Some Customers Speak Out Against Capless Fuel Fill
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Capless fuel fill is now a much more common feature than in years past, when it was a rarity. According to research performed by GM Authority, GM currently offers capless fuel fill on 26 vehicles, including the new Blazer, third-generation Equinox, Corvette, Camaro, Silverado, and Sierra, as well as most Buick, Cadillac, and GMC models.
As the capless fueling technology becomes more commonplace and is used more and more by customers, some have begun voicing disapproval of the convenience feature. Stories of various complications can be found on the web, including frozen winter woes, where the flaps are frozen shut.
GM Authority reader Janet M. recently shared with us her discontent with the capless fuel fill system:
Whose brilliant idea was a capless gas tank??? What about the thousands of people who live on dirt roads? Or even commercials that show all that off-road driving? With no cap, when the nozzle pushes open the little flipper, the dust just falls into the gas tank. I wish engineers would think a little more about country people who actually need trucks and a little less about people who just want a status symbol. We love the Silverado, but a capless gas tank is just silly.
Tongue-in-cheek tone aside, we must say that we have not experienced any issues with the capless fuel fill system, even after driving hours on back-country dirt roads in the all-new, 2019 Silverado and Traverse, both of which feature capless fuel fill. As such, we would advise Janet to ensure that the fuel door on her truck is closed, as that would prevent any kind of debris (or dirt) from enter the compartment.
Capless Fueling System on 2014 Corvette Stingray
Daryl K’s comment takes another sarcastic tone (is this a theme?) in a much less substantive comment:
Is this what we’ve come to… that removing a gas cap is a big deal?
Though we wouldn’t call removing the gas cap “a big deal”, we do appreciate the convenience of not having to do so, especially in a world where saving a few seconds not doing something is a welcome convenience.
Have any feedback for Janet or Daryl? Share them in the comments section, below.
For more information on capless fuel fill, including a comprehensive list of every GM vehicle equipped with the system, see this link: GM capless fuel fill tech. Also, stay tuned to GM Authority for the latest GM news and GM discussions.
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2017 GMC Sierra. My issue is that a sensor lit up my engine light. Dealer says it the capless fuel filler. Been having issues with this for months with the opening and now its out of warranty. Wow, $338 to have the filler neck replaced. Looking to fix with a rubber type cap to cover the opening. Did this dumb idea come from gas filling at Nascar?
This system is a joke. 1st time since owning this chevy thst it has got below freezing and I am unable to fuel up my truck. 1st flap was froze shut and once I was able to open that it revealed the entire area behind the 1st flap is an ice cube. What a flipping joke. Good enough reason to never buy another chevy!!!! Thankfully I was not on dire need of fuel.
I own a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. Will GMC cover the charge if some idiot who hates you cover the repair if I get some sand or sugar poured into my gas tank? I bet they would not do it for free. Ask a mechanic if that is good or bad for an engine.
Capless fuel fill is a ridiculous gimmick. I just ordered a Sierra I will replace the filler with a capped version asap. As for the funnel, “Are you kidding me?”
is there a universal gas cap thet yiu can buy for a capless malibu 2021? For security reasons and to make sure car doesnt get vandalized?
Can’t prevent fuel theft/syphoning
There’s a screen to prevent theft, but nothing to prevent someone from pouring something harmful into the tank.
How come my tank was emptied? Can you tell more please?
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With a capless filler, how can it be locked so some idiot teenage (or another idiot who doesn’t know what gasoline can do to his lungs) cannot siphon gas out of my tank? I bought a locking cap for my capped one when it happened to me a dozen years ago, and yes, I’m still driving my 2007 mini-van.
I have a 2021 Buick Encore with a cap less system so here is my question that NOBODY seems to answer, not even the dealerships. When I go through the touchless car wash the jets open my door, it stays open, so on the next round of jets soap and water splash right on they called system. Can they guarantee no water will get in my fuel? (No, never heard of that happening before, there answer is go to a soft touch car wash instead) so I did, now it does stay shut, however when I go through the blowers the gas door flaps in and out. I am afraid it’s going to rip off at some point. I have been to 6 different car washes and the dealership says we can’t co tell that. I ask if I can PAY to have a locking door put on, they said no. My car has been at the dealership now for over 2 weeks cause the Turbo went out. I am very disappointed all around and feel like my concerns were not being taken seriously. I will never by another GM product. I have only had the car since May 27. Madison Zimbrick East is where I went. It has been a problem from the beginning.
While this is a poor design, a solution (while waiting for a new car without this feature) is to lock your car doors while the car is in the car wash. When your door is locked the door on the body of the cars filler location will not open. FYI, I hate these as well
i have a 2017 chevy silverado 1500 2 door, reg cab with 28,000 miles. the small door closer is stuck opened, junk!!!!! to replace the capless neck, $150 plus labor. lucky i found this company on ebay that sells a very tight fit rubber boot, about $5, and it works great!!! and where can i buy just the upper fuel filler neck, capless?
Have had both 2017 and 2018 Chevy and GMC 1500’s. Gravel roads and capless fillers don’t mix. 2017 needed a new fuel pump, 2018 has needed 2. Every time you fuel up you scrape the dust into the tank and the fuel pumps get full of dirt. My dealer said gmc doesn’t care about people using their trucks for work in Canada because they sell more trucks in California and Florida where everything is paved.
I’m just an old Marine Veteran who used to wrench in the 80’s. Call me old-fashioned, old-school, old fart. Regardless, there’s that old saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Of course there’s always Red Green’s “if it ain’t broke, you ain’t trying hard enuff!”
Regardless, what always gets me is folks who think it’s their calling to simply dis anyone who doesn’t go along w change. If people who got it say they’re having problems then who are you all to say they’re not? In essence you’re just calling them liars.
