Premature Gas Nozzle Cutoff

I had a similar problem yesterday when I attempted to fill the tank. I still had 3 pips on the gas gauge but was about to start a long drive so I wanted to fill it up before hitting the highway. But the nozzle kept shutting off after only a few seconds. I tried changing the nozzle position (angle up more, down more, push in harder) but nothing worked. I gave up after getting only about a third of a gallon. I figured I had enough gas to get me into NJ where all the gas stations are full-service, so I would let a professional give it a try. (Not to mention gas is cheaper in NJ.)

I wound up going to a station in central NJ where the attendant had no trouble filling the tank. It looked like the nozzle at that station was different from the one at the first station, so I think that might have had something to do with it.

Yesterday was only my second fill-up since getting the Prius. The first fill-up (near my house) involved no problems, so I'm hoping this will be a rare occurance.

 

First Welcome to the boards. Many people have run into difficulty with gas pumps not shutting off or stopping too soon. Sometimes it's the particular pump or station. However one thing I have seen is that trying to fill too fast will definitely cause the pump to stop. I usually make sure the nozzle is completely inserted as far as it will go, so that the vapor seal is as close to the opening as possible, then slowly press the nozzle. I personally have not had a problem but my husband has and it seems to be certain pumps and/or stations that he has problems at. Read some of the knowledge base threads that explain how the bladder works and try different stations and pumps. Other more knowledgeable members I'm sure will add more to this thread than I have. Keep us informed of how things work out.

 

The pipe down into the tank is *tiny*, frankly. And there's a rubber
seal right around the neck where you put the nozzle in, with the idea
being to eliminate vapor emission from there. Displaced air instead
goes out through the charcoal canister where the smelly stuff is
captured and held and then pulled back through the engine later.
.
Bottom line, as said in numerous other threads: fill slowly, and
don't try to push too hard on top-up [if at all]. Especially in
winter when the bladder doesn't want to expand as much.
.
_H*

 

There are some faster pumps out there too. For a while, in California where there are strict requirements about the kind of nozzle the gas stations can have, we had both the coax hoses with the active vacuum pump pulling vapors back into the pump and "standard" nozzles that were very fast at delivering fuel. Now, they are all active vacuum, I think, but I think the fast delivery nozzles could be problematic with the small Prius fuel filler neck.

 

hmm, so I've used the trickle method ever since I got my prius (IIRC) 6 or 7 fills ago, but I've been cut off in the last 2 fills. 1st time I was down to 2 bars after 399 miles, which was the longest I've gone before refueling, but I only managed to get 7 gallons when it cut off. I tried pumping another 3-4 times but gave up as I was in a rush. this was at a mobil station.

another 171 miles later, I was already down to the 5th bar but decided to fill up at a shell station a few towns over. again, I used the trickle method but it cut off around 2 gallons, and I tried to continue but stopped after the 2nd cutoff as I didn't want to deal with the frustration.

could it just be a fluke that I got "bad" nozzles from 2 different stations and brands in dislocated locales?

 

A couple of things I've learned:

1. You'll get better at getting gas into the thing the longer you own the car.
2. If you find yourself getting the click constantly, there's one way that has solved the problem 100% of the time for me: Turn the whole pump nozzle thing upside-down, and go again. You look silly, but it works just fine.