People still siphon gas believe it or not. Some even still put sugar in people's gas tanks too (killing the engine).
I just thought you should know that the accessory locking gas cap for the honda element works on the 2009 Fit! The original gas cap removed easily without breaking the tether. The Accessory locking gas cap comes with two Honda keys that look exactly your like regular car key (sans the buttons). I keep the keys in my glove box.
Here is one link to the locking gas cap:

Honda Locking Gas Filler Cap (Element, Fit) - Bernardi Honda Parts and Accessories

 

Cool- but I can just imagine loosing the keys (there's no way I'd keep *another* key on my keychain).

It's too bad honda didn't design the hatch to lock/release from the inside of the car only..

 

I hear what you're saying, but I'd rather pay for a tank of gas than the damage caused when someone pries open the filler door with a screwdriver. If I lived in an area where syphoning was common, I'd prefer a locking cap to an internally released filler door.

 

Problem is, the filler door LOOKS like there is an inside release, so if somebody wants your gas, they'll probably pry the door open with a screwdriver anyway rather than try to find the "sweet spot" where the release is.

 

Good point. I guess there's no one perfect solution.

 

Seems like the distance from the filler in rear to the tank under the front seat would make siphoning from a Fit fairly tough. Has anyone ever tried it or had it happen to them?

 

i dont think siphoning is going to be easy on a FitS... as mentioned above that's quite a bit of hose you need to push in. hahaha.

and yes, theives will break your gas door no matter wat.

 

Didn't you watch the mythbusters episode where they busted the myth that putting sugar in a gas tank will kill the engine? or liquid drain cleaner? although bleach will still do a good job.



Love This:

Either way the bike bent the push rod due to a jammed intake valve. Further investigation showed signs of burnt melted sugar below the piston rings. Rendering the entire motor unsalvageable. I had to remove the valve with a hammer. Im not talking about a little tap tap tappy either. I had to swing hard to get it out.

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I have no doubt about the damage you found. Based upon the account, it sounds like some kind of insurance scam being pulled the customer to get a new engine to replace the one he damaged. Engine failures are not a covered item unless it is due to vandalism.

As a former insurance adjuster, I have seen it all. In my very first class, in the very first lesson, prior to my going into the field, the instructor passed around a small glass jar with some liquid with a few crystals in the bottom of it. He asked us what we thought it was. He then proceeded to tell us that it was gasoline with a few grains of sugar that he had put together the first year he began teaching. This was his 11th year and not any had dissolved yet. We had a rather informative class about the chemical reasons why and motivations to try this.

The company I worked for successfully prosecuted numerous shops and clients for insurance fraud after they swore to damages caused by sugar.

 

I have not confirmed this but the salesperson who sold me the Fit told me that there is a filtering screen past the filler opening that would also make it difficult to insert a hose through to siphon gas with.

 

I keep my key in the glove box with a keychain that can hang from the open gas cap when I am fueling. The extra key is in the car too (hiding away under the magic seat)!

 

Even if the filter screen doesn't exist, the length of the fuel tube between filler and gas tank is enough to persuade me not to worry about siphoning. Plus, 99% of the time, my fit is parked in an enclosed garage or parking deck, so siphoning is pretty low on my list of risks.

 

Nowadays people don't siphon fuel. They puncture the gas tank and take as much as they can.

 

Lots of newer, and more sophisticated cars (sorry Honda) have anti-siphoning valves build into the neck so that one can only add fuel via a nozzle, not stick a tube down into the tank. Great idea, but makes removing fuel when servicing the tank a bitch.

 

I have been driving for 22 years now and I have never heard of such a thing. Who would even think to do something like this? I don't think people walk around with bags of sugar hoping to find a loose gas cap to pour it into the tank. I wouldn't worry about it, or anyone stealing your gas either. This is 2009, not 1973.

 

While putting sugar in to pure gasoline it may not dissolve, fuel is such a mixture compounds to decrease pollution you have alcohols and ethers that will start to dissolve sugar. The question is will there be enough dissolved sugar to sieze an engine. Water in a tank will cause more troubles.

 

A quick google search yeilded the following (among other):

12/14/2009: SUGAR IN GAS TANK LINK
Oak Harbor Police Department: Hit-and-run, sugar in tank, fighting parents - Whidbey News Times

12/7/2009 among the crimes ...was SIPHONING GAS:
Court roundup: Suspected car burglar pleads no contest to reduced charges | TheUnion.com

 

I'm 63 years old, and have direct experience of having my gas tank siphoned, but none, and no direct knowledge of anybody having sugar put in. In my experience and environment (garage) a locking gas cap isn't worth the bother. If I parked on the street, or outdoors in a rural environment, or felt I had enemies, I would feel differently. Each person has to make his/her own decision based on circumstances.

 

The concern regarding siphoning is not the economic loss associated with several gallons of gasoline; it is the potential for damage. The average vandal/siphoner is smart enough to know that a small, obviously economical automobile is likely to have a small gas tank. That factor alone should make the Fit an unattractive target for siphoning. The bad guys will go for a large SUV with its 20+ gallon gas tank.

I always hoped that some idiot would siphon my 1978 Diesel Rabbit, and end up with a ruined engine, but it never happened.