GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

About a month ago I started having problems with pumping gas into my 2004 Vibe. I had a guy look at it and he said someone has been tampering with my filler tube. He said the vent holes supposed to be located at bottom and mine are turned counterclockwise. I had my husband look at it and he said that he could not see how it could have happened and he tried to grab a piece under the fender well but he said that did not budge. It takes me almost 10 minutes to pump a full tank of gas. Does anybody have any idea if this is something I can fix and how? Between my husband and I we normally do routine maintenance on our vehicles and only go to mechanic if we have no clue what is causing a problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It certainly does sound like a relief problem of some sort... which may involve the/a vent or return.If the filler was tampered with or moved over time, the only way to know that i can think of is to loosen it @ both ends and turn it till it "feels" right. Re-tighten everything and see for yourself if that solves the problem. What do you have to lose, except perhaps an hour of your time?Was the car in an accident @ some point that involved a trip to a body shop?It wouldn't be the first time a body shop put something back together incorrectly, or any shop for that matter.

Agree with the vent issue. You definitely SOMEHOW have a restricted vent which is, at best, allowing you to only "chug" your fuel down into the tank (I had this happen to me on a 1993 ford escort). The question is WHAT happened recently that caused this condition? It sounds like somebody tampered with the filler tube and if it is cocked at an angle other than the original, it could NOW have the vent hose kinked to where it no longer vents at all. If/when you get this resolved, let us know what was the culprit!

I am not sure about whether or not it has been tampered with . What I am sure about, is that if the owner fills the tank to the very top of the fuel tube, it can damage the cannister & other parts. An expensive fix !! Signs of damage are not being able to put but a little gas in at a time til nozzle shuts off. Takes forever to fill the tank !Have you been doing this ??

Quote, originally posted by Esteban »if the owner fills the tank to the very top of the fuel tube, it can damage the cannister & other parts.I had no clue and I'm guilty of it I'll definitely be kicking this dirty habit

Quote, originally posted by Esteban » I am not sure about whether or not it has been tampered with . What I am sure about, is that if the owner fills the tank to the very top of the fuel tube, it can damage the cannister & other parts. An expensive fix !! Signs of damage are not being able to put but a little gas in at a time til nozzle shuts off. Takes forever to fill the tank !Have you been doing this ??'Been watchin' a little Pat Goss on Motorweek, huh?I saw that too just last week.

just wanted to let you guys know I have taken all of your suggestions into consideration. Yes, I actually was filling past where needed for a long time but recently, maybe 2 months ago, stopped and then this started. I had also heard that I shouldn't overfill but I would try to go as long as possible between fill ups. Well, I got away with it for 6 years. I will post again when I get a definitive cause. Thanks for all your responses.

Esteban, please explain the damage you're talking about. Everything up there should be completely fuel proof.I get the impression that there's actually a lot of splash back against the nozzle that causes early shutoff or may be sucking significant amounts of fuel (that I just paid for) back into their underground tank. That's my little pet conspiracy theory. :-)D²

Quote, originally posted by Daddio »Esteban, please explain the damage you're talking about. Everything up there should be completely fuel proof.I get the impression that there's actually a lot of splash back against the nozzle that causes early shutoff or may be sucking significant amounts of fuel (that I just paid for) back into their underground tank. That's my little pet conspiracy theory. :-)D²He means the damage caused to the fuel evaporative system in the car caused by saturation. The system is designed to handle fuel vapor. But when overfilling, raw liquid fuel can enter the system too through the vent tube that is built into the filler neck of the car... direct access to the F.E.S. This is no good for the evap filters, hoses, check valves, etc.... It has nothing to do with the filler nozzle @ the pump.

I can see the problem with liquid to the evap canister causing damage.I don't see how this causes the symptom of a gas pump constantly shutting off while you're filling. I've seen this, but the pump next to it didn't do it... meant a bad gas pump or nozzle.How do those auto-shutoff nozzles work, anyway?On my last fill, it auto shut off at about 10 gallons. I tilted the nozzle down as far into the tube as I could and ran the gas as slow as I could. It took another 2½ gallons! I can't believe the fill tube holds that much gas, so why did it shut off so soon?I figured excess splashback due to bad fill tube geometry was causing problems.I also thought the evap system was connected to the tank, not the fill tube. Was that on older cars?

