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Bad Prius Experience yesterday while fueling

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by CheapChic, Apr 6, 2007.

  1. CheapChic

    CheapChic New Member

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    Yesterday it was cold. I was low on gas, so I decided to fuel.

    I put the nozzle in, and proceeded. when it stopped, I removed the nozzle to find a

    LARGE AMOUNT OF GAS SHOT OUT OF THE FUEL ENTRY...IT WAS LIKE THE CAR THREW-UP...

    WHAT IS GOING ON....

    WEIRD..
     
  2. Bill Lumbergh

    Bill Lumbergh USAF Aircraft Maintainer

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    Do a search here....you're not the only one it's happened to (including me). The bladder doesn't like to be overfilled. How much fuel did it take before spewing?
     
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    It's usually a problem with the auto-shutoff feature on the pump nozzle. Try a different pump or station next time.

    Tom
     
  4. adam1991

    adam1991 New Member

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    The common solution is this: use only quality "top tier" gas like what Toyota recommends (I use Shell, but other brands also participate in the "top tier" program), and buy only from well maintained stores. You'll get good gas (that actually increases your mileage over the random gas the grocery stores pump) plus a much better chance that the pump handle is working correctly and shuts off correctly.

    The Prius bladder thing can mask a bad pump handle until you pull the handle out, at which point the Prius bladder squeezes back to the size it wants and spews the gas it can't hold back out of the filler tube (and probably right onto YOU).

    The Prius bladder thing is a good intention gone bad, that Toyota should have done away with by now.
     
  5. CheapChic

    CheapChic New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 6 2007, 09:48 AM) [snapback]418738[/snapback]</div>
    yup, got gas all over me...

    new station i was at with new pumps.
     
  6. PriusBoyAZ

    PriusBoyAZ New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 6 2007, 06:48 AM) [snapback]418738[/snapback]</div>
    Actually, where you buy gas makes no difference unless you need specific additives in your gas (like Chevron's "Techroline"). My understanding is that all refineries dump their gasoline into a common pipeline, so gasoline from different manufacturers and refineries gets mixed together prior to delivery. At least that's what I learned on Discovery Channel! :)
     
  7. sfprii

    sfprii SF Prius

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusBoyAZ @ Apr 6 2007, 12:12 PM) [snapback]418855[/snapback]</div>
    Anyone know what the difference between ARCO gas and other gas brands? All I seem to know is that it is a lower grade of gas and I won't use it in any of our cars.
     
  8. adam1991

    adam1991 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusBoyAZ @ Apr 6 2007, 01:12 PM) [snapback]418855[/snapback]</div>
    If so, then I'm going to find the biggest, baddest law firm I can find and sue Shell out of existence:

    http://tinyurl.com/yvdmvz

    http://tinyurl.com/2zoq68


    My 07 has seen nothing but Shell so far.

    I also have a 94 Lexus, that I've driven 50K miles over the past 3 years. I got it at 124K miles, and it now has 175K miles. I used to put the cheapest gas into it, but I tried the Shell V-Power for a couple of tanks to see what happened.

    What happened was that my fuel economy jumped significantly, to where it was cheaper per mile to use the more expensive (per gallon) Shell gas than the cheaper (per gallon) gas.

    After a few tanks I went back to the Shell 87 octane, without the V-Power cleaners (I figured those few V-Power tanks had cleaned things out enough), and my mileage stayed up there.
     
  9. Highly ImPriused

    Highly ImPriused Impressive Member

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    This is the first I've heard of "Top Tier Gas". Maybe it deserves it's own thread? According to toptiergas.com, the only approved retailers are the following:

    QuikTrip
    Chevron
    Conoco
    Phillips
    76
    Shell
    Entec Stations
    MFA Oil Company
    Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
    The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
    Chevron-Canada
    Aloha Petroleum
    Tri-Par Oil Company
    Shell-Canada
    Texaco
    Petro-Canada
    Sunoco-Canada

    What if I don't have any of these brands in my area? We have Exon-Mobil, Hess, BP, and Citgo off the top of my head. There are some Kwik Fills around (same as Kwik Trip/Kwik Star?), but they are few and far between. What to do? I've used BJ's brand in the past, but I'm starting to get a little worried about using it in my new Prius (I've yet to fill up for the first time, but its coming soon).
     
