Have to have my fuel door replaced

I know right?

https://globalnews.ca/news/5200094/gas-tank-thefts-surrey/

I have to go to Vancouver today, I am sh1tting my pants about my gas tank getting drilled and my cats getting stolen (someone here on TW had their cats cut off in a parking lot). I have loved Vancouver since I was a kid but... really... c'mon...

OP - Thanks for the heads up on the poor hinge / lubrication tip, I appreciate it.

 

I think it’s pretty cruel to leave your cats in the truck, especially if it’s hot outside.

 

My 2019 TRD Off-Road came with a misaligned fuel door.

It is not something too obvious, unless I look at it through the side mirror.

Last night I was checking out the mechanism to see if I could straighten it myself. Now that I read how flimsy it is known to be, perhaps I should bring it up with the dealer next time I am in for service.

 

I’ve owned many toyota Tacomas and 1st gen tundras , the fuel door hinges have always been prone to getting difficult to open after a couple years if you don’t keep them lubricated , car wash soaps and constant rain soakings washes what little lube is put on from the factory , the Camrys and corollas do it also , I lube it once a year and it holds up fine .

 

I also have this problem - I’m gonna have the dealership look at it tomorrow morning and I’m hoping since it’s a CPO they will fix it under warranty

 

Don't use dry lube in locks it won't work in below freezing temps, best for locks is graphite lube.

 

https://neolube.global/products/

 

Lmao I had this problem 3 months ago, didn’t realize it wasn’t just me!

Bent it back into shape without dealership, but referenced a co workers Tacoma to see what was bent and how to get it back straight like from factory.

 

Anyone have a pic of what the hinge is supposed to look like? 2016 with only 60k mikes. My door was not hard to open at all, stopped for gas, opened it up, went to shut it and it’s super misaligned. So annoying.

 

I figured it out. Lubed up the hinge with WD40 and then realized the bottom hinge had bent rearward towards the back of the truck from when I went to close it. Put a screwdriver right above the bottom hinge and pried forward toward the front of the truck. This straightened the hinge and brought it all back into alignment.

 

As I was in negotiations with a dealer to trade my '16 Sport in for a new '20 Limited, and still driving it to work something similar happened tho I assumed that someone either intentionally tried to rip the fuel door off, or snagged it walking between vehicles in my work parking lot (it was that badly bent). To get done with the trade I had to eat the $157 it cost to order/paint/install a new fuel door. I can confirm, that hinge rigging is really flimsy. Add to that, they were installing the new door the same day I was supposed to trade it in and realized they painted the door the wrong color. Some days nothing goes easy.....

 

Keep an eye on this, and keep ahead of it! Mine went wonky some time in the last six months (only had my '16 since last September), and I've been convincing it to close. I just tried the bend-the-hinge thing, and it turned into break-the-hinge. It's straight now, but it's only held in place by the upper hinge and the clip. Time to break out the Gorilla tape (on the hinge, not the face; we're not savages!).

 

It is a stupid design nothing more than a folded over piece of metal around a 1/16 inch metal rod. Mine had started to get hard to open/close dumb me I filled it one more time before dealing with it. It broke off the top hinge when it opened it. You can buy them but they are not painted. Next trick machined nylon bushings let you know how that turns out the bottom one still works so it's a work in progress.

 

Same for periodic lubrication on the gen1 tundra tailgate latches. I've got a locking gas door on my tacoma same as the tundra i had. Suspect it will need some lubrication sooner than later.

 

My hinge is rusted on my '15, and it bent on the lower portion too. Seems like something they should've fixed before the 3rd gen came out?

 

No misalignment but on my '13 it would pop open on its own. Not all the way out, just off the snap that holds it closed. No issues with the 2020 yet

 

Can anyone confirm how the assembly is held onto the truck body? Looks like maybe pop rivets of some sort?

 

Looks like that hinge pin can spin freely and face toward the back. I'm just wondering how they end up getting bent

 

Wd40 is not a lube. Use some lithium grease on it.

 

I think the point is that, on some, eventually, it doesn't spin freely. Consider if the pin gets stuck in both halves of the lower hinge: when you close the door, that big lever arm just folds the weak metal of the body-side hinge.