[francton]

Tried to refuel on a long drive and found that the fuel lid on the g20 did not open. Could not find any emergency/ manual release levers. Luckily i had just enough fuel to reach home. Previous generation 3 series cars used to have a emeregency pull tag to open the lid. Stunned that bmw decided to do away with the emergency release. The user guide has a section called emergency release, got my hopes up only to find that it simply said take the car to a mechanic! any way i can open the lid apart from taking the car to the dealer?

[NoSUV4Me]

Originally Posted by francton

Tried to refuel on a long drive and found that the fuel lid on the g20 did not open. Could not find any emergency/ manual release levers. Luckily i had just enough fuel to reach home. Previous generation 3 series cars used to have a emeregency pull tag to open the lid. Stunned that bmw decided to do away with the emergency release. The user guide has a section called emergency release, got my hopes up only to find that it simply said take the car to a mechanic!. Has anyone else faced this issue?

That's a bit scary !??
How long have you had ur car?

[francton]

Just a month now. Bought a low km bmw owned car that had 9k on the odo. So practically new. Frustrating thing is that they removed the manual release cable that was in the boot in previous generations. I now have only 5lt diesel in the tank but the range shows 100km (probably because i just came off a long highway drive). Dealer is 34 km away. Should i risk it or tow it? Hate to tow a new car!

[SteveAus]

Originally Posted by francton

Just a month now. Bought a low km bmw owned car that had 9k on the odo. So practically new. Frustrating thing is that they removed the manual release cable that was in the boot in previous generations. I now have only 5lt diesel in the tank but the range shows 100km (probably because i just came off a long highway drive). Dealer is 34 km away. Should i risk it or tow it? Hate to tow a new car!

If I were you, I would call your dealership tomorrow morning. Tell them what is happening and see if they know a way to open the fuel cap and guide you through the process.
If you have no luck with this, ask them to come out to your vehicle to render assistance under Roadside Assist. This should be free of charge to you as the vehicle has failed while still under warranty.
You probably have enough fuel to drive 34 km if you are frugal with your right foot, but I would keep this as option three. Try options one and two first.

[francton]

Originally Posted by SteveAus

If I were you, I would call your dealership tomorrow morning. Tell them what is happening and see if they know a way to open the fuel cap and guide you through the process.
If you have no luck with this, ask them to come out to your vehicle to render assistance under Roadside Assist. This should be free of charge to you as the vehicle has failed while still under warranty.
You probably have enough fuel to drive 34 km if you are frugal with your right foot, but I would keep this as option three. Try options one and two first.

thanks Steveaus. Ok will speak to the dealership tomorrow. had roadside assist come over last night. they couldn't help me apart from offering to tow the car. let's see what the dealership says tomorrow. logical thing is to tow the car i guess, just hate the thought.

[GTR33R]

I don't have my G20 yet so I can't say for sure . Have you tried to pull the flap instead of pushing so the flap pops? I think you may find the flap is not locked with the pin if the drivers door is unlocked in other words it just stays closed , not locked . When you push it in the spring pops it out so you can pull it open .
It would be stupid if BMW did away with the manual flap puller in the boot and if it fails you can't open it .
Try that and let us know if it works.

[francton]

Originally Posted by GTR33R

I don't have my G20 yet so I can't say for sure . Have you tried to pull the flap instead of pushing so the flap pops? I think you may find the flap is not locked with the pin if the drivers door is unlocked in other words it just stays closed , not locked . When you push it in the spring pops it out so you can pull it open .
It would be stupid if BMW did away with the manual flap puller in the boot and if it fails you can't open it .
Try that and let us know if it works.

Just returned from the dealer. Even they could not open it. finally they broke the actuator rod by using a balloon and pumping air! They will replace the rod tomorrow. am not impressed at all by this engineering decision of bmw to get rid of a simple manual release.

[Slideit]

Originally Posted by francton

Just returned from the dealer. Even they could not open it. finally they broke the actuator rod by using a balloon and pumping air! They will replace the rod tomorrow. am not impressed at all by this engineering decision of bmw to get rid of a simple manual release.

I’m shocked. Mine has an emergency release because the hybrid has a special fuel tank. So why they thought it was a neat idea to remove it from the rest of the range seems strange.

[GTR33R]

Originally Posted by francton

Just returned from the dealer. Even they could not open it. finally they broke the actuator rod by using a balloon and pumping air! They will replace the rod tomorrow. am not impressed at all by this engineering decision of bmw to get rid of a simple manual release.

In that case the central locking got jammed somehow so when you unlocked the car the flap didn't work.
At least they opened it for you so you can fuel it.