I know it's been covered, but: When I first got the Prius, I discovered here on Prius Chat that topping off the gas tank is a no-no. The problem I run into, is here in New Jersey, you can't self serve gas. EVERY time I stop for gas, I ask them to please not top it off. Usually, they comply, but about 1 out of every 5 fill-ups they top it off anyway. (Either they forget what I told them, or habit makes them do it, or they don't speak English very well and therefore didn't understand my instructions.) So the question is, just how bad is it if my car gets topped off about 1 in every 5 tanks? (And why is it bad again?) (And any similar experiences/suggestions from other Jersey drivers, or other states (if there are any) with no self-service?) Thanks everyone...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mynew06 @ Aug 22 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]500273[/snapback]</div> Here's a couple threads courtesy of Galaxee (whose hubby is a Toyota tech). They should sum things up nicely. http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=30786 http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=31545 I understand the frustration with not being able to pump your own gas. The most I've ever had an attendant add in is to round the price up to the next dollar. Now what I usually do is tell the attendant to just fill to the next $0.25 after the pump shuts off. I don't know if either of these is enough of an "overfill" to cause problems. I wouldn't think so, but what do I know?
If you get driveway service get out of the car, go stand next to them and when it clicks signal "no more" and say "no more", that should do it. They shouldn't over fill any tank, it violates the emission controls.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mynew06 @ Aug 22 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]500273[/snapback]</div> Being in NJ, I've run into the exact same issue. I usually try to be right there to tell/stop them from topping off, though it doesn't always work out... like if I'm checking under the hood when it first clicks off. One thing I did was to make a label with a P-touch that says "Do Not Top Off", and stuck it right under the filler cap (you can't see it when the gas door is shut.) Of course, maybe not 100% of the attendants will read or pay attention to it, but it does seem to have helped. To be honest, I don't understand the attendant's need to round up to an even amount when I'm paying by credit car (which they know, since you need to give it to them in advance.) Maybe it's a line of work that attracts those with OCD?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GeoDosch @ Aug 22 2007, 11:57 AM) [snapback]500299[/snapback]</div> Yes, I've wondered about the same thing. It made sense in the past when most transactions were by cash, and they tried not to have to deal with coins. But I'm sure most of the transactions are credit card these days (all my fillups are, at least), and it no longer makes any sense to round to an whole number. Since here in NJ the attendant has to fill up the tank, it's too bad that I'll have to get out of the car anyway to make sure it's done right! (You figure if you can't do self serve, you might as well take advantage and stay inside.) I do like your idea, however, of putting a "Do Not Top Off" label on by the gas cap, but I fear it may be just as easily ignored. I just hope if there's a future top-off that I don't catch it doesn't do any harm...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GeoDosch @ Aug 22 2007, 08:57 AM) [snapback]500299[/snapback]</div> A gas station is in business to sell gas. If they can pump in an extra fifty cents or dollar worth of gas into every car that visits the station, that will make a huge difference on the yearly profits for owner of the station. Oregon is also a no-self-serve state. Last time I was in Oregon, the attendant told me the owner had instructed them to alway add a little more, and 'rounding the price to the nearest quarter for ease of making change' was the "excuse" to use if asked, but not to take a bunch of time trying to top it off if there were other customers waiting in line. I wonder if no-self-service states have a rule against topping off because of the increased chance of spills or damaging the car. I have always wonder what it is about the people of Oregon and New Jersey. Do their government leaders not have faith in the abilities of their constituents?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 22 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]500306[/snapback]</div> Ditto here. I just don't see how they put up with it. The cost of fuel WILL be higher because of the extra unnecessary attendants used to pump the fuel. To be competitive with nearby states NJ and OR have to lower their fuel taxes which means less money for road improvements and etc.. I wonder why these states allow people to freely roam the aisles of supermarkets and other such venues. Why someone may slip and get hurt in the store. Better to give an attendant a list of items you wish to purchase and have them do the picking for you... An American contractor visiting China marveled at the masses of Chinese laborers digging and clearing land with only hand shovels at a project for a large new shopping center. The American remarked to the Chinese foreman he could, with the proper machinery, complete the project in mere fraction of the time at much less cost. But the Chinese foreman stated that his method ensured everyone had good honest work. The American quickly replied if that was his goal then why did you give them shovels? Teaspoons instead of shovels would be infinitely more effective in helping you attain your goal of full and long term employment for everyone. Rick #4 2006
