1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Last Fill Up Ended on the Ground and All Over My Cars New Paint

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by rochesteruser, Feb 21, 2008.

  1. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I have never seen this before. I was filling up my car and then boom!!! The gas just starting spewing out of the tank. Luckily I wasn't standing near the nozzle. Can anyone explain why the pump didn't shut off. And no, the pump at BP was not broken. I fill up at this same pump with my other 3 cars every single time and this has never happened to me in the 11 years I've used this same pump. The Prius is a bag of annoying tricks.
     
  2. EJFB1029

    EJFB1029 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2008
    4,726
    206
    0
    Location:
    Corpus Christi, Republic of Texas
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Calm down, now explain how much came out, did you loose it all, one big spurt, were you completely empty, some more detail please.
     
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The gas tank zero emissions recovery plastic bladder that envelopes the fuel tank is a tiny bit tricky. Read up on it some more here. But if you never ever want it to happen again do what I did the day I bought the car. (Thank you PC chatters!) Cut yourself off a piece of 3/4 board exactly 1 1/2 inches wide. Just a little piece of wood that you jam under the gas fill handle and it will fuel your car at the slowest rate it can. I use that time to inspect the car & the sh*tty tires. When it clicks off the very first time hang the pump up. Works perfect for me every time. Fuel slop over has never happened to me because it cannot at slow fill. Thats all you have to do....slow fill...first click hang it up.Your days of topping the tank are over. Thank god!!! Your saving more gas!!! You cannot fast fill this car.If you continue to fast fuel and slop fuel into the bladder you will contaminate the bladder and the repair is very big $$$$ and not covered under warranty. By the way the MFD is hyper accurate for me when I calculate mpg's with my slow fill first click hang up. This info comes from the experts that have shared there knowledge with me here and made my Prius experience to be 100% trouble free! Good luck!
     
  4. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2007
    7,512
    1,185
    0
    Location:
    Carmichael, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Its called barfing gas tank syndrome. I have had it happen twice in 15k miles. In both cases, the pump did not shut off.

    In my case, it was at two different stations, but they had similar pumps that had a really slow delivery rate. Some people believe that it can happen if you pump at too fast also.

    My normal technique is to pump at the slowest setting and don't add any after the first click off.
     
  5. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    OK. I filled on the lowest autobar possible. I had also read this in another thread. So I set it. I was on empty [Blinking light] so when the gallons read 9.10 I thought to myself '"it should click off soon". IT NEVER HAPPENED!!! All of a sudden the sound gas coming out of my tank like a waterfall. Had to be a 1/4th of a gallon at least spewing out of the nozzle. What a freaking headache this car is turning out to be. I wanted to simplify my life with this car. Not buy a finicky "child" I have to babysit. I like this car, but these annoying nuances are making me 2nd guess my purchasing decision.
     
  6. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I forgot to add that I never topped it off. The pump simply did not shut off.
     
  7. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2007
    4,374
    313
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    then maybe its the pomp fault not the prius?
     
  8. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I have used this same BP pump for 11 years on my other 3 cars. No problems. My BMW, Porche and Murano NEVER had this happen ever. The Prius 1st time in 3 fill-ups.
     
  9. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Something that fails has to fail some time, maybe the pump failed since you last filled another car? Could it be you had the car in ready mode?
     
  10. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Car was off. And earleir that day I filled up my wife's BMW. No problems with the pump stopping when the tank was full. It's the stupid Prius tank design.
     
  11. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    It's the pump. The Prius tank is different than almost every other gas tank, and as such, it puts different demands on pumps. Just because the pump works with other tanks does not mean that it functions properly, it only means your other tanks could better tolerate a mis-adjusted pump or you were merely lucky. I've had the same problem with other cars and some pumps. It often takes awhile before a station gets enough complaints to fix a pump, especially if the problem is intermittent. Auto shutoff is a convenience; you should never rely on it, which is also why the law requires you to stay at the filler.

    Tom
     
  12. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Tom its not the pump. It's a design flaw on Toyota's part. It needs to be readdressed. 99 out of 100 cars have zero problems. Then there's the Prius. [Yes. The one]
     
  13. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2007
    4,374
    313
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    there is a close valve inside the fill up line going to the tank
    and it closed to prevent you from overfilling!
    thats what happens
    this valve closes and you pump keeps running!
     
  14. N3FOL

    N3FOL Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2007
    891
    16
    0
    Location:
    Stewartstown, PA.
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    +1. Just pump gas at the slowest rate and keep a close eye next time.
     
  15. N3FOL

    N3FOL Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2007
    891
    16
    0
    Location:
    Stewartstown, PA.
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Don't use the same pump next time. Try another one.

    Rinse your car paint with lots of water. Regards.
     
  16. rochesteruser

    rochesteruser Cruzin' in Rochester MN

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2008
    153
    1
    0
    Location:
    Rochester
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    It still seems like an inferior design from Toyota. No car should do this. It's not only very dangerous, but one day it will cause a major fire at a gas station thanks to all the fuel on the ground.
     
  17. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2007
    7,512
    1,185
    0
    Location:
    Carmichael, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    I've had it happen twice to me and I think its the pump. In my case, the pump(s) were at two different stations, but the pump was made by the same manufacturer. I just avoid that type of pump now.

    I don't think its worth selling the car over, but if you think it is that dangerous, maybe that is the best solution for you.
     
  18. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2007
    4,374
    313
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    yes ok

    but when you now not to click off a second time, then its ok!
     
  19. EJFB1029

    EJFB1029 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2008
    4,726
    206
    0
    Location:
    Corpus Christi, Republic of Texas
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    OK, lets go by your belief, inferior design.

    CHIME IN:

    I've filled mine up 4 times, not one problem

    Next:
     
  20. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,123
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    FWIW, I'm at over 26K miles and fuel has never spewed out of my Prius.