Having found limited resources online regarding this problem, I have held back on Blogging on other subjects in order to keep these sequence of posts together and thereby make it easier for the reader to find the detail and resolve their Clio problem. Previous Renault Clio Blog Posts in this sequence explain how to disengage the Clio locking mechanism with hopefully no damage to your car bodywork or the Clio fuel flap. But in all cases any actions taken are your sole responsibility and do not proceed unless you are confident with what you are undertaking as I am unable to accept any responsibility for errors or design differences.
To help you try to resolve the problem I have also posted photographs and a diagram showing which bits to disengage and when the Clio fuel flap is open how to secure the protrusion to prevent the tiny piston re-engaging the hole.
You now need to obtain a lockable fuel cap as the fuel flap on the Renault Clio should no longer operate if you have disabled it and plugged the hole. The lockable fuel cap should prevent your fuel from being siphoned off and stolen, but it also protects your car from vandalism as certain things poured into or deposited into the fuel system may cause catastrophic damage to the fuel lines and engine. So providing a lockable fuel cap seems to be an essential requirement.
If you take off and look at your existing fuel cap you will see that there are lugs on the underside that engage into the Renault Clio design locking thread. DO NOT take a photograph as you could cause an explosion when your non intrinsically safe camera sparks within the flammable range of petroleum. I emphasis this point, DO NOT photograph. Also ensure that you are not smoking or using an electronic cigarette. No naked flames, no lights switched on or off, no camera click, no phone call, nothing, nowt, nil. Petrol vapours move rapidly out of the fuel system and cover a vast area quickly, so please ensure that you exercise a degree of common sense.
The fuel cap design that appears specific to Renault means that you have to use a compatible fuel cap. The compatibility is relevant to the age of the car. I recommend a google web search followed by looking at auction sites and mainstream online sellers as well as car specific sellers. I cannot recommend buying a used item. You have to ask yourself why a used item is for sale.
I found Renault Clio lockable fuel caps with two keys in the price range £10 to £25 including delivery. In all instances I would recommend telephoning a seller where the details are shown and stating the year of registration for your Clio of emailing them with the same query where a telephone number is not provided. I think that it is important to check compatibility in this way as I found three different fuel caps, but only one will fit our specific Clio date.
Renault can also provide a key coded lock at a price. This system means that your engine key will unlock your new fuel cap. But a few words of caution with this idea at circa £54 (not sure if that's with or plus VAT). If the new fuel cap is not secured to your Clio like the existing non locking fuel cap, and you drive your Clio away from the petrol station with the fuel cap on the petrol pump, then that's a lot of money to throw away. If you opt for the key coded Clio fuel cap through a main dealer, then check that they can, and if yes, that they will secure the new fuel cap to the rubber link fixing inside the fuel flap free of charge. Otherwise, I can only recommend sticking with the cheaper two key option, as it will be relatively painless if you drive away and forget the fuel cap.
We could have done with some help when the problem occurred with 'Serena' and I hope that some of these comments and the photographs and the diagram help you in some way. Scroll down to the other Blog posts in this sequence that were uploaded on different dates in order to get the full picture and advice that is offered in good faith and which you are free to accept at your own liability or simply reject as you continue searching for a solution to a locked fuel flap on a Renault Clio.
Happy Driving!
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