The spring fell off that partially pushes the fuel door open. When I looked to see how the fuel door is mounted, there are 2 (screws or) push pins mounting the door. Are these push pins? How do I remove them? Do I push in on the center of the pins? Are they re-usable?
I looked at mine with a good light, not sure, but it looks like pop-rivets. Google search results: pop-rivets, need to be drilled out. That’ll be tricky tucked away in the corner, would require some sort of right-angle drill.
For questions like this I always head to the wrecking yard and take one apart and then buy whichever part I likely will need when I take my own car apart.
I, too, suspect they are rivets, so it's like the psychotherapist changing light bulb joke. Are you sure the fuel door really wants to change? In my gen 1, I managed to replace that spring without undoing the door. It was long enough ago I don't remember the details (which might be different in gen 3 anyway, or they might not).
Thanks, guys. I will try to install the spring, but I think it will be very difficult. The other option is to drill out the rivet and find a pop-rivet tool that will fit deep into the hole. I power washed behind the fuel door (it was dirty) which caused the spring to come off. So, don't make my mistake.
My gen 1's spring I replaced on purpose, because the door wasn't popping open very reliably. After the replacement it still wasn't, and it turned out that simply lubricating the hinges was the ticket. The hinges don't look very inviting to try to lube. No removable pins to take out and lube. But I had this decades-old spray can of something called Aervoe Tef-Lube that turned out to work wonders just sprayed at the hinges.
I lubed the hinges with teflon dry spray. This helped the friction, but the spring is still needed to push open the door a small amount. There are special pop-rivet tools that will reach the hinges, but are expensive.
Well heck on my generation twos you lube the door and you bend the little square piece of metal in the center of the door on the one edge out that's what makes the door pop open when the little plastic pin moves from you lifting up on the gas tank door opening lever I didn't know there was a spring spring or mine's been missing for years it's just a metal tab that's bent I've bend it out further every few years so the door pops open farther I didn't know there was a spring that could fall out or all of mine have fallen out and they don't exist but the door still pops open when I pull the lever
The way I remember from my gen 1, the spring to make the door pop was a little folded rectangular tab of spring metal. You might be talking about the same thing. I'm sorry I brought up the idea of the door needing lube to pop open. The OP's reason for starting this thread was that the spring already jumped out.
I didn't know there was anything to jump out unless it rusted and it broke off when you're bending it back out that would be problematic then I would just trim the hoop that holds the plastic tang when it's extended so that I could just flick the door open with my fingernail or a credit card whenever I want stealing gas out of a Prius wow that criminal will be there all day.
The rivets are 2" beyond the edge of the hole in the fender and 3" from the filler cap. see image. If I can rent a pop rivet gun with a long snout, I might be able to reinstall the door hinge and door. Otherwise, a youtube shows a guy with a special pop rivet gun that will reach into the bottom of a hole. Most other youtube videos show a different design, even on some Prius models.
