Gas Cap problem

[Ogre]

We just went thru the stuck gas cap thing last night.
Also an 08 just a few months old.

See this thread for similar problem.
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123710633

Man is that frustrating to be at a gas station (late at night) and of course low on fuel and the damn thing was stuck.
We were planning a trip this weekend, that would have been a nightmare on the road.

I did finally free the cap in my garage by pushing it in while screwing it back in
It was clicking as I screwed it in, until it finally popped, released and seated closed properly.
Then it unscrewed and came off like it should.
It has a pair of tabs or blocks in the screw pattern that line up with slots in the fill tube.
I believe they got jammed in the screw pattern the last time it was filled.
Either way its a crappy/sloppy design and I will be bringing it in.

I almost took a vise grip to it, but I am glad I didn't as I would have broken the cap and sent plastic pieces into the tank.

 

[x10dude]

My story:
On my 3rd tank of gas I got the stuck gas cap. I was at the gas station with my needle on Empty for the last 30 miles so I knew I couldn't go back to the dealer.

I was at the station for 10 minutes trying different things but it just wouldn't budge. Eventually the cap housing just broke and I had to pry open the remaining sealer cap just to fill up.

Needless to say I went back to the dealer the next day to get it replaced. But this was NOT a pleasant experience, especially for a car that is only 6 weeks old.

(I'm wondering if this will end up being a recall item)

 

[schokie]

Same thing with my brother's 08

My brother had the same thing happen to his 08 on a Saturday about 40 miles from the dealer. Called AAA and together they finally broke the cap off. Paid $50 for a new cap and then almost $100 to reset the check engine light as a result of the cap being off the car for a few days. Also had some problem where the gas cap door won't shut if there is no cap.

Needless to say, very frustrating experience for a brand new car.

OTOH, we also have an 08 5 and haven't had any problems with the cap. I wonder if it's on the later model 08's as we bought one of the first 08s and my brother bought one of the last.

 

[Ogre]

He was charged to "fix" the gas cap and subsequent check engine light?

 

[jandree22]

He was charged to "fix" the gas cap and subsequent check engine light?

x2... it's called a warranty.

 

[woozy_one]

The same thing happened to our 3 day old '08. Fortunately we still had a half tank of gas left when we went to fill it up (fuel was 'cheap' at a gas station in the city compared to our local stations so we decided to top it off while we were there). I ended up breaking off the outer black portion of the gas cap while at the pump, so we drove it home where I had to use slip-joint pliers to get it out. We called the dealer and let them know what had happened and they told us to come in and pick up a new one under warranty.

I just hope this doesn't happen to my wife when she's alone with an empty tank.

 

[Sprocket]

Yes, a bad lot of caps. Not technically a safety issue, so there will not be a recall, but it is covered under warranty. You should NOT have to pay for it. In fact, Mazda should throw in some sort of free accessory since it is a known problem and extremely inconveniencing, esp. if you are out of gas and out of town.

It took 3 tanks before ours broke.

 

[x10dude]

Yes, a bad lot of caps. Not technically a safety issue, so there will not be a recall, but it is covered under warranty. You should NOT have to pay for it. In fact, Mazda should throw in some sort of free accessory since it is a known problem and extremely inconveniencing, esp. if you are out of gas and out of town.

It took 3 tanks before ours broke.

I guess technically it's not a safety issue but being on Empty and NOT being able to fill up your tank, at least in my mind a safety issue. At the very least, it causes a great deal of stress. On my old Accord there was a recall for some issue with the door lock but it it was simply an inconvenience. This was a pain. When you have to physically break a part in your car just to fill up your tank... that's not a good sign.

I still like my Mazda5 but seriously that gas cap issue really took alot of the bloom out of the rose. Still a very versatile car but my enthusiasm for it, is way over. Now it's just a car I drive... and now it's always in the back of my mind whenever I pull up to the station.

 

[kjjm]

I'm really glad to see this thread. This just happened to me while on vacation in Virginia. Living in NJ I'm not usually allowed to pump my own gas and don't know if the cap had been problematic before, but the first time I had the opportunity to fill the tank myself the cap was stuck. I felt like an idiot at first, but finally got the damn thing off. The second time I filled up, I wasn't so lucky - the cap broke into 2 pieces after a bit of effort (again, probably looking like an idiot). I can still seal and unscrew it so there's no CE light, but I'll be going back to the dealership this week.

This is the second warranty issue I've had in 5 weeks of ownership (the clockspring circuit failed within two hours of buying it & driving off the lot!) and I'm not happy. I initially considered the clockspring issue to be a fluke, though, because I couldn't find any evidence of others having the same problem. I'll also bet that the clockspring and the gas cap are among the 5% or so of the parts that are not made in Japan.

The 5 has been a lot of fun to drive so far and was great on a long trip, but I'm considerably less enthusiastic about it. Hopefully, this will be the last issue for quite a while.

