Fuel door will not open
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 4
From: Santa Ana, CA
E320CDI, CLK55, and a Smart
Fuel door will not open
The other day I was at a gas station to fill up the tank. Much to my surprise, the fuel door would not open. So I decided to cycle the lock on my key and in the car. The fuel door would not unlock. I realized that the actuator that pulls the pin back was malfunctioning. I was pretty much stuck at the gas station on a Sunday night with no dealerships open at that time and not enough gas to make it through the night. My searches online came up empty and there were no solutions readily available.
A half an hour later, I discovered the temporary solution. You have to go into the trunk on the fuel door side and remove two plastic push pin rivets and pull back the trunk liner. Next you have to squeeze your arm and hand into the small space between the body panel and the trunk panel. There you will blindly feel around until you find the actuator. Carefully pull back the whole unit, while some one pushes the fuel door lid. You must pull the whole actuator until the pin clears the fuel door.
Finally, I was able to fill up on some gas and made an appointment to see the dealership the next day.
A half an hour later, I discovered the temporary solution. You have to go into the trunk on the fuel door side and remove two plastic push pin rivets and pull back the trunk liner. Next you have to squeeze your arm and hand into the small space between the body panel and the trunk panel. There you will blindly feel around until you find the actuator. Carefully pull back the whole unit, while some one pushes the fuel door lid. You must pull the whole actuator until the pin clears the fuel door.
Finally, I was able to fill up on some gas and made an appointment to see the dealership the next day.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 4
From: Santa Ana, CA
E320CDI, CLK55, and a Smart
