotating the pin or bending the actuator mount.
in testing, leave fuel door open, lock car to see if pin comes thru, silicon spray and realign pin in sleeve until suscessful.
not a fun job. in fact this was the hard part in replacing my rear shocks.
the plastic trunk liners are quite flexible so it can be squashed to accomplish the job.
good luck.

[traggets]

Thank's for the jamin, I wanted to do this too..at least now I have some direction.

[McDani3coupe]

wow thank you soooooo much. If I knew you I would take you out to lunch or something!

[BackWoodsBimmer]

isnt there a cord in the trunk that will disable the fuel lock?

[jamin325i]

the cord you refer to is the "about 15 inch plastic line". when pulled way out it disconnects the pin from the actuator. the fuel door then cannot be latched.
i have read bimmer forums a long time and of people replacing their rear shocks, yet this pin/cord arrangement surprised me.
i wonder how many people have no functioning latch on their fuel door after removing the trunk passen. side insulation panel.

[szed]

i wonder how many people have no functioning latch on their fuel door after removing the trunk passen. side insulation panel.


Mine still functions with no trunk liner.

[jarozila]

When I first bought my car I was surprised that the fuel flap did not lock. It just did not seem right that a BMW would not have a lockable fuel flap. It took me a while to realise that there was a hole on the side and a pin that should come out of the hole to secure the flap.

As has been suggested, when I peeled back the liner I saw the little black box held on by a bracket that actuates the pin when you lock the car. I disconnected the plug and took the box out. I noticed that a rubber sleve was pushed back and that the pin was just stuck. A very easy fix and then I had a lockable fuel flap!!

[cgkhor79]

I replaced the fuel door actuator last night, unfortunately, there is an extra component (clip, please refer to 'geocities.com/cgkhor/img/P1000679a.jpg') come out which I have no idea where I should fix it. Can anyone help?

Besides this, could you post a photo showing the original location of the emergency wire which connect to the actuator rod. (I was doing it in hurry and forgot to took a picture before I carried out my owrk.) Your help is greatly apprecaited. Thanks!