Freaking out from an overfill!!!

[nerka]

Okay, so I just went to a gas station I frequent and the same pump I normally use. Never had a problem in the past. Today, I put the pump in, set to autofill on the slowest rate and sat back in my car to do some interior clean-up work (same as I always do.) After a couple of minutes it seemed like it was taking a long time since I've never been able to put more than 7-7.5 gallons in since I bought the car 10/2008. I turned around and looked at the pump as it was crossing over 10 gallons. I jumped out of the car and gas was SPILLING out of the car/fill area.

Car ran fine on my 2-3 mile drive home and no check engine light yet. How soon would it take to show up?

I told the attendant the auto shutoff didn't work. He was like, "Uhh sorry. Sometimes that happens." WELL IT SHOULDN'T!!!

HELP! Someone give me the skinny. I'm freaking out about the potential repair I'm facing.

[Patrick Wong]

I'd suggest that you try to drive 30-40 miles ASAP to create some headroom in the fuel system. Until you have a chance to do that, if you don't park in the hot sun (so that the fuel might expand into the charcoal canister) you'll probably be OK.

Also, think of this as an opportunity to see how much headroom normally exists with your usual fillups. How many miles will you be able to drive until your fuel gauge drops from 10 bars to 9 bars. How much more driving range can you get out of a fillup, etc.

[yardman 49]

If you're not getting any warning lights, the car will probably be alright. At least that's what others here have posted.

Many gas stations/pumps have warnings that the person doing the filling needs to remain nearby, precisely because of the reason that the auto shutoff doesn't always work. From my experience, filling slowly will often cause the auto shutoff to fail more frequently than when the nozzle is set on the fast fill setting.

I have a 2009. This weekend I had one pip left on the guess gauge, although it had not yet started to blink. I went to the gas station where I usually fill up. I set the pump latch on the fast setting. When it clicked off, I started pumping again very slowly (but holding the handle with my hand this time). When the pump read 10.9 gallons, I stopped and looked. The gasoline was almost coming over the filler neck! I put on the cap, and drove the few miles home. Tonight I drove another few miles. No warning lights, and the performance is still great.

I've never filled my 2009 that full, precisely because of not wanting to damage the evaporative recovery system. But at least this time it doesn't seem to have caused a problem. As the temperature has been in the 60's these last few days, and the car is parked in the garage when home, I wasn't worried about expansion into the charcoal cannister. But I think that Patrick's advice is very good if you are in warmer weather or park the car in the sun.

**********************************************

On a slightly different note:

I use to fill on the slow setting. But I wasn't completely satisfied with the amount of gas that I was being able to put in at fillups. It was typical of what many owners report, but I wanted to see if I could do better. So the last couple of tanks, I tried a new technique, where I fill on the fast setting. After the first click, I set it on the slow setting, and fill until it clicks off again. Then I'm done.

The problem this time is that I was holding the handle at even a slower speed than what I would have gotten had I used the slow setting with the latch.

Anyway, the fast fill followed by a slow fill to the second click off, seems to work best for maximizing my fills.

[nerka]

It's parked in my garage for the night...low 60s and dropping. I have a 50+ mile commute in the morning, so that should give some room.

[qbee42]

You aren't going to get a lot of sympathy. There is a reason (actually several) that you are supposed to stay with the filler when refueling.

Tom

[nerka]

Originally Posted by qbee42

You aren't going to get a lot of sympathy. There is a reason (actually several) that you are supposed to stay with the filler when refueling.

Tom

Do you feel better? Why did you even bother posting? So good to know there are still people like you to offer your holier-than-thou, self-righteous commentary.

For the record, I didn't ask for sympathy in my original posting...just information (that would be the "skinny.")

[oms2burn]

Ouch. I have overfilled too (not exactly the same way). Gas was pouring down. Shut it off quickly, no lights afterward...I did try to burn it down quickly and parked on the most level ground I could for days. No lights no problems since.

[cycledrum]

I stay right by the pump watching how much gas is going in. I have a good idea of how much it should take based on the tripmeter.

I know it's a pain, but remember to watch the pump.

At least we put in less than 10 gallons which is not so bad. 0 gallons would be much better.

[dogfriend]

I had this happen twice within the first 6 mos. of owning the car. No long term affect. It hasn't happened since. I believe that it may be related to not getting the nozzle completely into the seal at the top of the filler tube. See warning decal on the filler door.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by nerka

Do you feel better? Why did you even bother posting? So good to know there are still people like you to offer your holier-than-thou, self-righteous commentary.

For the record, I didn't ask for sympathy in my original posting...just information (that would be the "skinny.")

Why did I bother posting? Because your refueling technique is irresponsible and dangerous. I am hoping you will learn something from it, or if not you, perhaps another reader.

Tom