Overfilling Gas Tank

[RoundUp]

Since the search feature isn't working right now, I am wondering if anyone remembers a post about problems with over filling your gas tank? I read it not too long ago, but when I skimmed through everything under "Problems and Warranty Issues" I wasn't able to find it. A couple of days ago, I went to get gas soon after the low fuel light came on. The nozzle at the gas station was a bit faulty. It clicked really early. Then when I eased up on the trigger it was okay, except it didn't click again! I managed to put in 46.3 Litres before I looked up and realized I shouldn't have that much gas in my tank. (Plus, there already was a couple of litres in the tank before I started filling it.) Even though, I didn't get any spillage, my AWD tank should only hold 45 Litres. If anyone remembers what the issue was with overfilling, I would be grateful if you can post the link. Thanks

[joatmon]

I remember being told that I was (less than intelligent) for topping off my tank, something about liquid gasoline getting in to the evaporation canister and causing some problem. Still top off, and haven't had any problems. Yet.You'll probably get a lot of kms out of this tank.

[RoundUp]

Yep, that is what I am worried about. I remember reading somewhere (maybe not here) that the charcoal canister can get ruined by over filling. (The charcoal canister normally helps absorb gas fumes while you are filling your tank and is important in venting your gas tank as fuel is used up.) If you overfill your tank, the canister can get "clogged".Anyone have any problems with this yet? I don't smell any gas in the car, so I guess it's still okay for now.

[Lee]

My check engine light came on a while back and when I took it in to dealer was told I had overfilled my tank-"when the tank clicks off-don't put in any more gas" was what the service manager told me. He said the Vibe has a very touchy sensor. The gage read over full when I took it in (I had rounded up to the next dollar-about $0.45 more gas. They had to reset the module, but it came back on (which is common) After about 3 days it did reset itself.

[joatmon]

I too have overfilled to the point of shaving it spill out, but only once, the auto shutoff on that pump didn't work. Never had a CEL. Today the pump shut off at about 8.5 gallons. Had driven 400 miles since last fillup. I KNOW that I wasn't getting (400/8.5) 47 mpg (US), and put in about another 2 gallons, no problem.I wish I could get 47 mpg, but not enough to replace my 1ZZ engine with a Briggs&Stratton

[Flip-Side]

quote:Never had that happen to me. Numerous times I have overfilled the tank where I had gas spilling out onto the body and no problems. Me neither. Always have topped-off the tank, never had a problem. I hate change and rounding the tank off to the nearest buck suits me fine as long as it all fits in there.

[pmh013]

I always try to fit in as much fuel as possible. I know that the owners manual says not to, because of fuel vapor -- it needs that space in the "neck" above the tank to safely expand, etc. I have put over 45 L in my AWD but never had a CEL.

[Lee]

Funny thing-I have been filling my cars for MANY years-don't recall doing anything different the time this occurred, and I always round up! The Service mgr did not say anything about cap not being tightened, just not to overfill! My car is over a year old, and this only happened the once, but this was after about a year. A little strange-but no reoccurrences

[RobertTank]

Ok - I am a new member -- and a Matrix owner so pardon the intrusion. However I have the exact experience. I have a AWD(FWD) Matrix. Should have 11.8 gals tank. The first time I filled the car the pump clicked off at 10.8. This caught my attention as the light had just come on. I thought I would try to put some more just to see. The pump did not click off again. I finally stopped at 13.005 gals. Ok so this is 1.2 gals more than the tank capacity (even if the tank had been bone dry.) I have not forced this any more but this is certainly strange. I have been driving for 50 years and never have been able to fill a tank even close to stated size. I would really like some real explanation for this behavior. Maybe the AWD tank is actually larger than stated?Robert Tankersley

[joatmon]

That is weird, 13 gallons in a 11.8 gallon tank. The most I have ever gotten into my base 13 gallon tank is 12.3 gallons. Assuming that if the low fuel light had just come on there should still be a gallon or two in the tank, so I can't imagine where the extra 2-3 gallons went. Some probably filled up the tank filler neck, but I don't know if that could hold a couple of gallons. Have to assume that the pump wasn't wildly inaccurate, and you'd have noticed if any spilled out. That is certainly strange. Did the pump have one of those vapor recovery sleeves? How long have you had the Trix, and how did the amount of gas you put in relate to your gas mileage and previous fuel usage?Quote »Ok - I am a new member -- and a Matrix owner so pardon the intrusionNo intrusion, you and any other Matrix owners are always welcome here, make yourself at home.

[philndz]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »That is weird, 13 gallons in a 11.8 gallon tank. not wierd really....you probably put about 9 or 10 gallons in but the service station was either out of spec or they are purposely scamming you. Their gallons are smaller! hehe!Pay no attention to me, im synical.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by philndz »not wierd really....you probably put about 9 or 10 gallons in but the service station was either out of spec or they are purposely scamming you. Their gallons are smaller! hehe!Pay no attention to me, im synical.I don't konw how much of an effect it would have, but you might notice that fuel pumps have some kind of disclaimer something to the effect that it's volume corrected at a specific temperature.So I'm assuming that gasoline to some degree expands/contracts at different temperatures so is it theoretically possible that on colder days one might have receive a different volume as opposed to a hot day?

[Big_Red]

Hell, I overfill my tank all the time....as long as there is no spillage, go for it.

[Mavrik]

First time I filled my Vibe up at a self serve pump... I over filled it and had a little spill... See I was used to my Sunfire GT were once the nozzle clicked "full" I could sometimes squeeze another $5-10 worth if I bounced the car. Let me tell you when doing that on a long trip, that full fuel gauge didn't move for close to 250-300KM before it started going down. I know my guage was very accurate to.Anyway so the I tried that with the Vibe and realised full ment FULL hehe. Oh well nothing bad happened so its all good. Now when it clicks full, I top it off just a little with no spills.

[MadBill]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »...I can't imagine where the extra 2-3 gallons went. Some probably filled up the tank filler neck, but I don't know if that could hold a couple of gallons.... The way the vapour recovery system works, there is a large dome in the tank, several gallons worth, that is isolated by design so that it traps a big air/vapour bubble. When the tank is "full", this acts as an expansion chamber for fuel as it warms in the sun and as a storage volume for vapours, so that the pressure doesn't build so high that it vents to the atmosphere.If you fill slowly, or shake the car when it's full, you can displace a lot of this vapour and replace it with fuel. Voila: 13 gal. in an 11 gal. tank! Taken to extremes, this could result in liquid fuel reaching the charcoal vapour storage canister, but before too long the air flow through the system and into the engine would purge it all out. There is no way a company would design a system that couldn't handle an occasional burp of liquid.

[RobertTank]

Quote, originally posted by MadBill »The way the vapour recovery system works, there is a large dome in the tank, several gallons worth, that is isolated by design so that it traps a big air/vapour bubble. When the tank is "full", this acts as an expansion chamber for fuel as it warms in the sun and as a storage volume for vapours, so that the pressure doesn't build so high that it vents to the atmosphere.If you fill slowly, or shake the car when it's full, you can displace a lot of this vapour and replace it with fuel. Voila: 13 gal. in an 11 gal. tank! Taken to extremes, this could result in liquid fuel reaching the charcoal vapour storage canister, but before too long the air flow through the system and into the engine would purge it all out. There is no way a company would design a system that couldn't handle an occasional burp of liquid.Thanks for this info. This begins to make sense. Thanks again for taking the time to explain this phenomenon.