E46 Fuel Flap not staying closed (and solution)

Hi Guys,

The other day I had a peculiar incident. I filled up with fuel and when I parked my car afterwards and locked it, I noticed that the fuel flap was still ajar, and the actuator that is supposed to lock it had completely missed the slot.

Here's a random pic off the internet which illustrates what happened:



Now I should point out here that the flap is not being pressed out by that black thing that that you can press in. The spring on the hinge is simply not doing its job properly any more.

Solution

Easy! Spray a little silicon spray or WD-40 on the spring, and it fixes itself.