Ok to leave car on while pumping gas?

I think it would be a fire hazard to pump gas with the engine running (or in the case of Prius the engine may start any time in the ready mode, unless there is safety interlock at the fuel door?).

 

Two reasons to power down before refilling:

1) It is illegal to refill while in ready mode.

2) The Prius fuel system reconfigures for filling when powered down. Refilling while in ready means that a number of valves are not set properly. You risk damaging the emissions control section of the fuel system.

Tom

 

I agree with Tom (qbee42); it is illegal, and the Prius will not be properly configured for refueling if left on.

Also: the ICE is continually turning on and off while you are driving. Couple this with the fact that you will start the car many, many times between fillups (unless you only fill up a few gallons at a time). As such, the amount of wear and tear contributed by shutting the car off during filling is minimal at best.

If something did happen because the car was running, and damage to the gas station (or injury) resulted, you could be held liable, and possibly even your insurance would refuse to cover such an act.

That's my 2 cents.

 

Short answer (from a long-time member of the fire service): Shut it off. (It's been discussed before.)

Virtually anyone that's ever had a problem with a potentially dangerous activity at one time could have said, "I've never had a problem."

As for risk, a risk management professional would consider the probability of something going wrong quite small but the consequences huge. I'm sure he/she would recommend using the simple, easy, free and extremely effect risk mitigation step that's literally at your fingertips: the power button. There is virtually nothing to be gained by leaving the car on.

 

With Russian Roulette, five times out of six eveything works just fine.

Tom

 

The biggest danger while refueling is getting into the car, sliding your butt on the seat, and getting out again. If you happen to be wearing a *very* tight wool sweater, the resulting spark will quite reliably ignite the vapors

Note: if this ever happens to you, never EVER try to yank the nozzle back out! By code, there is an EPO (Emergency Power Off) inside the station, and on the island. The EPO kills the power to the pumps

As far as the Prius, will it even "register" the fillup if left in Ready? I always powered off when refueling

 

Well you lean something new everyday!!

1 - C'est la vie

2 - This is certainly a very good reason. I used to leave the car on with A/C running, wow that sucks the battery down. That's why I stopped that.
However with the damage aspect in the equation, OFF IT IS!!!

 

FIRST TIME:
1) Mom gets out of Prius (left on) and starts filling
2) Toddler grabs handle that mom just played with.

SECOND TIME:
1) Mom stop car. Turns off car
2) Mom sets parking brake
3) Mom puts wheel chocks under wheels
4) Mom handcuffs kids
5) Mom then puts gas in car

 

I would power down... just to be cautious. The engine could turn on while in Ready. Although I'm not intimately familiar with it, the emissions and fuel delivery systems could be adversely affected.

Heck, I've always shut off every other car I gassed up. Nothing changes with this one

 

That 83% success rate is for traditional equipment, known as revolvers. When they upgrade to newer technology, those new-fangled semiautos, the success rate changes drastically.

 

Not any more than it can while driving. It's just that, while driving, the car often has another reason to start the engine, so the battery will generally not get that low. But it is perfectly normal and completely harmless to leave the car in "P" and ON to run the AC, for any length of time.

 

The problem with semiautos is that they eliminate empty space in the magazine. You put in one round, and it is automatically at the top where it is chambered. The success rate with semiautos approaches zero. If it weren't for the occasional jamb or bad round, it would be exactly zero.

Tom

 

I'm probably older but not necessarily wiser than most but this question has always been bugging me. For information I have, in all these many years, never gassed up any vehicle while the engine is running be it my boat or my car/truck. However, I have often pondered why is it a risk to do so when I'm gassing up directly beside another vehicle just arriving in an adjacent gas pump going in the opposite direction where my gas tank is and his still running engine are side by side and so far no explosion in my past 65 years of driving ? Any opinions?
Gary

 

I think the rules were applied to the effect of your vehicle running while fueling up. Eg chance of sparks/static.

Of course, as the video proves, one should *never* go into the car, get out, and then touch the nozzle again. I get in the habit of touching a metal part of the pump, then the vehicle, before even lifting the nozzle

 

If people worked with electronics they would be more aware of static: grounding straps, grounded mats, anti-static spray, and all of the other assorted paraphernalia. You feel pretty silly sometimes, but it doesn't take much to ruin your day. Just like refueling airplanes. We always ground those before refueling.

My old HP-45 calculator could be induced to lock up by static discharge. On more than one occasion, I walked across a carpeted room to pick it up, and ZAP, all of the LEDs in the display lit up. It was completely frozen. Fortunately, power cycling fixed the problem. It sure scared me the first time it happed. Calculators were darned expensive in those days.

Tom

 

Yes, my Prius "resets" normally when I fill-up in the 'ready' mode. I press my EV button when I fill. Knowing this action does not ensure the gas engine won't turn on due to low battery or below a temperature threshold (you all know...those sometimes mysterious moments when the computer does it's thing when we almost have it figured out!) I will check battery level via the touchscreen. I'm usually filling after a day's drive so engine temp is not a big concern. I admit to not having a scan gauge to prove this out. No problems thus far. Yes,I see everyone's safety points. I also do not get in and out of my EV-mode Prius when filling. All's been as normal as can be. I would, however, like some more data or detail on the emission system damage from my actions. I can be convinced.

 

Take a look at the schematics for the fuel system. You can see the various valves that are used to isolate sections.

Tom