Filled up the tank and was surprised it was taking more than the usual 9 gallons. Kept going and going to about 9.7 and I quit. When I took out the hose, gas started flowing out of my gas tank....flowing and flowing. I waited till it quit, then put on the gas cap. Seems like I recall reading on the forum of someone having problems after topping off their tank. What kind of monster might I have created now?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Oct 27 2006, 12:25 PM) [snapback]339366[/snapback]</div> I assume that when you say you "Kept going and going to about 9.7 and I quit", that you are saying that you kept clicking and topping off untill you got to 9.7 gallons. If that is so, then basically you made a water balloon. The gas tank has an expandable bladder in it and you over filled it. So, just like a balloon full of water, it squirted the excess back out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Oct 27 2006, 09:30 AM) [snapback]339374[/snapback]</div> WRONG! I make a point of NOT topping off. But the gas pump wasn't clicking off...... or I would have quit! It just kept filling, and I got nervous about it at around 9.7 gal. and quit filling.
As for causing problems, I have filled my "newer" vehicles until the filler neck is full of fuel for 20 years now. It has never harmed the "carbon canister" or anything else. There is a lot of myth propagated on the Internet!
if nothing else, i would have gone in to the store and complained about the auto-off feature not working. Made sure you got your name "on the books" so to speak, so if there are any problems you can try to nail the station for the costs...
AAh, but does your newer car have a rubber type bladder in it? From what I can tell from station to station there is a difference in the amount of fuel I can put into my tank. Makes me sad that my local shell station went belly up, I could drive to one pump that would lean the left rear up in the air a tad, and the pumps were slow enough, and had enough back pressure for me to get close to the 11.8 gln limit. Risky running 'er so low, but it really was a 'local' station. ss
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Oct 27 2006, 12:35 PM) [snapback]339381[/snapback]</div> It's a bad auto-shutoff on the pump. Don't use that pump again until they get it fixed. I've had this same problem many times before on autos without the Prius bladder. Tom
I had this happen to me yesterday. I immediately drove the car around for half an hour. Hopefully it burned off enough of the gas to bring it to a reasonable level. Pretty pissed. <_<
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Oct 27 2006, 12:25 PM) [snapback]339366[/snapback]</div> That happened to me once. Its a faulty nozzle on the pump and nothing really to do with the Prius per-se. If anything the Prius is known for being MORE sensitive to shutoff than other cars so I suspect people besides Priusites were having trouble at that pump. Like you, I noticed that I had put in more than expected, shut it off manually and pulled the nozzle out, and it started burping. However, I immediately slapped the gas cap on trapping as much gas as possible I have no idea how much fuel I really lost between what wound up on the ground and what was sucked back into the underground via the nozzle return, but it was a pretty crappy tank mileage wise. I still have 'problems' topping off the tank, if topping off means getting in 11.9 gallons. My average fillup before the fuel filler neck TSB was about 6 gallons. Now I can get in 7-1/2 to 8 gallons per fill.
My experience is similar to Tempus. I usually fill at one 'non-blinking' pip with 7½ to 8½ gallons. I do add fuel after the first 'click' after removing the nozzle to relieve pressure. Never had an overflow. I am not concerned with some 'pride' in pumping 'more gallons' in than other Prius drivers.
Welcome to the exciting world of Prius ownership! First tank, I pump slowly and carefully - no problem. Second tank, wife pumps regularly........no problem. Third tank, wife gets cocky, leaves pump unattended......overflow! Watch da pump!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Oct 27 2006, 03:00 PM) [snapback]339520[/snapback]</div> Ditto - my average fill up is in the same range. I try to estimate how much I need from my MFD and go from there. Never a problem.
It happened to me too, Dulcimer. I get this on my motorcycles too . . . some pumps seem to either be full capacity on or just plain off. With the bikes, you try to just ease the fuel in until the auto shutoff clicks, but sometimes it is flowing so fast that it splashes up and shuts the thing off after a half gallon or so. But I think with my Prius, it was an auto shutoff failure. Gas really did gush out, though!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Oct 27 2006, 11:59 AM) [snapback]339457[/snapback]</div> Most likely. That's relatively easy to confirm too. Just check for the nozzle date. It is likely older than any of the others at the same station, since they are routinely replaced due to wear and safety requirements. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Oct 27 2006, 10:36 AM) [snapback]339382[/snapback]</div> Consider yourself lucky then. My parents bought a rental Corolla and the canister had to be replaced at just a little over 30,000 miles. Routine overfill by the rental place is the only thing we think of that would cause failure so quickly. Also, kind in mind how nozzles vary by region. Different areas of the country have different equipment. So it makes a lot of sense that some work better than others.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Oct 27 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]339382[/snapback]</div> You may not have damaged it yet, but by saturating it with liquid gasoline you're certainly making it useless. Did you buy a hybrid to *increase* air pollution? If not, then you should not top off.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Oct 27 2006, 12:25 PM) [snapback]339366[/snapback]</div> Our So. Cal. South O.C. costco is notorious for shut-off pump bad adjustment. Being made aware of the bladder balooning phenomena, it's wise to keep in mind how many gallons one has left prior to beginning refuel. Regular tank equalls instant splash back when the auto shut off is on the fritz. Bladders wait 'till you pull the nozzle out before splashing back. Bladder splash back happend only once to me. Being a cheep sucker, I quickly slamed the gas cap back on. Probably saved a gallon :^)
I had that happen to me decades ago at Costco, and it was bacause I had the nozzle in sideways. The automatic shutoff works well when the handle is straight up and down. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
