Hey people.

Got a '96 Celica 2.0 GT 3S-GE.

Yesterday the fuel door release lever came loose because over the years of pulling it, the cable has lost some of its tension.

I was just wondering if there's any way to adjust / increase the amount of tension on the cable? Does it have a tension adjuster on it??



By the way, for anyone in the same situation as me. If your fuel door won't open, this is what I did...

1. Remove the front seat by undoing the four 14mm bolts that attach it to the floor.
2. Yank up the plastic door trim that holds the carpet down (nothing to undo, just jank it upwards and it opos out ---- it'll pop back in too.
3. Pull the carpet away from the floor.
4. You have to pull the carpet back enough so that the trunk / fuel levers are completely revealed - fiddly, but pull the carpet away from those too.
5. You'll notice that the whole lever unit is housed under part of the metal - it is held in place by one 10mm bolt right next to it. Undo that.
6. Pull the whole unit backwards to remove it from underneath the metal frame, so it's free.
7. There should be two springs on each side of the levers (one of mine fell off, so I had to put it back on).
8. If these two levers feel loose, then you need to push them together until you hear a 'snap' as it all snaps together - there is no screw or bolt to hold these together, it's just a snap-in kinda mechanism.
9. At this point, if the fuel door doesn't open, get a friend to pull the fuel lever upward while you pry the fuel door open - then remove the locking bracket on the fuel door until you can fix the problem.

You can get at the end of the cable by opening the gas door and unscrewing the nut that holds the pin in place, and then pulling it out from the backside of the fender panel in the driver side of the trunk behind the courtesy light. it has a simple cable end on it, you could probably make some sort of spacer (maybe a ziptie if it'll fit?) to put in there to get some tension back on the cable for the latch. I pulled mine apart when I first got my car because it was sticking and the door wouldn't stay shut. I recommend greasing it with something simple like white lithium or even some wd40 when you put it back together if you also have any issues with it sticking and the door staying open, or to prevent these issues.