99 hyundai accent gas tank problems

Snowman723 · 06-28-2008, 04:57 PM

I bout the car used about 4 months ago, it already had noticeable rust damage inside and out but the price was good so I bought it

Now the handle/lever used to open the gas tank has broken off due to it being rusted to ****

I've got no way of filling up an the tank is now on empty, i've tried using pilers but no luck

Is it possible to open the tank in another way?

P.S I am on vacation and have no way of getting home now

AnthonyStargate · 06-29-2008, 06:10 PM

Hi Snowman,

It would be handy to have a better description of what exactly is broken. You wrote that the lever that opens that gas door is broken. Did it break at the pivot? Is the cable still attached to that lever?

If the cable is still attached to the lever, just open the door, face the rear of the car and pull it straight towards you. Don't pull up or at an angle; you want to pull the cable straight out.

You also mentioned trying pliers. Do you have just the end of a cable to work with? Does it have a little metal ball at one end? If there's a little metal ball, that will give you something to pull against. Just put the cable end between the jaws of the pliers, tighten the pliers so the cable will not slip out, and give it a strong, straight pull. If you don't have a lot of muscle, ask a big, strong person to give it a try.

You can also open the gas filler door, though that will almost for sure give your car a few more scratches. Since it's already rusty, you probably don't care. The other end of the cable attaches to a thin, plastic rod, about an eighth of an inch across. The door is spring loaded and that rod prevents the spring from pushing the door open. You might be able to slip a thin piece of metal between the gas door and the car body, and walk that rod toward the car body enough to get the gas door open. I have never tried that though, so I don't know if it will work.

Or you could slip a thin piece of metal in there and pound it with a hammer to break the rod. As a last resort, you can use a large, flat edge screwdriver or anything that fits, slip it ender the little lip on the gas door and pry it open. That will snap that little plastic rod and then the gas door will be flapping in the breeze, but that beats not being able to move the car.

My other suggestion is next time buy a nice Toyota. I used to own a Hyundai Elantra and it was one problem after another. The automatic transmission died! The starter died, there was some weird problem with the front end and then I discovered it was designed so a weekend mechanic couldn't even remove the cursed half-shaft! What an incredible piece of junk. Then it wouldn't start and a new starter did not fix it. I donated the thing to Cars for Kids.

The guy who towed my car last Sunday said he has been towing a lot of Hondas lately, just the newer ones. The old Hondas are very reliable. I asked him about Corollas. He said he has towed very few Corollas.

It might seem like your car was a savings at first, but it will cost you in repairs and headaches down the road. Buying a reliable car is money well spent. I have truly learned this the hard way.

Best wishes! Let me know how you deal with the gasoline door and have a nice rest of your vacation.

BUDFAN8 · 07-01-2008, 08:24 PM

sometimes there is a way to open it in the trunk compartment just incase the other one stops working. dont know if this is mostly for electric ones or not but worth a look.

Bud.

06-28-2008, 04:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Snowman723 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 53 OS: Win XP	99 hyundai accent gas tank problems I bout the car used about 4 months ago, it already had noticeable rust damage inside and out but the price was good so I bought it Now the handle/lever used to open the gas tank has broken off due to it being rusted to **** I've got no way of filling up an the tank is now on empty, i've tried using pilers but no luck Is it possible to open the tank in another way? P.S I am on vacation and have no way of getting home now

06-29-2008, 06:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
AnthonyStargate Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: I'm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Posts: 35 OS: Windows XP service pack 2	Re: 99 hyundai accent gas tank problems Hi Snowman, It would be handy to have a better description of what exactly is broken. You wrote that the lever that opens that gas door is broken. Did it break at the pivot? Is the cable still attached to that lever? If the cable is still attached to the lever, just open the door, face the rear of the car and pull it straight towards you. Don't pull up or at an angle; you want to pull the cable straight out. You also mentioned trying pliers. Do you have just the end of a cable to work with? Does it have a little metal ball at one end? If there's a little metal ball, that will give you something to pull against. Just put the cable end between the jaws of the pliers, tighten the pliers so the cable will not slip out, and give it a strong, straight pull. If you don't have a lot of muscle, ask a big, strong person to give it a try. You can also open the gas filler door, though that will almost for sure give your car a few more scratches. Since it's already rusty, you probably don't care. The other end of the cable attaches to a thin, plastic rod, about an eighth of an inch across. The door is spring loaded and that rod prevents the spring from pushing the door open. You might be able to slip a thin piece of metal between the gas door and the car body, and walk that rod toward the car body enough to get the gas door open. I have never tried that though, so I don't know if it will work. Or you could slip a thin piece of metal in there and pound it with a hammer to break the rod. As a last resort, you can use a large, flat edge screwdriver or anything that fits, slip it ender the little lip on the gas door and pry it open. That will snap that little plastic rod and then the gas door will be flapping in the breeze, but that beats not being able to move the car. My other suggestion is next time buy a nice Toyota. I used to own a Hyundai Elantra and it was one problem after another. The automatic transmission died! The starter died, there was some weird problem with the front end and then I discovered it was designed so a weekend mechanic couldn't even remove the cursed half-shaft! What an incredible piece of junk. Then it wouldn't start and a new starter did not fix it. I donated the thing to Cars for Kids. The guy who towed my car last Sunday said he has been towing a lot of Hondas lately, just the newer ones. The old Hondas are very reliable. I asked him about Corollas. He said he has towed very few Corollas. It might seem like your car was a savings at first, but it will cost you in repairs and headaches down the road. Buying a reliable car is money well spent. I have truly learned this the hard way. Best wishes! Let me know how you deal with the gasoline door and have a nice rest of your vacation.

07-01-2008, 08:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
BUDFAN8 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 192 OS: XP	Re: 99 hyundai accent gas tank problems sometimes there is a way to open it in the trunk compartment just incase the other one stops working. dont know if this is mostly for electric ones or not but worth a look. Bud.