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 22 2007, 12:41 PM) [snapback]500335[/snapback]</div> Hey I'm all for us being allowed to pump our own gas, but although the logic of your statement works, I don't think it is actually true...We have lower gas prices here in NJ than in most of the rest of the country, I think. Usually when I look around, Jersey's actually THE lowest.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mynew06 @ Aug 22 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]500362[/snapback]</div> So your fuel taxes are most likely lower than surrounding states. And you are implying that somehow NJ is able to get lower wholesale gasoline prices than most of the country? I doubt it. But even if somehow NJ did get lower fuel costs than most other states, imagine how much lower the price of gas at the pump would be if the people of NJ did not have to subsidize the silly rule of mandating attendants to pump your fuel. No matter which way you cut it, fuel attendants WILL add to the cost of your gas. Rick #4 2006
I was struck by this in Oregon but never really took time to figure out why it's like that int the first place. Next, I'll go to the copy store to make a copy...but I can't press the button myself... In the old days, topping off the tank tended to cause fuel to flow into the vapor recovery nozzle, and not end up in your tank...also had to do with trying to prevent the release of excess hydrocarbons when the gasoline spills on the ground, or on the side of your new car.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 22 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]500306[/snapback]</div> Well, we in NJ can't blame this one on our government. Last year Governor Corzine suggested testing self-service and our residents had a collective s**t-fit. From http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.act...ntentId=110510: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 22 2007, 01:11 PM) [snapback]500376[/snapback]</div> I think it might end up being a wash if we went to self-service. We have a lot of generic stations that only have a couple pumps, and only one attendant at any given time. These stations would still need to have an attendant on duty, so there'd be no change there.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 22 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]500306[/snapback]</div> A gas station is in business to sell gas. If they can pump in an extra fifty cents or dollar worth of gas into every car that visits the station, that will make a huge difference on the yearly profits for owner of the station. [/b][/quote] It's not a question of trying to squeeze in a bit more gas (I hope you didn't think I was quite that clueless). It's the fact that it needs to be an amount ending in ".00", or at least a factor of ".25". I've seen attendants get it up past .75, and they keep squeezing until it's at ".00", ignoring the fuel spurting out the filler. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 22 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]500306[/snapback]</div> Some (all?) of the vapor recovery nozzles I've seen have "Do not top off" emblazoned on them. My thinking is that if the boot around the end of the nozzle is drawing in the vapors, attempting to over-fill would cause it to start sucking in the excess liquid, which may be bad for the equipment. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 22 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]500306[/snapback]</div> Every now and then the state has looked at allowing self-service, and it always comes back that they won't do it until they can believe it will lower gas prices, which other states haven't demonstrated. It would certainly cost less to run a self-serve station, but maybe the dealers aren't passing that savings along to the consumer.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 22 2007, 01:11 PM) [snapback]500376[/snapback]</div> I don't know if it's because we get lower wholesale prices than most of the country, and I'm not implying anything. It's possible you're right; maybe it is becuase fuel taxes are lower here--we do have the third-lowest in the nation. Are you implying they are lenient on gas tax just because they want us to use an attendant? And maybe we ARE able to get lower wholesale gas prices than the rest of the country. Because I have sometimes wondered if the lower gas costs are due to the fact that we have so many refineries in the state, e.g., along the NJ Turnpike, and therefore there's less transportation cost to get it to our pumps? (I could be way off base with that.)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mynew06 @ Aug 22 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]500273[/snapback]</div> Use your New York voice and repeat after me "I saaaaaaaiiiiid DON'T top it OFFFFFF!!!!" B)
all the pumps in Ohio say don't top off on both pump and the nozzle. To my understanding it has to do with the vapors that will evaporate if any spills and also off of the nozzle when it gets wet. Each year over the summer months we will have a couple days where they issue an EPA warning (during a heat wave) and ask that nobody buys gas in the morning unless you absolutely have to because of a ozone alert.
Air quality suffers every time you top off. Doesn't do the fuel (carbon filtration) system any good either. I drive to the bottom of the tank (last pip blinking) then fill up with exactly 10.0 gallons. This way I never overfill. I keep detailed track of every refill, so calculating mpg mentally and on the spread sheet is very straight forward. A frequently asked question on Click & Clack's "Car Talk" (NPR) is about overfilling. Overfilling it not worth it.
