Question: I flew into Boston for my 10-year college reunion and picked up a rental car to drive there. I just pulled off of I-90 to get some gas, but can’t figure out how to open the door to the gas tank. Can you tell me how to open a gas tank on a Nissan Altima?
Answer:
Opening the gas tank on a Nissan Altima is relatively simple once you’ve identified where the release lever is for the gas filler door. For newer models, like the 2023 model, the release lever is on the driver’s left, just below the steering wheel. The lever has a fuel symbol on it. On an older model, like the 2008 model, the gas tank door release is on the floor, on the driver’s left-hand side.
Nissan Altima 6th Gen (2019 – present)
On recent Altima models, you will find the gas tank release lever on the bottom left-hand side of the dashboard to the left of the steering column. It has a gas pump icon on it. Lift it to open the gas tank door on the outside of the car.
Nissan Altima 5th Gen (2013 – 2018)
The fifth-generation Nissan Altima has a fuel-filler door release lever below the steering wheel on the bottom left. There are two levers. The first is the fuel-filler door lever’s release and the second is the hood release. Make sure to pull the correct one.
Nissan Altima 4th Gen (2007 – 2012)
The fuel-filler door release is located on the floor, to the left of the driver’s seat. Lift it to release the fuel-filler door.
How do you open the gas cap in a Nissan Altima?
Nissan Altima sedans from 2007 forward have their gas caps on the left side of the car.
Once you have pulled the lever, you can unscrew the gas cap by turning it to the left and once released, you can use your Altima’s gas cap holder while you fill your car. The cap holder works a bit differently based on generation:
- 4th generation Altima: The fuel-filler door has three notches that will hold your gas cap in place.
- 5th generation Altima: The fuel-filler door has a hook where you can run your gas cap’s leash, allowing the gas cap to hang in the air without touching your car.
- 6th generation Altima: The cap holder is located near the hinge of the door. When hung correctly, your gas cap will be between the fueling area and the door.
Reinstalling the gas cap
To reinstall the gas cap, turn it to the right until you hear a single click. The gas cap is ratcheted, so you will hear clicks when the gas cap is tight.
Starting from the fifth generation (2013), you might see a Loose Fuel Cap warning in your car if your gas cap isn’t tightened correctly. The icon looks like a half a car with a gas pump nozzle.
To reset the Loose Fuel Cap warning, you will need to release and reinstall the gas cap, tighten it until it clicks, and then press the OK (or double square) button on the steering wheel for one second to turn off the warning.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Giselle Gomez is an editor with over a decade of experience editing content across personal finance, education, travel, and sports. In editing for Jerry, Giselle’s focus is on making sure content is consumer and SEO-friendly and helping readers understand all things car ownership. In prior roles, she worked as a content strategist, syndication editor, and writer. Her work is featured in AP, NerdWallet.com, BestColleges.com, and more. Giselle holds a master’s degree from Arizona State University.
