Gas cap hinge broke today...

[Black 535i]

... has there been a post lately on how easy it is to fix this? I remember something about assembling it off the vehicle and the reattaching it-is this correct? How nuch is this plastic hinge if anyone knows?

[Rigmaster]

there's a write-up online somewhere- I'll post back here if I can find it. It's not hard to replace- but it does seem like an extra hand would help. Helps to have a light touch, and 2 small screwdrivers.

The ends of the plastic hinge basically go into the metal, then they don't want to come out, sort of like a chinese finger trap...

Bret.

[Black 535i]

there's a write-up online somewhere- I'll post back here if I can find it. It's not hard to replace- but it does seem like an extra hand would help. Helps to have a light touch, and 2 small screwdrivers.

The ends of the plastic hinge basically go into the metal, then they don't want to come out, sort of like a chinese finger trap...

Bret.

[Phil Sanderson]

here is a link to a couple of weeks ago.
basically you break off the old hinge, buy a new one (not expensive), push in the new hinge and refit the spring,... pretty easy.
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?p=43336

regards
Phil