Gas tank display still showing full

[vivamom]

I stopped at a gas station in NJ, where the station employee has to fill the tank, not the driver. Let it suffice to say that he was a somewhat surly kid, a bit annoyed at having to earn his money. He was filling the tank, and I heard him topping up the tank, so I quickly opened up the door and told him to stop. My husband was standing outside, and he said the kid clicked the pump two or three more times before he actually stopped filling the tank. Now I have driven about 125 miles and it still shows full! Did he cause a problem? I'm worried! Thanks for your help in advance!
Mary Alice (2007 Red Prius - package 6, 18000 miles so far)

[minkforce1]

i usually hit around 110 miles before my first bar goes down, so maybe give it a little more time. if you hit 150-200, then i'd be worried.

[narf]

If the tank is really full you can use about 3 gallons before the gauge moves. If you are getting 55 MPG, you can go 165 miles before the first pip goes away!

[TonyPSchaefer]

The kid (surly or not) didn't damage your Prius. That first pip can sometimes take a while to go away.

On the other hand, you were right in telling him to stop. You/he should never top off the Prius fuel tank. There's an activated charcoal filter that can get damaged with repeated over-fillings. A single instance shouldn't be a problem. But next time, even if someone else is required to fill the tank, you should stand next to them with a cricket mallet. On the mallet should be printed "do not top off my tank." If they try to top it off, make sure they read it by tapping them on the head with it. I should think you would only need to do that once.

[mr_zorg]

That's funny because those states which do not allow you to pump your own gas often do it for just this sort of reason -- to prevent you from topping off, which has been demonstrated time and time again to be bad for the environment. That kid needs to be reported to his boss and given some re-training.

[Danny Hamilton]

Originally Posted by vivamom

. . . .Now I have driven about 125 miles and it still shows full! Did he cause a problem? I'm worried!. . . .

The typical "topping off damage" that Tony referred to rather quickly results in a warning light on the dash. No warning light means you can relax and not worry about the charcoal canister this time.

Some people top off frequently and never have a problem. On the other hand it is entirely possible that the first time you top off you could accidentally flood the canister. Since it is difficult to determine if you are going to flood the canister until you've already done so, it is safest to simply avoid topping off. If someone tops off your tank and you don't get a warning light on the dash within 2 or 3 trips in the car, you're probably in the clear.

[richard schumacher]

If someone tries to top you off again, leaping out and shouting "GET THE F!!CK AWAY FROM MY CAR!!" should be effective :_>

[BIGGDOGG]

My first pip usually goes around 125-175. I hate having people pump my gas.

[vivamom]

Thanks everyone! I'm relieved and will get a "mallet" next time I am at a sports store! I'm happy to report that at about 160 it went down and now at about 205 we are down three pips. The mpg says 51.6. I'm taking it for service hopefully on Saturday, but I think we are ok. Love this forum!

Mary Alice

[Swishallnet]

On my wife's first time putting gas in the prius that I've had for a little over 2 months, she put in 91 when I always put in 87 and the pump did not shut off. She said it seemed like 2 gallons shot back out of the car. She was a little horrified that she might have damaged the car after I told her I don't use 91. I went 220 miles before my first pip went away, a little over 400 miles when it showed a half tank of gas, and finally almost 600 miles on that tank of 91 octane. I have never gone over 430 on a tank of 87. I drive 100 miles round trip daily to work.

I have put 87 back in and my mileage has decreased back to normal range for my driving conditions and when that is all gone, I'm going back to 91 to see if I can duplicate those previous results.