  10. phidauex

    phidauex Junior Member

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    From the distribution center and back, gasoline is all mixed together, flowing in the same pipelines. A refinery puts in x gallons, and takes x gallons out the other side. Its not the same gasoline, but the same amount. Then it goes by truck or tanker to distribution centers that local fuel trucks come to pick up fuel and distribute it. They are all getting the SAME gasoline at that point. When the truck fills up, it adds its own additive package at that point. This is also where the 'mid grade' fuels are blended. The distro center may only have 87 and 93, but they are mixed at the pump truck (or even later, at the station) to make 90.

    The additive package is the only thing different with the fuels. Of course, additives can potentially make a difference, and there are other factors, like if water or diesel or rust can is in the pump tanks at poorly maintained stations or something, but the fuel isn't fundamentally different from gas station to gas station.

    It's 10% "real" differences, and 90% marketing fluff.
     
  11. adam1991

    adam1991 New Member

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    If the additive package makes you pay less per mile for fuel, it's a very real difference indeed.

    Same with engine oils. It's the additive package.
     
  12. Prudence

    Prudence New Member

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    I had the same thing happen to me last night on my second fill up. It was much colder out than the first time, so I don't know if that was a factor. If I put the nozzle all the way in, it shuts off immediately, so I had to pull it back some. I think I pulled it out far enough that it couldn't sense the vapor to shutoff. So somewhere between these two is the sweet spot I need to find. I did it on the first fill up, but not this time. I have to admit I have had this happen on two other cars when I first got them. It only takes one time of feeling really stupid and washing the gas off the car and then I don't do it again. I hope that's the case this time. :rolleyes:
     
  13. barbaram

    barbaram Active Member

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    CITGO is NO-GO! don't buy it!

    someone at work told me that sunoco profits all stay here in the US.......

    we don't pump our own here in jersey but maybe the pump speed was toooooooo fast! remember, when it's cold the bladder will be more stiff.....
     
  14. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Next time you fuel up, look closely at the nozzle. See that little
    hole in the bottom of the pipe? See the little hose that starts
    there and runs back inside the main delivery hose? That's the
    shutoff sensor, and if you pull back on the nozzle or otherwise
    block that little hole, it has no idea that the tank is full.
    .
    That's probably the main cause of "burping" and overfills...
    .
    _H*
     
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    It's also important to fully insert the nozzle (several inches) into the fill pipe. And don't top off.
     
  16. sguilliot

    sguilliot New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 6 2007, 02:52 PM) [snapback]419050[/snapback]</div>
    I agree. The additives may seem like a small difference, but over 100k+ miles, they could save $1000's of dollars in repairs. Also, consider that as a percentage of cost, "cheap" gas isn't that much cheaper than top tier. A few cents per gallon? A buck per tank?

    In my opinion, the best additives justify paying an extra buck or so per tank of gas.

    Another thing mentioned above: top tier gas stations are more likely to enforce controls over water content, and are more likely to have pump equipment in good repair.
     
  17. adam1991

    adam1991 New Member

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    And my results showed that the fuel cost per mile--which is the only real factor--is less with Shell gas than with the other fuels around here.

    So it's a few cents a gallon, or a buck or so a tank--but I got that back and then some while I drove.

    Most people are so fixated on the amount of money they pay for a given fillup, they don't stop to analyze the actual cost per mile of that fuel. They're looking for a smaller dollar amount on their charge statement, without adding it all up and doing the math.
     
  18. Wetnabber

    Wetnabber New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusBoyAZ @ Apr 6 2007, 12:12 PM) [snapback]418855[/snapback]</div>
    I used to drive a gasoline transport for a company that hauled gasoline for all the refineries over oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. I can tell you for sure that depending on the area the Distributor was located in determined where you gasoline was coming from. If there was a Conoco refinery near, you would be burning Conoco. If there was another brand of refinery, you would be burning that brand of gasoline. I have even hauled gasoline out of independent refineries to brand name Distributors. The refinieries swap out their products among themselves.
     
  19. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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  20. daveleeprius

    daveleeprius Heh heh heh you think so?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sfprii @ Apr 6 2007, 01:08 PM) [snapback]418913[/snapback]</div>
    Arco, or Atlantic Richfield, isn't a lower grade of gas at all. They have slightly lower prices because they do their own refining. I've never had trouble with Arco gas, I bought it for years back in the 90s. I believe that BP bought Arco, and I did have issues with BP gas, but we don't have any more BP stations in the Seattle area.

    I avoid Safeway gas, Costco gas, and any other off-brand. I buy Shell at my local gas station most of the time, unless I'm on a road trip, where I'll stick with Chevron or Shell or Texaco.

    Dave