Just having a bit of fun with your post, no disrespect intended:
Seems to me that with a gas cap hand crank, if it stops working, you can buy a new one for $15. And you’ll never have a problem finding one, even if you break down in a small town during a family vacation. On the other hand, if these automatic gas-cap starter motor gadgets stop working and prevent refueling starting the engine while you are on a family holiday in the same small town, you may be looking at a $350 repair, or a long tow if a repair isn’t possible in that town, and you may have to wait for a day or two or even longer to get the replacement part. It sounds like people who’ve used cars with these devices like them ok, but I just don’t see the need for the complications and expenses that it may lead to. Just because something is possible to do, that’s not a reason to do it.
I’m not a fan of doing something to a consumer product just because they can either. But this is actually a worthwhile improvement IMHO.
I’d guess it was simply a cost cutting measure. The gas cap serves no funnction that cannot be served with a properly designed gas door with gasket. Consumer discomfort with this changes is understandble, but it makes sense from a design standpoint.
My mom’s 2010 Fusion hybrid has this feature. The fuel filler neck has a flap on it, that opens when a fuel nozzle (or something with a outside diameter equal to a fuel nozzle) is inserted into the neck opening.
The important operational fact to consider is that YOU CANNOT REFILL WITH A JERRY CAN/FUNNEL UNLESS IT HAS A DIAMETER EXACTLY EQUAL TO THE FUEL NOZZLE! They give you the car with a “calibrated funnel” in the trunk–do not lose it!
When I (duh!) lost the funnel in question, I was forced to redneck engineer a solution using a 5/8" heater hose clamped to a standard funnel before I could get any fuel into the tank.
I doubt this move is due to the CEL light; I suspect this is an attempt to “brown-nose” the EPA w/r/t the few molecules of fuel that would otherwise vent to the atmosphere between the time one removes the gas cap and the time one starts adding fuel.
Texases, I stand corrected. But my point stands. I believe the change is simply a cost cutting change. Apparently the current design has rendered the gas cap redundant.