Now I got on here bc i finally figured out my loose gas cap problem is either bc of the neck rusting out or something, or in my humble estimate, just another piss poor design. The old screw on caps have been working gr8 for yrs & yrs. This one on my 2006/07 Silverado from Canadia (& yes, despite the 06/06 production dt it’s a mix of both yrs, but that’s another adventure) clicks but then loosens immediately. It appears to rely on a very narrow catch.
Anyways in my humble estimate it sounds like something that deserved a recall bc in all the yrs of all the vehicles I’ve ever owned, the vast majority being GM’s, I’ve never had any problems w the gas caps not securing. Another attempt to go cheap. Experience always shows when you tamper w things that aren’t broke, problems will follow. And no. Thinking you can make an airtight seal for this lazy man’s problem in a vehicle is simply either rooted in arrogance or ignorance, the latter being easily curable by simply exposing one to the truth, the facts, whilst the 4mer requires the hand of God. But alas I digress.
Anyways that’s all from this old whatever you want to call me.
I work at a Costco Gastation so I’m assisting hundreds of people every day. These capless gas filler necks are a pain in the neck! They keep jamming so people cannot insert the nozzle or clamping down on the nozzle so they cannot remove it when finished. This form of engineering is a waste of time and money. No one is so busy they cannot take the time to unscrew a gas cap and then double check to make sure you replace it when refueling is complete.
Our 2020 Buick Enclave has given me a perspective. In June 2021, the gas nozzle got caught on the flapper and could not be removed. I wasn’t patient and ripped the flapper out when yanking the gas nozzle out.
Then just last Monday, someone siphoned our full tank. This was a hit costing over $100 at today’s gas prices. No option for a locking cap as no cap fits at all!
Dennis, the small nozzel was developed for UnLeaded gas, back in the 70s. The leaded gas pumps “normal size” would not fit so you would not fill with leaded gas in a non-leaded vehicle – Another Government Regulation! FYI – High speed Diesel pumps have large nozzels.
I got 2019 chev malibu LT with capless gas tank no gas cap and no lock on gas door or cover and realy thinking about taking car back and get another car for some where else.
I read about 30+ comments and nobody mentioned what I believe is the true reason for this worthless-flavor-of-the-month-idea, and that’s money. This is just that, a way for manufacturers to save a few cents.
I have a 2017 Sierra and the top door is broken but the bottom door is still ok.I put a spray can cap to keep stuff from falling inside the tank.First time it triggers a code I’m going to see if a neck with a real cap fits Anyone done this yet please post so all can make the best choice for their vehicle
Well, I have been driving with caped Gas Filler Tubes since the late 60’s and I do appreciate the tethered caps, I lost an expensive cap on my 99 Aurora, thanks to Oregon’s gas attendant law, he left it on the pump, I was on a trip and didn’t catch it until I was in California (the teather was broken). Those improvements are good! The mandated Evaporated Gas Caps of the 80′ and on were an a problem as they got older (Thanks California). The current 2000 and on caps, were good, I never had a problem with one ever on 4 different vehicles and 100’s of thousands of miles driven. Now, the Non-Cap Filler Tubes, so far have only been a pain when I need to add FI Cleaner Additives, that POS free one from GM is a looser, spills more than it takes and at the wrong angle. I bought 3 different special capless funnels before I found one that mostly worked. It is hard for me to believe some engineer designed the funnels for the capless fillers without testing them before sending the file out for production. That person must have been in the bottom one percentile of the graduating class. I don’t have a problem with the capless for gas filling yet (I have a 18 Camaro with 27K miles and a 23 Nissan with 200 miles, both capless) so far, not that many miles and fills, other than adding from a bottle. I don’t even want to think of having to fill my tank from a gas cal and those Stupid A.s new Filler nicks and have to use a damn funnel as well! No one has even mentioned that from the posts I have read. Not to wish that on anyone, but if it happened to those who praise the capless Filler, I am not so sure they would be singing any good notes afterwards! Now, I hope the idiots in charge do not put capless on Diesel fillers! If you run Diesel you know most fill nosels are filthy and you don’t want that flapper scraping the dirt and grime off into your tank! If they do proceed down the slide of stupidity in the newer Diesel vehicles and I ever need to replace my 18 Silverado, I will remove that monstrosity and replace it with a cap Filler and to he.l with the F-ed Up EPA! By the way my BS is in Engineering and I knew great engineers and not so great engineers. I am aware most sudo science EPA BS was not so thought out, mainly because of Politics and their sudo science!
“after hours of driving” and “is sarcasm a theme?” Let me state this clearly as a mechanic and a country raised man. Yes sarcasm is the theme for a fix we didnt need want or ask for. This is a problem for people that do more than spend a couple of hours in the county on dirt, mud and gravle. The fact that people are so happy to spend their entire lives staring at a screen but cant take the 2 seconds to open a gas cap is just one picture of what stupid really looks like. I did horrible in school, im sure you can tell im not so great with gramer and the like, and ill happily admit that. However after nearly 30 years on this planet ive experienced enough and ive seen enough to believe it when people that know me tell me things like “youre the most intelligent person ive ever met.” Or “its like you were meant for so much more!” Because no one else in my generation really takes the couple of seconds to think ” whats the real problem here?” When a gas cap needs replaced to fix the evap code. The answer isnt to delete the gas cap. That was utterly completely stupid. Make a better gascap. Thats where the problem lies. So fix it. If we make car and truck gas tankes as complex as the new age gas cans like we use to fill our mowers with the world will come to a screeching hault because itll be so needlessly over engineered that it will become unusable un fix able and generally usless. But then we may all get fed up and buy a new car that we cant afford and we shouldnt need because its got this new thing called a gas cap! Oh my!