zes

I have noticed something peculiar about my 14 300h. The gas inlet (the opening into which one inserts the gas pump nozzle) appears to be loose, I think. I don't know how to describe it, every time I insert the gas nozzle, the weight of the nozzle seems to push it down about 1/4 inch. I have never seen this in any of my previous cars from multiple manufacturers. Ever. In all other cars the gas inlet appears to be rigidly attached to the body of the car, so the weight of the nozzle does not move it. In the 300h the gas inlet appears to move slightly (about 1/4 in relative to the car body. Has anybody else noticed it? I am due to get my oil changed and can bring it up to the dealer if nobody else noticed this. For now I hold the nozzle and do not let its weight push the gas inlet down.
Thanks

airgas1998

All i can say is moving 1/4" isn't anything to worry about.

Dave Mac

I think the gas inlet tube just kind sits in some rubber gaskets/or bushings for the most part. If it wasn't able to move a bit I would be more likely to fracture.

But confirm with dealer.

Dave Mac

zes

In all other cars it seems to be firmly attached to the body of the car. I am afraid that if I let the weight of the gas nozzle push it down, eventually there may be a crack at the location where this tube is attached to the tank.

SLH

I bought fuel today, and took a good look at the fuel inlet. The inlet is mounted in a black flexible gasket (looks like neoprene). The mounting gasket has a little give, so it moves slightly under force. The use of a flexible mount is a common strain-relief method. It prevents metal fatigue or over-stress that might occur with a metal-to-metal mount.

I am pretty sure that the engineers designed this thing with at least a 400% safety margin, and qualified the materials for exposure to petrochemicals. They know while designing fuel systems that any failure will be unsafe, and will certainly be very costly for the company... So they over-design to make sure that it will not fail. I'm not going to worry about it.

LexBob2

Both of our cars (non-Lexus) flex a bit and have a gasket as mentioned in SLH's post.

zes

Thanks all. I will stop worrying about this and find something else to fret about.

Arty101

Yep, all normal. My 3 Lexus's all have a little flex and movement at the filler neck.