Accident at the pump

This is exactly what happened to me the first and only time I attempted to top off the tank.

 

Prius pilots have a hard time with fill-ups. I have learned to not push the tank any further than necessary, in either the full or empty direction. I will almost always fill up when I have 2 pips left on the display. There is no logical reason I can come up with to push the fuel tank any farther than that. Lots of folks really want to get 500+ miles per tank and such, but I just don't think itis worth it to risk it. A number of posters have made the mistake of running their cars out of gas, which is an undesireable condition.

I also tend to fill my tank on the slowest autolock setting on the pump handle. I believe this has two positive effects. 1. You are putting less volume in the tank over a period of time, which I believe the lower volume of gas entering the tank matches up with the expansion rate of teh bladder better than if you fill the tank as fast as possible. 2. It seems that the handle is more likely to autostop at the proper time when you are filling more slowly than if you fill at a faster rate. 3. I never take my hand off the pump handle. Easier and better that way if the tank seems to be getting too full and you need to stop it, fast.

 

Broken shutoff mechanism at that pump, maybe. Tell the attendant, and next time use a different pump.

 

In my experience the shut off mechanism on pumps varies widely from none to very sensitive. I have learned which I can use and which I do not have the patience to fool with. I have had one burp and that was using a very sensitive pump that I had to fill a quarter of a gallon at a time. I guessed from my computer mileage and odometer how much gas I would need and I guessed wrong. Spilled a cup or so. Now I would rather under fill than spill gas.

 

What was the temperature like when this happened? I was thinking that if would be more likely to happen when its cold.

 

Probably right, COMBINED with a bladder system, he may have actually slightly overinflated
the bladder, HENCE it came back out after filling?

 

if i ever reach a 10-gallon fill-up, i stop there.

i usually get about 9.5 in before it shuts off.

 

I experienced an overflow/spill problem on a cold winter day last year. It was the first and last time I attempted to fill the tank on the slowest autolock setting. It was around 2 F outside when it happened ... I'm guessing this is more likely to happen in cold weather?? Ever since that incident, I just put the autolock on the fastest position and stop filling when it clicks off. On a typical warm day I can put in 10 gallons. On a very cold day I'm lucky to get 8 or 9 gallons. I'm willing to be light a few gallons if it prevents anymore overflows. Not to mention ... pumping gas in sub-zero temps isn't fun ... I'd much rather get that pump flowing as fast as possible!