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Fuel door release cable stuck, can't open fuel door

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dan_rav4

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Does anyone know how to remove the fuel door lock pin when the cable/release is stuck or broken? i have a 2007, and while I did some searching, I'm having trouble removing this 'pin' as shown in the attached photos.

The space inside the cargo area just isn't big enough for both my hands and a tool to push those 2 little gray tabs in, assuming that's what has to happen.

I'm hoping someone has a better solution, as I don't want to take the interior panels out (which involves removing seatbelt anchor bolts from what I can tell).
 

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#2 ·
deeepeee said:
Could you tell me where the unplugged wire/cord was? I just inherited a 2011 Rav4 with one (so far as I can tell) non-working cigarette lighter and have yet to check the fuses, but just in case, I would like to know what else I can check.
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I am able to turn that piece. Perhaps turn it and then pull out or do you need to squeeze the two grey pieces?
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
I can feel it turn, the 'wing' section moves, but the nubs in the black plastic piece aren't moving (took before/after pics to confirm), almost like the white plastic piece is a 2 piece component which move independently.

The 2 gray pieces approach is what I was trying to do initially, however you need to use 2 hands and a tool but there isn't enough space.
 
#4 · (Edited)
dan_rav4 said:
I can feel it turn, the 'wing' section moves, but the nubs in the black plastic piece aren't moving (took before/after pics to confirm), almost like the white plastic piece is a 2 piece component which move independently.

The 2 gray pieces approach is what I was trying to do initially, however you need to use 2 hands and a tool but there isn't enough space.
Click to expand...
Can you try to see if you can fit a needle nose plier to squeeze the two grey tabs. Also is there a friend you can get that have small hands?
As a last resort just take the panel off. Mind you that panel is time consuming to remove and be careful since it is not that simple without looking at a thread that shows how to remove it.
 
#6 ·
dan_rav4 said:
I would need needle nose pliers with giant tooth or something, so I can press those gray nubs. I've asked someone with smaller hands to try, but no success.
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I found the link to remove the rear cover panel. I removed this several times and it is difficult. The third row seat belt cover is the most tricky part and you need to pry it out gently or will break. The next tricky part is removing the smaller storage compartment. Best to move the rear seat forward to get extra room. If this storage compartment has never been removed it will be stuck and take a bit of force to pull out.
www.rav4world.com

Rear fender cover panel - how hard to remove?

I think there's a dead rodent in behind the plastic panel that covers the rear fender in the back compartment of the car, the one with the louvered cover in it that gives access to the tail lights. Has anyone taken one of these off and if so, can you tell me how hard it is? It looks like one of...
www.rav4world.com www.rav4world.com
 
#8 ·
dan_rav4 said:
Yea that's what I was trying to avoid, but it's not looking promising. I can't believe there's no way of doing this without taking this all apart.
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Let us know how it goes. I am curious to see how this gas release cable is hooked up. My gas door release cable sometimes get stuck in winter when the temperature goes well below freezing. I should try to lubricate it some how to prevent the cable from seizing.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Well it looks like I'm dealing with yet another water leak, and the entire lever/cable in the driver seat area is rusted stuck. So I decided to cut this release cable, crafted a handle using an old plastic pulley holder, and now have a functioning fuel door release again via the trunk. Surprisingly, the fuel door spring itself was still in good shape. I'll attach some photos, including the 'custom' tool I had to craft to extract this release mechanism.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Thanks! I actually feel this may be better than OEM, as I no longer have to dig through slush/snow during the winter to use the OEM release lever. I may 3D print some sort of release lever, or grab whatever cheap flushmount kit one I can find online.
 
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