Subaru Gas Cap Buyer's Guide
If you have a gasoline powered car, it has a fuel cap. It’s a simple part, but it’s just as important as the other parts on your car. This buyer’s guide covers all the important information you need to know about Subaru fuel caps.
What Is A Fuel Cap And Why Is It Important?
A fuel cap is a part that covers the opening to the fuel tank. It doesn’t only do that, though. As we discussed in this blog post, the fuel cap also serves several important purposes:
- It keeps fuel from spilling out of the tank
- It keeps fumes and fuel from evaporating out of the tank
- It protects the fuel pump from the air outside of the sealed fuel system
- It protects the sealed fuel system from dirt and moisture
How To Tell If Your Fuel Cap Is Failing
When your fuel cap starts to fail, you’ll notice some signs, such as:
- Strong fuel smell inside the vehicle or immediately outside of the vehicle
- The check engine light coming on
- Various error codes related to emissions
There are some visual signs related to fuel cap failure, which are listed in this blog post.
What To Do If Your Subaru’s Fuel Cap Fails
A fuel cap is a simple part, so many Subaru owners put off replacing a failed fuel cap. We recommend against doing that, though. A failed fuel cap can cause damage to your car’s fuel system. If you need a guide on what to do if your Subaru’s fuel cap fails, here’s a good one. To sum it up:
- Get an OEM replacement cap
- Follow the tutorial in the guide to replace it
Are All Gas Caps The Same?
The first thing you need to do is to order a replacement fuel cap. An ill-fitting gas cap may be bad news for your Subaru’s fuel system. That’s why you want to get a high quality replacement that’s guaranteed to fit right. Your best bet is to get an OEM replacement instead of an aftermarket cap, for the reasons listed in this blog post. To sum it up:
- OEM gas caps are built with exactly the right dimensions
- OEM gas caps have the right threading to fit into the filler pipe
You don’t have that same guarantee with aftermarket gas caps.