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Would not take fuel, then a gas bath!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by airliner53, Apr 2, 2007.

  1. airliner53

    airliner53 Junior Member

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    fairly new here and with a 2007 Pkg 1, 2,700 miles ...

    Today, I went to my usual station to fill up, never having had a problem there (in 2,700 miles) ... but soon it turned into a frightening experience.

    I always use the same pump to help with mileage calculation consistency. Anyway, today the thing would not take gas as usual. I tried everyting, from slowest to maximum fill rate, and tried each many times. It would just click off after less than a second. Finally, after 4 or 5 minutes of fiddling around with it, I found that by pulling the pump nozzle almost all the way out, and using the slowest rate, i was able to get gas in.

    Shortly, I noticed I was up to 8.3 gallons, and having 3 pips left I knew from experience it should not have been taking so much as I had only 365 miles on the tank and the MFD wsa showing 53.6. So I stopped fueling, and removed the nozzle ... then WHOOOOSHHHH and the thing must have thrown back at least a gallon of gas all over me, the car, and the area.

    We do not have the vapor control pump nozzles here, just the old-fashioned kind, so I know that was not an issue. The temperature was around 50 degrees, about where it has been lately.

    Any suggestions? I did not get any error codes, so I hope the canister is not ruined.

    I had to go home and change clothes before continuing to work, which almost made me late ...

    Any and all feedback is appreciated!
     
  2. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Pump nozzles wear out. They have to routinely be replaced. If you encounter the same situation again, move to another right away. You'll be surprised by the difference that makes.
     
  3. airliner53

    airliner53 Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Apr 2 2007, 07:46 AM) [snapback]416362[/snapback]</div>
    John,

    Thanks .. I will defintely do that! This was the first issue I've had with the car, and it was really frustrating.

    By the way, thanks for your incredible website! I have learned an astounding number of things about the Prius from your effort. I always keep an eye out for your plate while driving around the Twin Cities!
     
  4. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airliner53 @ Apr 2 2007, 10:05 AM) [snapback]416405[/snapback]</div>
    Don't look at it as an issue with the car, because it wasn't. Look at it as an issue with the pump.
     
  5. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    I also do the pull the nozzle out almost all the way thing. I have found that with some pumps this in some way I don’t know why or how defeats that auto shut off feature and if you aren’t paying attention because you are waiting for the click you can really put a lot of fuel in the car before you know it. don’t know if this helped at all but that is my experience.
     
  6. adam1991

    adam1991 New Member

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    Wait a minute, guys: he pumped 8.3 gallons out of the pump.

    That means it went INTO the Prius.

    Then the Prius spit a gallon or so of it back out.

    How is the NOT the Prius's fault? The gas left the nozzle. It's not a defective nozzle. It's a defective Prius (whether overall design or specific implementation on that car) that would allow the system to vomit gas back out of the tank.

    Y'all are too involved in defending your Prius. "Prius, right or wrong!" is the cry, eh?
     
  7. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airliner53 @ Apr 2 2007, 02:41 AM) [snapback]416324[/snapback]</div>
    Don't fret. It happened to me at Costco, Irvine, CA. What I did, was to quickly shove the nozzle back in real quick. After a minute, the bladder was stretched enough to tollerate the fill. That was about 10 months ago. Still living happily ever after ... but I'm a little leary about the low speed filling now.
     
  8. jgills240

    jgills240 Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 2 2007, 12:10 PM) [snapback]416438[/snapback]</div>

    So the bladder overfilled and stretched causing the gas to come back out when the pressure was released from the nozzle. Had the nozzle's overfill device been operating properly, he wouldn't have had to disable it, and wouldn't have gotten himself into this mess. Granted in a standard metal tank, the gas would have been overflowing from the start and he would have noticed it earlier, resulting in less of a mess, but it still would have been the faulty nozzle that caused it. So it is the pump nozzle's anti-overfill device malfunctioning that caused the problem, which was only increased in severity due to the bladder setup. It's not defending the Prius, it's describing the situation.
     
  9. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(adam1991 @ Apr 2 2007, 01:10 PM) [snapback]416438[/snapback]</div>
    The prius has a gas bladder it holds x amount of gas and that is variable I am not even going to try to put an equation to that because it is affected by temps outside and inside that tank ie fuel temps. We all know this and we know that the prius bladder stretches and contracts. Now I am no expert on the tank design but I can tell you if you over fill the bladder the fuel inside is under pressure the pump nozzle is acting as a cap restraining that pressurized fuel when you remove the plug (the fuel nozzle) the pressurized gas has to go somewhere and that is out of the hole in the bladder and onto the ground if the pressure is high enough it spews out.

    Fill a balloon with air and let it go same concept. Pressurized gas is released through the path of least resistance until pressures are = inside and outside the balloon. You can keep those gasses inside by applying pressure to the opening; if you over fill the balloon it pops right. the bladder is much stronger and the nozzle area can only hold back so much pressure.

    You can choose to believe that the prius is at fault ( defective), that the owner operator is at fault, or that this is just one of those things I don’t care.

    Personally I have never had fuel spew out at me ( I know it has happened to many people here) but I have had it come out and run down the side of my car.
     
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Today my Prius spit up for the first time in almost 11000 miles. I was at the front of the car. I heard gurgling from the tank and went back to stop the pump. By that time it was over full and spit. The pump just did not automatically shut off when it should have. Lesson One--It can happen to anyone. Lesson Two--Stand by the tank during refueling (unless at cruising altitude).
     
  11. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Apr 2 2007, 10:59 PM) [snapback]416794[/snapback]</div>

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    That was great I needed a good laugh.

    I never leave the pump wile fuelling just something my dad taught me and enforced so it is habit.
     
  12. member

    member New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airliner53 @ Apr 1 2007, 11:41 PM) [snapback]416324[/snapback]</div>

    The tank is a bladdered (not a wet-wing) design. My guess- you over-filled the bladder causing some pressure which spit back at you. Auto-shutoffs that aren't sensitive enough can do this. Other people have reported this, I haven't seen it yet.