Mondeo Filler cap not opening

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Mon 22 May 2006 23:43
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - norwittyoramusingname
Slightly comical problem. I went to the petrol station today, pulled the little level to open the petrol cap.........and nothing. It's not opening. I can not put petrol in the car. A 50 pence fitting fails making the car completely useless.

Any ideas?

Does this happen often and therefore is it an obvious failure? How do I get the fuel cap open without ripping half the car off?


It is a 1998 face-lift ford mondeo salon Ghia. (For all those who recommend Mondeo?s on this forum, let this be a lesion to you :-) )
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Mon 22 May 2006 23:59
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - Galaxy
Two cross-head screws hold on the piece of boot trim that covers the Filler Cap mechanism. Remove these and piece of trim which makes it possible to operate the cap with your hand from inside the boot/hatchback area.

A common Mondeo problem, it happened to mine a few years ago.

The cure? The mechanism wants oiling.
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Tue 23 May 2006 00:03
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - ajsdoc
Yep this happened to me once - access from behind as above. The cable had simply become unattached at the filler cap and just needed hooking back on.

Don't be too down on the mondeo yet!
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Tue 23 May 2006 00:13
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - norwittyoramusingname
Cheers guys, I will hopefully fix this at the weekend. Don't worry, I won't be ditching the Mondeo just yet, so far it's been a good car, just not very convenient as I need a car tomorrow morning.
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Tue 23 May 2006 00:19
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - bell boy
get a gas axe on it ...boom or bust ;-)
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Tue 23 May 2006 09:49
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - Waino
Yes, this happened on my '97 Mondeo estate. It's annoying to have to take off the inner panel to yank on the cable manually in order to release the fuel filler cover.
I assumed that the cable had stretched and would need some sort of adjustment or bodgery to take up the slack. I posted the question on the website - and received the usual great advice - but unfortunately the thread was lost when the server went down some months ago.
The answer was, as suggested above, to lubricate the end of the cable. I used a squirt of WD40 and 3in1 oil and worked the lever 'to get things moving'. Touch wood, there hasn't been a problem since.
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Tue 23 May 2006 15:29
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - oldpostie
It happened on my 1999 Mondeo, cured by oiling the mechanism, then on the 53 reg I called in at the dealer, who adjusted the cable in a couple of minutes.

Hope the Vauxhall I have now doesn't get stuck, as it's part of the central locking, which played up seriously with the 1999 Mondeo.
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Tue 23 May 2006 19:38
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - Dynamic Dave
Hope the Vauxhall I have now doesn't get stuck, as it's part of the central locking,


If it does, then ask away. It's a relatively easy fix.
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Wed 24 May 2006 09:50
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - oldpostie
I'm glad to hear it. Thanks.
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Mon 29 May 2006 01:21
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - wazza
on my '96 mondeo there is a cable inside the boot which is a back up. u simply pull it if the internal release does not work. also advisable to smear vaseline on the flap seal. sometimes the flap and seal can stick together.
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Tue 16 Apr 2019 15:22
Mondeo Filler cap not opening - joe2019

Related problem on my 2006 Mondeo.

The plastic retention lead to the filler cap has become detached at the filler cap end.

The end to go back into the filler cap outer ring slot has two sets of projecting lugs (bigger than the hole).

Have has no success in relocating it - what is the secret?

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