"Capless Fuel Tanks" ?

[billt]

This falls solidly into the WTF! category. Last week we bought a brand new 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The first new car I've purchased since 1991. (I'm still driving it). Going from a 1991 Ford F-150 to this 2015 Grand Cherokee is a bit like going from a Piper J-3 Cub to a F-135 Strike Fighter.

This thing has me dumbfounded. The first thing I noticed is the gas tank is "cap less". No gas cap. You just stick the nozzle in. The dealer delivered the car with a full tank, so I haven't tried to fill it up yet. I got the 5.7 HEMI V-8 with the 8-Speed transmission, so it supposedly uses mid grade, (89 Octane) gas. There is a seal around the locking fuel door, but that's it. I'm thinking of taking a cap of a spray paint can, or something similar, just to keep dust out of it.

I'm not seeing any advantage to this. In over 40+ years of driving I've never forgot to put a gas cap on. I get forgetful once and a while, but Christ I'm not that bad! Other than that the thing is really nice. White with beige leather interior. It's a 2WD with the towing package and heavy duty cooling.

I haven't gotten on it very hard yet, but the thing goes like a raped ape! You can put it into "Sport Mode" and use the paddle shifters like a Formula 1 car. It shifts instantly, and you can't even feel it. Unless you watch the tach, you don't even know it shifted. It's going to take me weeks to figure this thing out. We got 2 smart phones, and now I've got to figure out how to program the phones to the Bluetooth in the car. I also have to program the garage door opener to it. I figure by next Fall I'll be in good shape. I don't have a very long attention span, so I only can deal with it for short periods. So far it's getting around 21 MPG. Not too bad for it's first tankful. Unless it gets clobbered or stolen, this will probably be my last new car.

[MikeBjerum]

Bill,

It would help if you posted a photo of the filler and door.  I am picturing the system where the filler door has a seal on it.  The filler door with its seals is the cap.  A photo of the system would help, but that is what I am picturing based off past experience.

If it is the system I described, they are very effective and worked well.

[billt]

This is a photo of a 2015 Grand Cherokee identical to mine. I got it off one of the Jeep Forums. The guy posted that a cap off a can of, STP Son-Of-A-Gun Tire Shine fits around the outside perfectly. It has to be trimmed to get the door closed. I might try something like that, just to keep any dust or water that gets past the seal around the door.



This was his fix. Looks pretty good. $50K for a new vehicle, and you've got to make your own Rube Goldberg gas cap! I just hope I don't have any grief when I fill this thing up.

[alfack]

Welcome to the 21st century!

[Timothy]

My Ford has a similar system.

I don't sweat it because it's a rubber or silicone flapper that seals against the nozzle opening.  Any excess fuel when I remove the nozzle doesn't penetrate that seal, it drips into a weep hole below the nozzle opening.

It does look quite different from yours though...

[Sponsor]

[Solus]

I see a small tab coming in from the 10 o'clock position that looks to be partially covering the filler nozzle opening.

Perhaps it is a "switch" or lever that activates a positive seal when the filler nozzle is removed?

[TAB]

Yet another reason I like older cars.

[ellis4538]

As long as the "check engine" light doesn't come on you should be OK.  I never forget to put the cap on either but sometimes I don't get it tight enough and the idiot light comes on to let me know!


Richard

[MikeBjerum]

Both Ford and Chrysler had fuel doors on muscle cars and sedans that sealed this way back in the 60's and 70's.  They worked great.  Deep down I feel that you are in a panic because you don't understand the system.

When I worked in the dealership we spent a lot of time fixing things that customers screwed up because "those damn engineers don't know what they are doing when they design these vehicles."  Check with MOM (manufacturer's owner's manual), do what she says, and don't worry about it.

[Big Frank]

As long as the "check engine" light doesn't come on you should be OK.  I never forget to put the cap on either but sometimes I don't get it tight enough and the idiot light comes on to let me know!


Richard

On my truck you have to turn it until it clicks 3 times, and 4 or 5 clicks won't hurt it. I had a locking gas cap that I saved from my previous pickup and had to replace it because the it didn't seal tight enough. The dealer hooked it up to the computer and it said vacuum leak and it was the cap.