How do I lube my Prius gas tank opener?

Are you talking about lubricating the hinge on the flap coving the gas cap? Generic picture, just for illustration:



If it's really stuck, maybe first a spritz of WD40, to flush out any corrosion, grit or salt. Then follow up with a heavier lube, preferably some sort of spray can with a straw. Just a small amount, then work the hinge. Have a rag underneath, and wipe off any overspray.

I love this stuff, was given to me by a guy who replaced our garage door opener. It goes on luquid to get into crevises, then thickens up. Just needs the slightest amount:

 

First step to a problem like this is cleaning everything and some form of lube, then exercise it again and again till it loosens up... And if this problem only is an issue below freezing in the short term you'll have to warm up the frozen spot and long term you'll have to figure out how to dry it out.

 

The door should swing with a finger You should be able to flop it back and forth finger on either side of the door going whichever way If that's not the case like everybody said squirt some penetrating oil in there and work the door until it you can almost blow on it and it'll close then in the middle of the door at the back edge you see the little piece of metal that bends out that's adding tension when the doors closed so if that's not bent out enough bend it out a little bit. Now you want to pull up on the lever while the door's open The lever pulls up with two fingers gently no problem? If not then you may need to get in behind that lever and shoot some penetrating oil along the cable as it enters the sheath it's like a bicycle cable and then you may be able to get in behind the gas tank door from the inside trim on the car and shoot some penetrating oil or lubricant down the cable and a little bit of exposed cable work connects to the button that pushes the door open. You should be able to gently pull up the lever and see the door crack open it all should be that loose

 

Mine used to get balky to open in freezing weather sometimes.

 

Is there resistance when you pull the release or is it easy to pull?

 

The little white latch doohickey probably needs lubricating. The one in my Alfa Romeo is sticking/lazy like yours, but the Italians foresaw this and put a secondary release handle in the trunk

 

Don't overcomplicate this. A Gen 2 uses a V shaped piece of spring steel to open the fuel door. It's mounted on the fuel door, close to the car when the door is open. If you move the door in the closed direction you should be able to see the tip of the V make contact as the door is closing. All you have to do is bend the V open some more to make the door spring open further when released. Worst case scenario is your V piece broke.

 

Secondary release is on the gen 4. Not on the OP gen 2

 

When mine was getting balky, I even bought a brand shiny new V spring piece from the dealer, and that didn't solve the problem.

It was finally solved when I found a light lube and some effective way of getting it inside the hinge (which is built in a way that doesn't make it so easy to get stuff inside it).

 

A Toyota dealer?

It's $6.35 list if they don't offer a discount. How often will you buy one, and how much would you save shopping around?

 

At your dealer parts counter, usually you don't pay shipping.

 

Time to lubricate alot of things.:

Hood latch (that's next to get stuck. Seen lots of those on this site and a real PIA to unlock))
Hood hinges
Door hinges

Drivers door key hole (that's really important because if/when your 12 volt battery dies you must be able to manually unlock that door wi9th your key to get in to the car. Many a poster with a dead 12 volt on the side of the road found that key in the fob was never used and the door lock was rusted shut at the worst possible time. Hilarity and $$ ensues.)

12 volt battery posts and chassis ground connection.
Trunk hinges
Trunk lock
Gas door

This is just basic maintenance.

 

I'll add that I ended up having to replace my driver's door hinges somewhere in the 2xx,xxx mile area, because they had worn so loose that you could wiggle the end of the door up and down, and that also meant the body was less stiff and made weird noises over curves and humps, and the noises went away with new non-worn hinges.

It wasn't an awful job. But I might never have needed to do it if I had shot some lube in there once or twice.

 

Trying to find a new spray lubricant that does not smell and stays where you put it.

My favorite was CSP by Blaster it was great kinda thick spray lube that stayed where you sprayed it and no smell unlike the other Blaster spray product used to bust nuts loose which smells awful. WD smells awful too. CSP is no longer made and its replacement is like water and the spray can system is awful you cannot control it. Just a crappy product.

I heard some good things about Triflow Teflon spray lube and bought a small spray can on Amazon and its very good spray lube no smell kinda thick but very expensive. Has good reviews but twice the price of CSP..