Called in at my local Shell on the way to work this morning and the petrol filler cap cover wouldn’t open.
My guess is that it’s frozen.
Today, not a big deal. Will wait until this afternoon, by which time the temperature will be warmer and it should be fine.
However, I was conscious of what would be the plan when all day long is sub-zero.
Any thoughts beyond using luke-warm water?
A recognized thing to do in situations like this is to PEE on it,that will thaw it out.
All best Simon
Yes - good idea. However, doing that in the middle of a busy filling-station forecourt is likely to get you arrested !
Once you’ve got the flap open, a good spray with silicone lubricant (or smear of silicone grease) on the operating pin/catch and hinge should keep the mechanism dry and hence prevent icing up in future.
HTH Steve
Put some grease around the mechanical parts that flip the lid open.
I had this happen to my daily driver, I got the flap open but couldn’t get the locking cap off. The lock would work but water had frozen the cap on. Red rubber grease around it helped chase any water away, never had that problem again.
Thanks for the advise guys.
So just to summarise, give it some lubrication, and if that doesn’t work, pee on it.
Sure I’ve seen that video somewhere before…
Most filling stations these days seem to sell hot drinks. Should be able to get a cup of hot water without paying. If they can’t or wont let you have that then try the next one down the road.