Gas cap hook on filler door, I did not know this

Many cars have a small hook on the filler door to hang the tether from the gas cap from. Learn something new every day!

Additionally, PHEVs (and, I assume, EVs) have a hanger for the plug that normally covers the charging port.

Been watching you tubes. Thing is every car I’ve got is tethered with a plastic chain. You just let the cap hang until done. No way to lose it.

The owner’s manual shows how to use the fuel cap holder. Fuel doors have been like this for 20 years.

There’s so much info in (often on-line-only) owners manuals nowadays! No surprise that many minor and major features are not understood or appreciated.

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Yep! Just got a Forester Hybrid, the total of the various owners manuals is probably over 1000 pages. “RTM” is no easy task! No other device in our lives requres 1000 pages to explain its use.

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Yup, my 23 Tacoma’s 4 owners manuals total is 1,056 pages, however the 16 (almost the same as the 23) Tacoma service manual is 11,292 pages… lol
I have them all downloaded–PDF…

Yes I read basically all the owners manuals, took me a couple of weeks, and no I don’t remember 1/2…

As far as the gas cap, I bought one of these and it works great, the factory way it could fall off and rub/scratch the paint…
Cost was $8.73 tax and all to my door…

My other car gas cap tether holder. Like not having it dangle!

I found out about that feature on my car from a post on a Camaro forum. A thread titled “Random Things You May Not Know About Your Car”. There were quite a few other things users shared. And I don’t think this was in the manual at all. camaro5.com

On reading the manual…I’ve never. Too long and TMI, much of which is needless. (“In order to accelerate in speed, press the accelerator pedal. To slow, release the accelerator pedal, and apply the brake if needed…” / “To open the door from the outside, pull the exterior door handle…”)

And they’ve only gotten worse as more bling is added. I picked up a new-to-me car today (which I’ll post about shortly). Just the manual for audio system is like hundreds of pages long.

I have two strategies. One is sit in the car and figure it out with as many button pushes as needed. The other is to look it up in the index.

I’m sure I miss various features (like the fuel cap hanger), but I don’t miss anything I care about enough.

The owners manual is like an encyclopedia. You don’t read it all the way through, you look up sections you need info on.

BTW My Fords don’t have gas caps. A little flap opens when you push the nozzle in.

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Yeah agree. A Quick Look through it and then it’s there for reference when you need it. About a quarter is printed and th3 rest on a cd. So you have to bring a computer with you or wait till you get home.

I did get gas tonight and no hook for the gas cap, just th3 tether. Maybe its one or the other but most of what was listed a# little known has been known for a while.

General Motors use a tether hook. This is from a Pontiac owner’s manual:


Not all are like that, my 23 came with all 4 full paperback owners manuals in the glove box, but you can go through Toyota’s site (might have to be logged in), and download all 4 word for word manuals on PDF…

So no computer needed, unless you just prefer it… lol

For those here that wonder why we need this hook. If you just let the cap dangle it will be touching the paint just below the fuel area and eventually damage the paint. I do use the hook on my Chevy Volt.

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Before I pick up a new vehicle I go online and download the PDF of the owners manual. I then read the whole thing, just skimming the parts that with which I am already familiar and focusing on new features and how to control settings for all the new technology. i also read all the maintenance schedules and how to access the spare tire and jack. It takes a few hours but it lets me program the car before I leave the dealer’s lot. Plus I can get the annoying salesperson out of my car quickly once they realize I know what I am doing.

And I have used the gas cap holder on the fuel door for decades as the tethered gas cap scratches the paint of the car if you let it hang down. The other reason for the gas cap holder is that it won’t let you close the fuel door if you haven’t replaced the fuel cap properly. I have seen more than a few cars cruising down the road with a tethered gas cap hanging below a closed fuel door.

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Or worse!

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You may be the only person who does that .

I don’t remember owning a car in the past 30 years that didn’t have the hook. Toyota has a tether and a hook.

My Corvette doesn’t have a gas-cap. It’s built into the door. The door seals the gas filler.

Maybe so. And the world would be a better place if more people read manuals. :rofl: I learned that selling TV’s for Circuit City back in the 90’s. 98% of calls to the store with frustrated customers were because the user did not look at the instructions in the manual that came with the TV. Ever since then I have learned to read the manual first.