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      12-27-2019, 07:04 AM   #1
FishOuttaWater
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Fuel Filler Door

Ok, I did my best search for this topic before I posted this. Am I the only one having trouble opening the fuel filler door? Sometime I have to push on this thing from all angles before it will open up. I complained about it to the service department but they said there was no issue, that it just had to be done from the "right" angle, which they could not find either. This is a major PITA and I'm kind of shocked that a company like BMW would allow things like that to exist. Seems to be along the lines of the speedo issue; Within "tolerances." BS.
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      12-27-2019, 07:21 AM   #2
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If I push mine in the center of the left edge (where the latch is) it opens without issue.
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      12-27-2019, 08:34 AM   #3
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I typically have to press mine twice, definitely a PITA. I was traveling through NJ last week (can't pump your own gas) and the attendant was insisting I had it locked.
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      12-27-2019, 09:04 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by unfoundnemo View Post
I typically have to press mine twice, definitely a PITA. I was traveling through NJ last week (can't pump your own gas) and the attendant was insisting I had it locked.
Yup I have to just keep pressing until it unlocks haha. Sometimes it won't close either. Not too bad in the grand scheme of things, but rather amusing haha
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      12-27-2019, 09:06 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by unfoundnemo View Post
I typically have to press mine twice, definitely a PITA. I was traveling through NJ last week (can't pump your own gas) and the attendant was insisting I had it locked.
Can't pump your own gas? WTF??? Never heard of that before. I guess we live a sheltered life down here. LOL... The thing I'm worried about is if (when) my wife finally has to fill it up. So far she's not been out of town or had to put gas in it. Hopefully I will stumble on the magic angle / combination of things to get the damned thing to open in the first two minutes.
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      12-27-2019, 09:59 AM   #6
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I've never had any issue opening my filler door so it may be a defect from the factory.

I live in PA but New Jersey law requires gas station attendants to fill your car with gas. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't mind that coming to PA. It would be nice to just sit in your car while someone else freezes their a$$ off. It gets cold in the North East, unlike Florida.
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      12-27-2019, 10:09 AM   #7
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You can't pump your own gas in Oregon either.
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      12-27-2019, 10:58 AM   #8
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Same problem here. Mine seems to open more consistently if I press a finger width or two above where the pin goes in. But I do usually have to press it a couple times to get it to open.
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      12-27-2019, 11:13 AM   #9
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One of russian forums already found reason of this issue and resolving way. Just clean and flat showed point with file or sandpaper
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      12-27-2019, 11:15 AM   #10
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Many owners already changed fuel filler door by warranty, but no success, because of mechanisms are remains the same.
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      12-27-2019, 11:21 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FishOuttaWater View Post
Can't pump your own gas? WTF??? Never heard of that before. I guess we live a sheltered life down here. LOL... The thing I'm worried about is if (when) my wife finally has to fill it up. So far she's not been out of town or had to put gas in it. Hopefully I will stumble on the magic angle / combination of things to get the damned thing to open in the first two minutes.
Truth. It's apparently a state law in New Jersey. I found this out a few months ago when I had to refuel my car rental before dropping off at EWR!
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      12-27-2019, 11:29 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rublezz View Post
Many owners already changed fuel filler door by warranty, but no success, because of mechanisms are remains the same.
Thank you. I will try this when I get home.
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      12-27-2019, 11:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FishOuttaWater View Post
Thank you. I will try this when I get home.
Just clean step showed, make it flat. Only because of it, door stucks.
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      12-27-2019, 01:46 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rublezz View Post
Just clean step showed, make it flat. Only because of it, door stucks.
Thank you. Will try.
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      12-30-2019, 09:30 AM   #15
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I’ve had this issue too. Not a huge issue, but attendants at the gas station struggle with it, and it usually takes me a few tries. I will try sanding that down. Thanks for posting
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      01-27-2020, 04:11 AM   #16
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There are number of threads on this already in other forums, but just a heads-up:

Last night when I was driving back home from a ski competition (it's winter in here), I stopped at a gas station for fuel. Somewhat inconveniently, the fuel filler door had frozen (no, not the movie), and thus pressing the door had no effect. Unfortunately BMW has removed the emergency cord from inside the trunk that some of the previous models had to force the door open. With not enough fuel to get home, this was a bit of a problem.

After 20 minutes of trying, I called BMW roadside assistance and they recommended to tow the car to repair centre (200km away), and fix it the next day. Considering it was late at night, I had 3 small kids sleeping at back seats, and below freezing conditions, this did not sound like a sensible option. Luckily after some searching I found a shopping centre still open with warm garage, where I could thaw the car, after which the fuel filler door opened again.

Lessons learned:

1. Put silicone on the rubber seal of the fuel filler door
2. Make sure you have full tank before driving to remote areas in winter
3. Plan trips so, that you have access to warm garage if needed

After driving various cars in winter conditions for over 30 years, it was the 100k+ BMW that was the first with unable to open the fuel door. The reason is clear: it is a design flaw. On X7, the hinge is at the end of the door, thus the pop-up door is opened by pressing the door even tighter against the body of the car. In every other car, the hinge is maybe 1/3 of the end of the door, and thus pressing the short end forces the long end of the door to pop open. I wonder if they have done any winter testing with the X7? Which would be a shame, because X7 is a fabulous car to drive in harsh winter conditions.

Whilst I have no personal experience of this, there are on local discussion forums similar experiences also with the hybrid plugs freezing on X5.

Shameful.

Last edited by k23435; 01-27-2020 at 04:19 AM..
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      01-27-2020, 09:12 PM   #17
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warm water and you have to act quickly or it will make things worse.
this is the procedure ferrari techs use in canada and tell the owners to do if they can't get the car into service.
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      01-27-2020, 10:08 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post
warm water and you have to act quickly or it will make things worse.
this is the procedure ferrari techs use in canada and tell the owners to do if they can't get the car into service.
Yes. This issue is a known issue and the fuel attendants will end up scratching someone's door this way.
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      01-28-2020, 03:06 AM   #19
k23435
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A variation of this, is that you put hot water into a ziplock / plastic bag, and hold that against the fuel door.

Last edited by k23435; 01-28-2020 at 07:05 AM..
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      01-28-2020, 06:02 AM   #20
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I never had any trouble with mine until I started reading this thread
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      01-28-2020, 01:48 PM   #21
mitch57
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I took a good look at mine today to see just what was causing the door not to open or close correctly.

On my 2020 X7 it appears that the locking/unlocking mechanism is the culprit. The locking rod/mechanism pushes in/out and rotates to move the locking tab in the locked/unlocked position.

I was able to consistently get it to work by applying the correct amount of pressure in close proximity to the locking mechanism. You can hear a slight "click" when you've successfully locked/unlocked the fuel door.

It takes a combination of two things. Applying the right amount of pressure and applying that pressure within the correct spot on the door. If you don't hear that "Click" sound when pressing on the fuel door, chances are you will not be able to close or open the fuel door.

Maybe a few of you that are having this problem could give it a try and see if it works on your fuel door.

Sanding/filing the tab, as noted in the pictures earlier in this post, had no effect on my fuel door. Applying the correct amount of pressure in the correct place solved it for me.

It's a crap design. The Audi I test drove before buying the X7 was even worse! The engineers/designers obviously didn't give a shit about this very important feature of the car. If you can't open the fuel door to put gas in the car you can't drive the freaking car! Idiots!!!
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      01-28-2020, 02:54 PM   #22
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agreed; if you push as close to the lock as possible it works nearly every time.
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