...where is this vital button located?

[Dave M]

dumbest question of the day coming up...where on the '08 9-3 2.0T is the fuel fill cap release located? So help me, sitting in the driver's seat, I don't see it. This is a car bought for my mother and which came without a user manual. I feel absolutely idiotic asking this question.

[Dave T]

You might not have a locking gas flap. It is required in the United Kingdom but it was discontinued either at the beginning or end of the 2004 model year. Cars that have it unlock when the doors are unlocked. There is no separate button to push. Later 2005 model 9-3 for the U.S. and Canada cannot be programmed to lock even if you retrofit the motor.

There is hope. Stant makes a locking gas cap that uses a key. I put in the Saab locking mechanism. Since my car cannot be programmed to lock and unlock it, I manually lock and unlock it by opening the trunk sidewall, which is on a hinge, and use my finger to push the lever locked or unlocked. Taliaferro Imports in Springfield, Missouri used to sell the locking motor but not any more. Perhaps one could buy it from a Swedish or British dealer or salvage one from a 2003 located in a salvage yard. There is a chance that I might have a lightly used one in a few weeks.