my car spit the gas!, first time it happens

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Gilbert, Jul 2, 2008.

  1. Gilbert

    Gilbert Member

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    yesterday i was running on a single blinking bub trying to reach the gast station that was the cheapest, which was the Gulf one. after driving for about 20 mins on a blinking bub i didnt wanna risk not getting in time to refuel, so i stop at one gas station and purchase 5 bucks in gas, which was at $4.49. then i proceeded to go to the gulf station for a full refill (car still stayed with 1 blinking bub after adding 5 bucks to it) after getting to the gas station, i started to fill up, and about 50 bucks (at $4.39) the nozzle clicks. at that time like i always do, i removed the nozzle from the tank, and put it back on its place. then i notice that gas starts over flowing, and bubbling out of the tank! :eek: i would say that about 30 fluid oz spilled out of the tank.

    after it stopped overflowing out, it stayed with gas above the hole, and i put the cap on so it didnt overflow when the car started moving. i trew some water at the paint to clean some of the gas residue, and then went to eat at the restaurant about 3 miles away. i checked the tank when i got there, and i couldnt see the fuel anymore. this is the first time that this has happend, the max ive put on this car has been 53 bucks at like $4.69 and never saw fuel coming out. why did this happen?? will it damage something because of it?
     
    #1 Gilbert, Jul 2, 2008
  2. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Probably a worn-out gas pump nozzle, or that particular nozzle was inserted farther into the fill pipe than it wanted to be, or you set the flow rate too high. One overflow incident is nothing to worry about. Several of them can possibly damage parts of the fuel tank.
     
    #2 richard schumacher, Jul 2, 2008
  3. 9G-man

    9G-man Senior Member

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    The number of gallons pumped would be much more relevant that the dollars spent.

    If you ran a quick calculation of miles driven since last fillup, divided by average mpg since then, you would know the anticipated number of gallons the tank would hold.
    What flow setting did you have the pump on? Go for the slowest, or do it manually. I doubt you did any damage. Most owners have had this happen at least once.
     
    #3 9G-man, Jul 2, 2008
  4. GatorJZ

    GatorJZ Member

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    As an aside, do you realize you are making yourself crazy and running the risk of running out of gas to save $0.10 per gallon or a total of $1.20 if empty? And to save that possible $1.20, or actually less since you bought gas at two stations, you had to stop and go through the entire fueling and purchasing procedure twice?
     
    #4 GatorJZ, Jul 2, 2008
  5. PriuStorm

    PriuStorm Senior Member

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    Wow, I have never been able to add more than ~10.5 gallons at a fill-up, no matter how long the last bub has been blinking (I've never run out).

    Previous Fill-up
    $53 @ $4.69/gal = 11.300 gallons

    Current Fill-up (over 2 times)
    $5 @ $4.49/gal = 1.114 gallons plus

    $50 @ $4.39/gal = 11.390 -------> Total: 12.504 (assuming very few miles driven between the two fills)

    That's way a lot!! :eek:
     
    #5 PriuStorm, Jul 2, 2008
  6. Gilbert

    Gilbert Member

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    The max gallons i have put on the car has been almost 12 before it clicks., and that was 53 bucks.
     
    #6 Gilbert, Jul 2, 2008
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