The first thing I broke (my car came with plenty of broken stuff) was the fuel door pop on the drivers door. I was pushing it in and the wind caught my door, opening it up more and making my finger slip off the button. All the pieces flew into the gas station. I was able to retrieve all the pieces, but the damage was done.
The prongs at the end of the plastic push part of the button had broken off. So even with all the parts it wouldn't stay together. Not a huge deal as just popping the trunk and pulling the manual release works, but if it is raining, or windy, or you don't want to explain that to a significant other, then it is easy to fix.
These are available new, black body with chrome button. They are from 30-50 bucks. One part number for it is F2AZ-9B242-A
Also from time to time you see some used for sale on eBay, junkyard stashes in the various interior colors through the years.
99% of the time there is nothing wrong with the body, contact terminals, only that the button prongs broke and it no longer stays in place. The button and spring and contact are available from a number of vehicles that are of the age that they are easy to find in salvage yards, especially you pull your own parts type places.
92 to 03ish Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, 95+ Town Cars have a similar button if they have locking fuel door. On some of the body is also the same, but some Town Cars have a different body, but the guts are the same. They generally are black bodies with black buttons or chrome buttons.
95+ Continentals have the same button (I don't think the 88-94 are the same, but they might be, I think at some point in that generation they starting using it)
03+ Lincoln LS
92+ Crown Vic Police Interceptors (CVPI, P71) the trunk pop on the dash is the same button, spring, and contact, the button seems to have squarer profile but works just fine.
They rarely charge me for these, be it complete assembly or just the button and spring and contact. When I do get charged for them it is usually what they charge for a connector which is 1.50.
Bottom leg of this one shows what usually happens. The prongs that retains it in the body break. It is under spring pressure and when they break they can fly out.
Far left is one together, middle shows the pieces "exploded", and the right one is a similar one cut open (a CVPI dash trunk pop button).
From left, the body, then the spring, the contact, then the button head:
Sometimes in some of the vehicles the contact is plastic welded to the button head (this just shows it in place over the slot for it):
Looking down the body, the point in the middle the spring goes on, top and bottom groove is larger for the contact to go into, the side grooves are narrower for the button legs/prongs:
spring on post:
one cut in half to show it. The terminals can have wear, and the contact can also, so some cleaning of the terminals might be needed. I used a cotton swab and alcohol.
Top one shows the wings used to hold it in place broken. Easy to break, many I find already broken before even attempting to remove. If you get behind the panel and fold these in and push it out, less likely to break them, this is why I like to just replace the insides.
How to pop the fuel door if your button doesn't work or is missing
The prongs at the end of the plastic push part of the button had broken off. So even with all the parts it wouldn't stay together. Not a huge deal as just popping the trunk and pulling the manual release works, but if it is raining, or windy, or you don't want to explain that to a significant other, then it is easy to fix.
These are available new, black body with chrome button. They are from 30-50 bucks. One part number for it is F2AZ-9B242-A
Also from time to time you see some used for sale on eBay, junkyard stashes in the various interior colors through the years.
99% of the time there is nothing wrong with the body, contact terminals, only that the button prongs broke and it no longer stays in place. The button and spring and contact are available from a number of vehicles that are of the age that they are easy to find in salvage yards, especially you pull your own parts type places.
92 to 03ish Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, 95+ Town Cars have a similar button if they have locking fuel door. On some of the body is also the same, but some Town Cars have a different body, but the guts are the same. They generally are black bodies with black buttons or chrome buttons.
95+ Continentals have the same button (I don't think the 88-94 are the same, but they might be, I think at some point in that generation they starting using it)
03+ Lincoln LS
92+ Crown Vic Police Interceptors (CVPI, P71) the trunk pop on the dash is the same button, spring, and contact, the button seems to have squarer profile but works just fine.
They rarely charge me for these, be it complete assembly or just the button and spring and contact. When I do get charged for them it is usually what they charge for a connector which is 1.50.
Bottom leg of this one shows what usually happens. The prongs that retains it in the body break. It is under spring pressure and when they break they can fly out.
Far left is one together, middle shows the pieces "exploded", and the right one is a similar one cut open (a CVPI dash trunk pop button).
From left, the body, then the spring, the contact, then the button head:
Sometimes in some of the vehicles the contact is plastic welded to the button head (this just shows it in place over the slot for it):
Looking down the body, the point in the middle the spring goes on, top and bottom groove is larger for the contact to go into, the side grooves are narrower for the button legs/prongs:
spring on post:
one cut in half to show it. The terminals can have wear, and the contact can also, so some cleaning of the terminals might be needed. I used a cotton swab and alcohol.
Top one shows the wings used to hold it in place broken. Easy to break, many I find already broken before even attempting to remove. If you get behind the panel and fold these in and push it out, less likely to break them, this is why I like to just replace the insides.
How to pop the fuel door if your button doesn't work or is missing
