Car gas flap

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JHZR2

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What is the deal with these??? Every gas car we have owned going back as far as I recall, say, early 80's, has had one. Most rental cars I've ever had do not have these.

Some of them, like on the vw and BMW, are so tight that fuel adds cant slip down without sticking something down there to crack it a bit.

It makes adding adds a real major pain because the pour is not clean and an implement gets oily, requiring paper towels to clean up, etc.
 
Was the flap part of the mandate in 1975 for cars that used unleaded gas? The unleaded nozzles had to be smaller so you couldn't put leaded gas into a car that required unleaded. I wonder if the flap was part of that regulation?
 
The two cars in the garage don't have them and I'm glad. Did not check the GMC to see if it does.

I use a funnel anyway so I have not had any issues with adds. One of those small long neck $1 funnels at Wal-Mart does the trick.

Bill
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Was the flap part of the mandate in 1975 for cars that used unleaded gas? The unleaded nozzles had to be smaller so you couldn't put leaded gas into a car that required unleaded. I wonder if the flap was part of that regulation?


My 2005 and 2011 don't have them so I doubt its a regulation.
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Yes, I think they can bring back the old leaded size nozzle; not much chance of putting leaded fuel in by mistake these days...
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Old nozzle filled a tank twice as fast....
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All my cars have it but they are not tight. I kept one spare long neck Chevron fuel system cleaner bottle and used it to transfer 1/2 of the full bottle, so that I had 2 half-full bottles and they were easy to pour into the gas tank without spilling.
 
The flap helps slow the leakage of fuel if you left the cap off. In case of an accident it will slow the fuel down before it blows the gas cap off.

It also made it hard to put leaded gas in an unleaded car. Yes the nozzles are different sized but w/o that flap you could still get leaded gas into the tank. With the flap gas will just pour out on your foot.

That flap is still part of the Ca emission test. If it's missing you fail. Yes it's a dumb reason to fail now that leaded gas isn't readiy available.
 
Is that your 318i filler?
It kind of looks like the one on my 318i.
On the BMW, the flap seals tightly enough that you do have to use some sort of implement to hold it open to add anything to the tank.
Not all cars have flaps.
Our '99 Accord doesn't.
On most cars with flaps, you can add anything you wish since they don't seal tightly enough to stop the flow of liquids.
 
There's some ford out now that uses only the flap, no gas cap. That sounds like a great way to get EVAP codes ten years down the road.
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My dad's 1980 fairmont I-6 required unleaded but came with a little gizmo in its glovebox you could jam onto a leaded filler to get it into the tank "in emergencies".
 
yea my 88 has that little "door" too lol....kind of weird....BUT will say I have no problems getting STP, B-12 CHEMTOOL, Marvel Mystery Oil, Gum Out Regane, Chevron Techron Concentrate down into the tank
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The hardest, has to be the B-12 CHEMTOOL and the Seafoam! But that's not because of that door, but the rounded "design" of the can.....

@eljefino: If I recall, that was the new Ford Focus? Has some sort of "vacuum door" that keeps the gas/fumes "in" behind a strong elastic-ish door.
 
At first I thought you were talking about those rubber flaps you can put around your gas cap to keep gas from running down when filling up.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
There's some ford out now that uses only the flap, no gas cap. That sounds like a great way to get EVAP codes ten years down the road.
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The flap for the "capless" Fords is a lot more robust than that, I've rented a few.
 
My Sonata has a restrictor in the filler neck to make sure only an unleaded nozzle fits, but no flap. I think the rest of the fleet has the flap. though.
 
on some trucks you can buy a filler neck for Canada, no restriction. dont ask how i know. if you know drag raceing history answer this Q. what is the hot car staging?
 
Originally Posted By: Brons2
Originally Posted By: eljefino
There's some ford out now that uses only the flap, no gas cap. That sounds like a great way to get EVAP codes ten years down the road.
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The flap for the "capless" Fords is a lot more robust than that, I've rented a few.


The only problem is if there is an EVAP code, you have to replace the ENTIRE filler neck. WE replace a ton of these on all the cars with the capless fill. IMHO they were trying to solve a problem that didn't exist.
 
In Oz, these came in in 1987, with unleaded and catalytic converters...they were expressly designed to allow the new narrow unleaded pumps only into post 1987 cat equipped vehicles.

Remember them showing on TV how difficult it was to fill them with "Super" (97RON leaded), either it dribbling in at a cat friendly volume, or having a bloke with a stick hold it open while a cohort filled it with a super pump inserted 2-1/2"
 
Our 2003 Grand Caravan's filler neck DID have a flap, but our 2007 Town & Country's filler neck did NOT. So something changed during that time frame for the ChryCo vans.

Neither of our current vehicles have the flap in the filler neck.
 
My new Ford F150 has the capless fuel filler and came with a funnel from the factory to use with a gas can if you ever run out of fuel. It could be used to add additives as well.
 
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