Gas Spurting Out on Fill-Up

This problem is easily solved by carefully cutting and removing the plastic seal just inside the fill pipe, as I did on my '04 Prius. My '07 has not caused any problems as yet. Of course you'll contribute a few more hydrocarbons into the atmosphere during refueling, but that is a smaller problem than having gas gush all over everything and possibly igniting, IMHO. That could ruin your whole day!

Without that seal the gas pump can't over-expand the bladder by its pumping pressure. With the seal in place, the over-expanded bladder relaxes when you remove the pump nozzle and pushes gas out the fill pipe.

 

Second, no damage.

First, it sounds like the pump had the problem. Use a different pump & stand by the tank. If you hear gurgling from the fender shut off the pump.

 

Note: I've filled up my 2008 Prius 8 times so far, by setting the pump to auto-fill on the fastest setting, and I've never had this problem. It's more common for the pump to click off prematurely.

Just don't want to be part of the silent majority who don't have this issue.

 

A small pet peeve I have, watching helplessly as smelly fuel regurgitates from the fill tube all over my clean car, new or not.

Since I haven't added any gas to my 11 day old Prius, I'm wondering if I should arm myself to the teeth with clean rags in every pocket, arm full of spray bottles, paint cleaner, AND ...a small whistle and safety helmet.

With my ear bent over so close to the fill hole, I'm sure I'm gonna look like another one of those Prius nutcases.

Maybe I should just ride the "special" bus.

ZC1

 

My dad has >18k miles and has not had this problem and he has never run out of gas either.

 

I filled up our 2008 today for the first time, I was suspicious of the seal in the filler neck not allowing the bladder to "breathe", but, I set the trip on the lever at its lower setting(only 2 were avail.), well that must have been a bit much for the little Prius to swallow, because as soon as the nozzle tripped and I withdrew it, our little car "BARFF'D" about 2 cups of fuel. Fuel tank was down to 2 steady bars when I pulled into station. I guess next time I'll have to throttle the nozzle myself, so that I get a reduced flow, maybe even stop and pull it out midway to allow bladder to stabilize for a second, then continue a final fill. Some nozzles have a 3-position trip ladder, I think they offer a better, slower fill that the bladder vent system can deal with.

P.S. Yes, I appreciate what that seal is there for, and I'm not gonna remove it, but I don't think you can just dump fuel in this thing, it needs a gentle touch in this regard.

 

I've never had a problem with regurgitating gas and I merely stick the nozzle in the tank and pump away.

 

I've heard about this problem with a number of different Prius owners, but have owned my Prius since January with no problem.

Now that I've said that, I'm probably screwed.

 

As the time to get my first fuel up nears, I have a question.

I noticed that people who complain of barfing fuel seem to have the pump handle on auto slow fill and the people not complaining have it set on auto fast fill.
Does anyone on auto fast fill have the same problems?
AND
Do the people experiencing the fuel barfing problem wait 5-10 seconds before removing the gas handle once it shuts off?

Curious.

ZC1

 

I filled my Prius yesterday for the first time. The gas gauge was down to 2 bars. When I placed the nozzle in the car I noticed the rubber or plastic seal on the fill pipe and it made a tight seal around the nozzle. I tried to set the pump handle to slow fill but it kept clicking off. I tried to manually hold the pump handle to the slowest setting and it still clicked off. I called the attendant and he played with the nozzle and did get it to work when the nozzle was only inserted an inch or 2 into the fill pipe. I didn't have any fuel spurting out of the fill pipe and onto the car.

Is filling up the Prius going to be a chore every time it needs gas? Does anyone know if Toyota has a fix or TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) on this?

 

The car must be off when you fill it.
Otherwise I have no idea.

 

Patsparks - the car was off. I never fill a car with it running.

 

No, it is not usually a chore. Once I had a problem with the pump clicking off after only a little bit of gas went into the tank. This was at a station that I had never been to before. I went to a different station and had no problem filling up there.

So it does happen occasionally but not all the time. I think I have read elsewhere on priuschat that this problem can be caused by the pump nozzle being worn and needing to be replaced.

 

My wife had that exact issue (pump clicking off repeatedly and way too early) yesterday with her 2002 Toyota Echo at a random highway gas station that she's never been to before. She never has the problem at our normal gas station.

 

Thanks for the comments. I'll try another gas station the next time the Prius needs gas.

It just seems to me that the fueling nozzle fits very tight in the fuel pipe. I think this is caused by the rubber gasket or o-ring in the fuel pipe. I don't know why the fit needs to be so tight since there must be a way for the air to escape as the fuel goes in.

 

No its not the gas station because I have used the same pump same staion for 8 months and never had a problem. Never had a problem with the constant click off till one day at 6000 miles for the first time it started that constant click off at slow fill which is the speed I have always used. That was when the gas gushed out too. I was well aware of the problem too as a long time lurker here. Now 2 refills later I let the tank vent a few minutes before beginning to fill. I open the gas fill and then go into the store for a while. Then when I come back out I begin slow pumping and it has not done it since. The venting seems to help. But the warning is when it starts doing the constant click off watch out!! Here comes the gas!!!

 

It fits tight to trap all gas fumes upon fill up to meet its ZERO emissions status. It has many valves to facilitate air escape while you fill up but it will not allow gas fumes to escape. Thats why gas stations in California have the big bellows on the gas pumps too.See my post right above this one.

 

The "barfed" gas only happened to me once, and it occured when I barely squeezed the handle. What I do now is fill at top speed, wait a few seconds after it clicks off, and then full speed 'til the second click-off, and then a third for good measure! This method has worked well, as the tank is full enough for me.

 

Maybe I'm reading this the wrong way, so forgive me if I am.

That said, certainly the fuel tank won't overflow if the gas level is low. If the pump is "constantly clicking off", and the fuel tank subsequently overflows, this is because the tank was full and you were overfilling it.