 

[x10dude]

I'm really glad to see this thread...

I felt like an idiot at first,.

Join the club... When it happened to me, people were looking all looking at me probably thinking... "this guy doesn't even know how to take off his own gas cap off!"

I still think Mazda needs to issue a recall for this.

...or at least an apology for the embarrassment of making us look like idiots

 

[twentysixtwo]

Tricky - I have found ours to be "stuck" several times, now I just pull harder. May take it back to the dealer now that it appears to be more than just a sticky cap....

 

[kjjm]

...or at least an apology for the embarrassment of making us look like idiots

That would be nice. At this point I'll settle for a quick in & out of the service bay after I make the 25 mile trip to the dealership Saturday morning. But a free accessory for my troubles would acceptable, too!

 

[Ogre]

My wife brought ours into the dealer yesterday for several things

They claimed there is not a "new design" gas cap so we are still running around with the same crappy cap
(I guess I should have broken it).

I am also going to have to bring it back again to "show" them the shake they could not feel @ 50 mph
As well as "show" them the gawd awful clunk from the passenger side rear suspension that they also could not find.

They did manage to re-install the bumper step that came loose and re-aligned the front end.

I was hoping we were upscaling to a Mazda from a Dodge, but so far that has not seemed the case.

Yea the wind is going out of my sails over this car FAST.

 

[ckuz13]

This happened to us too! My husband blamed it on me.. he thought I had stripped the thread or did not screw it in right..we were on empty and needed gas to get to the dealer to have it removed. We stopped at a dealer and the sales guy was able to remove it with much effort. I told my husband..see you just weren't strong enough..pay back for making me feel at fault. I had anxiety about having to fill up my tank..now I can show him this thread and prove it was not me..Thanks.

 

[schokie]

Ogre:

My 08 has the exact same problems as yours. Have you seen the 2006 TSBs that seem to mimic our problems but with an 08? I'm not sure they've fixed the problems. My next service I'm going to have them look at these issues and see what they say.

I am also going to have to bring it back again to "show" them the shake they could not feel @ 50 mph

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=17

The one labeled "BODY VIBRATION AT CRUISE SPEED"

As well as "show" them the gawd awful clunk from the passenger side rear suspension that they also could not find.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=17

The one labeled "SQUEAK OR KNOCK NOISE FROM SUSPENSION WHEN PASSING OVER A BUMP"

 

[Ogre]

schokie,

Thanks this is good info.
I am not impressed with my local dealer/service center to say the least.
This will help me a lot.

I searched for bulletins related to the 08, but not any before as I had hoped they would have resolved previous year issues in production.

I dont think that the "BODY VIBRATION AT CRUISE SPEED" is it as it does not seem to be related to the engine, but I am going to check it out again with this in mind.

I can use the "SQUEAK OR KNOCK NOISE FROM SUSPENSION WHEN PASSING OVER A BUMP" details to confirm for myself the cause of that noise.

 

[Sprocket]

Yes, it is a problem. No, it is not a recall issue. A similar situation occurred when VW had a bad lot of ignition coils installed in all cars for about a 6 month period. Nearly every one of those vehicle had, or were going to have, a premature failure of a coil (or coils, but they do not all go out at the same time, of course) and replaced them all for free, but it was not technically a "Recall". They sent messages to all owners to come have it done.

This is essentially the same kind of situation. Mazda should notify all owners with VIN's in a series that would have these defective caps, and replace for free.

Like I wrote above, a "Recall" is a term used for issues that could lead to a dangerous situation. Running out of gas is annoying, and yes, could be dangerous if you are on a freeway, but if you know you are running out of gas YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING IT. Get it fixed first.

 

[schokie]

Ogre:

I agree that the vibration feels more like a wheel/tire issue than a motor mount issue. It does seem like an odd coincidence that there is a TSB on the issue with very similar symptoms.

With so many people howling about the poor quality of the stock Toyo's, I wonder if changing the tires will solve the problem. The vibration is not terrible for me at the moment so I'll wait until I wear them out to see if that fixes it.

 

[coolmazda5]

Hey guys, the bad guy here . Please open a new thread for the vibration issue so the other members can see it and provide input if needed, plus we can keep this thread on the gas cap topic

thx

 

[x10dude]

but if you know you are running out of gas YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING IT. Get it fixed first.

I understand your logic about a recall but I'm not quite sure I understand your logic about not filling up when you are running out of gas.

I would say that the majority of people fill up when the light comes on (or somewhat close to it... maybe when it goes below 1/4 tank). It just doesn't make sense to fill up "when you are NOT running out of gas"... I don't feel like you should be FORCED to fill up whenever you are just below half tank (or anything close)

Is it too much to ask to simply be able to drive a car for a full tank of gas instead of filling up all the time?

And it seems like NOT everyone has this problem... So how do you get it fixed first? So are you saying that ALL Mazda5 owners go into the dealer to get it fixed first?