Aftermarket -please make a better fuel door

This has been a long time coming.. fuel door has been creaking for a year and the lower hinge broke today


Semi-fixed til I get a new door

 

Is there anything a zip tie can't do?

 

The creaking for a year was a big ol warning.

 

Looks like a great Temporary Field Repair that should last for decades!

 

Zip tie and duct tape!

 

Pretty sad Toyota couldn't have made this fuel door better quality. I mean $5 more it probably wouldnt break. Lets hope the Gen 4 fuel door isnt junk....maybe they should just have an exposed nozzle and call it a day.

 

Lol yah I was hoping a year bought me time til aftermarket built one or id be replacing the door with another flimsy one from factory.
Honestly been waiting for it to break so I can replace it

 

Took warnings from this forum and stuffed the hinge points full of lithium grease. It is a simplistically piss-poor design. I'd rather have a plastic replaceable hinge than metal-on-metal permanent one.

 

Mine wasnt creaking from the hinge but metal to metal contact from lower left corner. No amount of grease will fix it. I tried to bend it back at one point and probably made it worse.
But hey no more creaking

 

Looks like rust isn't only an issue for the frame.

 

I love Toyota but I hate to say, this seems like yet another example of things not being made like they used to be. People use their fuel doors often over the lifetime of a vehicle. If yours busted after ~3 years of let's assume normal use and no abuse, that seems totally unacceptable to me from a manufacturer like Toyota. The original fuel door on my 2001 still feels new. I refuse to accept that actual quality can't make a comeback if enough people demand it.

Until then, buy stock in zip ties.

 

Don't suppose you ever considered putting a bit of lubricant on the hinges?
It's called maintenance - some vehicle owners actually do it.

 

Im going to guess that rust is due to the bottom hinge bending at one point. This caused the paint to crack and weaken (metal fatigue) creating a localized rust spot there further weakening the metal.

 

Are these fasteners removable?

 

Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Wd-40 didn’t help?

 

I had mine fail too. For anyone interested here is what you need to replace it.

Fuel door https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-fuel-door-7730504080

Rivet https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-fuel-door-rivet-9026906017

Note that the rivet is a 1/4" rivet which most common rivet guns can't accept so I had to buy a new one off Amazon. If you wanted to do it another way you could use a stainless steel bolt and nut but you'd have to access the other side to install a nut.

The fuel door comes unpainted so you have to paint it first.

 

Sorry just scrolled to the bottom

 

Toyota warrantied this on our Sienna when it happened.

 

It's a rivet. You have to drill it out. Put a wet rag over the fuel cap just to be safe when you drill to keep any fumes at bay.

 

I wonder if you could replace them with a well nut, and avoid replacing the rivets. Although, the gas fumes may not play nicely with the rubber...