Woman Goes To Casey's To Gas Up Her Mazda. But She Doesn't Know How To—And Google Is No Help

"Now we gotta shut the hood."

Photo by: belleboo & Lost_in_the_Midwest

By: Stacy Fernandez

Aug 7, at 6:00pm ET

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Getting a new car is exciting, but there’s definitely a learning curve. You need to figure out how to use the infotainment system, adjust the seat settings, and find helpful buttons (like the windshield wiper).

A woman who recently bought a Mazda ran into a common issue for new car owners or anyone driving an unfamiliar vehicle. When she got to the gas station, she wasn’t quite sure how to pop open the gas tank door.

It turned out that figuring it out wasn’t so simple.

Confusing Gas Tank

In a trending video, content creator Isabelle (@belleboo) pulled up to a Casey's gas station after the gym to fill up her new car for the first time. She specified that it's a 2026 Mazda CX-5 with the preferred trim level.

“POV: Trying to get gas for the first time in my new car. But you’re broke and dumb,” the text overlay on the video read.

Finding the fuel door release wasn't as easy as she expected.

"I don't know how to open my gas tank, so I just spent a few minutes Googling. I think it's this, but no, I think that was my hood,” she said as she indeed popped the hood by mistake.

She kept Googling and looking around in the car but stayed confused until she eventually figured it out with some internet sleuthing.

"Oh, it pops open. Nobody saw that. I shouldn't even post this video, how embarrassing,” she said.

As Isabelle learned, all you have to do is push in the door gently and it’ll pop right out.

Gallery: 2026 Mazda CX-5 First Drive Review

Source: Anthony Alaniz / Motor1

How to Find Your Gas Tank Release

Most cars have one of a few standard gas tank door release configurations. Per WikiHow, these include:

A lever near the bottom of the driver's seat, usually marked with a small gas pump icon. Pull it up to unlock the fuel door.
A button on the lower part of the driver's side door, common on newer cars. Press it to release the fuel door.
A push-to-open fuel door, on cars with no lever or button at all. Press inward on the door itself and it should pop open. To prevent theft, these typically do not work if the vehicle is locked.

If the fuel door is completely stuck, the manual release mechanism can usually be reached through the trunk behind an access panel near the fuel tank. On trucks or other vehicles without a trunk, that spot can be hard to reach without a mechanic.

“So Many Questions”

The comments were full of people offering advice.

“As long as your car is unlocked, you can press it open,” a top comment read.

“I was in the same situation today, mine took 11 gallons and I paid $65.45 in SoCal,” a person shared.

“No switch, just unlock the car. Please do not rip the door open. And then push the lid in and it will pop open,” another explained.

What do you think?

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“The owners manual will be your best friend for the next 6-12 months. I had so many questions about my CX-90 and that helped so much,” a third person wrote.

Motor1 reached out to Isabelle via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to Mazda via email. We'll be sure to update this if either responds.