[lowenhart]

Need everyone's expertise on this one:

Gas light is on, pulled into gas station to get gas and pushing the gas door open button does nothing. Screen tells me that the gas door is open when I press the button but it obviously isn't.
I open the trunk panel and try to pull back the lever as per the owners manual to release the door and the lever does not move at all, even with force.

HELP! Running on empty! Who the heck designed this???????

 

[97GLTbrick]

that last thing you posted is how we always did it at teh dealer well take that back we did have one that stuck just had to pry the crap out of it from the inside like you said you tried and it will break and release

 

[BeerEngineer]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (lowenhart)

What about a battery reset? Disconnect for 20 mins and see if the same message is there. It's a solenoid, it may work.

 

[lan]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (BeerEngineer)

there is a manual release for the fuel door located in the trunk on the right (passenger side).

It's behind the little panel that that folds down - located against the outside of the car.

It's kind of hard to reach - and hard to see if I remember correctly.

EDIT: Just reread your post - I had to pull very hard on mine to open it. Good luck.

 

[Oceans60R]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (lowenhart)

Sounds like your fuel door lock motor seized. If it manually doesn't move, its seized. I've run into those before where the car shows up on a hook because its almost out of gas. Easy fix. 1 connector and two screws http://********************/smile/emthup.gif

 

[Needsdecaf]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (Oceans60R)

Quote, originally posted by Oceans60R »

Sounds like your fuel door lock motor seized. If it manually doesn't move, its seized. I've run into those before where the car shows up on a hook because its almost out of gas. Easy fix. 1 connector and two screws http://********************/smile/emthup.gif

Can he remove the motor so that he can gas up?

 

[kmg_S60R]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (Needsdecaf)

Use a hair dryer of about a distance of a foot away on hi heat and cover a 6 inch circle around where the locking mechinism is... While doing this press the lock button, ensure all the doors are locked and then push the unlock button twice to get all the doors to open...

The same thing you are describing happened to me on a 2500 mile road trip right in the middle... I was freaking out for about 10 minutes with my mileage computer saying FUEL, not even a distance until 0 I figured I was screwed, then out of nowhere someone was standing next to me asking me what was wrong and if they could help... The above is what did it... Then they got back in there camper and drove off. The heat may or may not be required but it helped in my situation... Only happened one other time where I cycled the locks as described twice and I heard the pin unlock itself. http://********************/smile/emthup.gif

 

[lowenhart]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (kmg_S60R)

Didn't get a chance to read the recent posts, I dropped off the car at the dealer this morning running on only gas fumes, gas light on and everything.

I'll post back the solution once I get it fixed.

Henry

 

[jpbb03]

i had the complete opposite problem. My fuel door would not lock after I opened it. It was covered under warranty and the dealership fixed it. I know this won't help you, but clearly there is a reoccuring issue with one of the components surrounding the fuel door.

 

[lowenhart]

Re: (jpbb03)

Just got a call from Volvo, they said the locking mechanism has failed and they are going to replace it with a new one. No other info

Thanks for everyones help.

 

[TWBarrett]

Re: (97GLTbrick)

Quote, originally posted by 97GLTbrick »

that last thing you posted is how we always did it at teh dealer well take that back we did have one that stuck just had to pry the crap out of it from the inside like you said you tried and it will break and release

I had to read this 4 times, it makes sense once you put commas in.

 

[volvoracer]

Re: Gas door won't open, manual switch does not work, gas light on!!! (lowenhart)

I went thru this problem once. stopped to add gas, fuel door stayed locked.
Had to reach in behind the right "trunk" panel, get hold of the little tab and pull real hard.
Tab broke off, but the motor released.

Screws for the motor mount inside the gas door area (you can see them when it is open...), so removing the stuck motor/solenoid is not an option.

For next time (oh, there will be a next time...) I added a piece of wire to make it easier to yank the stuck part into unlock position.

 

[BumpinVolvo]

A good time to remind everyone to fill up before you get that low. Your fuel pump will thank you and you won't run into a situation where you're running on fumes with a fuel latch that's locked shut.

 

[FORD420diesel]

Re: (BumpinVolvo)

Quote, originally posted by BumpinVolvo »

A good time to remind everyone to fill up before you get that low. Your fuel pump will thank you and you won't run into a situation where you're running on fumes with a fuel latch that's locked shut.

Very true. IIRC, there was a thread a while ago to this effect. The fuel pump relies on the fuel in the tank to keep itself cool, and we need to keep >1/4 tank at all times. Was it determined that the fuel pump was a (at least relatively) bad design, and if not kept cool would actually be prone to overheating and needing replacement?

Cheers!!

-Steve