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »'Been watchin' a little Pat Goss on Motorweek, huh?I saw that too just last week. Nope, about 2 years ago, an elderly ladyfriend's car started having this problem. It took forever to fill it up, { Toyota Corolla ], because of the gas pump, kicking off. I didn't know what it was til I* researched online & found the answer. I'll have to look it up, but I think it was on " toyotanation forum ." Dealer wanted maybe $400, just for the parts, but they were found on a junker.

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »'Been watchin' a little Pat Goss on Motorweek, huh?I saw that too just last week. Nope, about 2 years ago, an elderly ladyfriend's car started having this problem. It took forever to fill it up, { Toyota Corolla ], because of the gas pump, kicking off. I didn't know what it was til I* researched online & found the answer. I'll have to look it up, but I think it was on " toyotanation forum ." Dealer wanted maybe $400, just for the parts, but they were found on a junker. A valve, cannister were replaced & these were full of gas. They should have been dry.Do a search of " Toyota,,, cannot fill gas tank, gas nozzle shuts off,,http://www.toyotanation.com/fo...23757

Another article I found about this problem.Toyota Corollarefilling problem ;Q: Can overfilling the gas tank cause the Check Engine light to come on & damage my car. A: Yes, overfilling the gas tank can trigger the "check engine" light to come on. Modern cars are equipped with an Evaporative System that prevents gasoline vapors from escaping into the atmosphere. When we overfill the gas tank, the excess gasoline can enter the part of the Evaporative system called Charcoal Canister, which is designed to absorb gasoline vapors rather than raw fuel. This can cause some problems with the evaporative system that can trigger the check engine light cause refilling problems, & is an expensive repair. It is quite common to see this in Toyotas.Don't overfill the tank past the first click of the pump. If you are having problem filling the tank, take it in for service.

Quote, originally posted by Esteban »" Dealer wanted maybe $400, just for the parts, but they were found on a junker. A valve, cannister were replaced & these were full of gas. They should have been dry.Do a search of " Toyota,,, cannot fill gas tank, gas nozzle shuts off,,http://www.toyotanation.com/fo...23757Why not just remove them, drain them, set them out to "dry" in the sun for a few hours and reinstall??? Unless the valve is actually bad, I'd think that removing the liquid would reopen the air passages and put you back into operation without the expense of the parts.Dave

All the items replaced were made of rubber & plastic. I was sure that at least the valve was defective. She got all of the parts for $50. I think we have all been guilt of trying to get " every last drop " of gas into the tanks. But, with newer cars, it is a bad habit.

this is why you should never fill up with the nozzle on full. I always fill mine using the first, slowest click. This way here by the time it clicks it's full.

Here in Ohio Giant Eagle Supermarket has a deal where you earn a per gallon gas discount for buying groceries. It is for one fill-up at whatever amount per gallon discount you have earned. All the time I see people trying to squeeze the most gallons into the tank to maximize their reward. Bad idea for sure. Especially since a Vibe has only a 13 gallon tank I think it would make more sense if the deal was a set dollar and cents amount discount on a gas purchase. But I rarely use it anyway because (1) their locations are not convenient, and (2) I like to stick with brand name gas, e.g. Shell.

Did I ever mention how valuable the education is that I get from this site? I too am VERY guilty of doing this What I end up ALWAYS doing, is when the first click is heard, I proceed to continue filling up to the next nearest full dollar amount. At best (at roughly $3.00/gal) I'll put another quart or so into the tank, which so far has not caused me any problems. I've been doing this for most of my 35 years of driving and never had any issues. On the older cars, the tanks were vented to the atmosphere and if you overfilled it, it simply ran out a tube onto the ground!

Do a search ; " Overfilling the gas tank " & you will find all the info you need on the damage & repair costs involved. It is a bad habit, & one I WAS guilty of years ago, too. I just saw another car, 2008 Nissan , that was having the same refueling issue. Damage has been done ! It's simple,,,, don't do it .