Problems filling the tank

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SiliconAddict @ Oct 10 2006, 11:15 PM) [snapback]331012[/snapback]</div>

You are lucky it didn't PUKE all over your shoes...No Kidding!
Do a search on PC for "Bladder" and you will enter a world of many many posts about this problem....
We all learned the hard way... filling up a Prius is different.... GO REAL REAL REAL SLOOOOOOWWWWW.... SLOWER than you can imagine pumping gas ever before. The air in the bladder will ease out and the gas slowly going in will fill it properly. I have not figured out why toyota put a Bladder in the tank on this car. There is no real logic to it. NASCAR uses Bladders in Racecars in case of accidents.
BEWARE... Do Not ever pump fast or you will get puked on !!!
Read my thread here from my first two weeks!
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=24174&hl=

Good luck! Welcome to the Cult!

 

Yep, it's the bladder. Pump in the slow setting.

 

My rule of thumb is to, 1) initially pump fuel with the nozzle hands-free catch locked on the lowest volume detent, 2) wait till the nozzle automatically shuts off from back pressure, 3) shake the car back and forth for a few seconds, 3) then squeeze another gallon off a little at a time, periodically stopping and pulling the nozzle out to let the bladder pressure stabilize while ensuring that excessive pressure within the bladder doesn't build and result in fuel being "puked" all over the ground (mentioned above).

This method results in a full tank with little to no fuel spillage 99% of the time.

Be aware that a winter reduction in bladder capacity in real. My experience is one to one and one-half fewer gallons per fill-up during the winter months.

 

I wouldn't do #3. Stop filling once the pump clicks. Continuous filling past the click may dump fuel into ..... what's that part called.....someone help me.. canister something. The point is that if it gets damaged, it will cost you a few hundred dollars.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(silentak1 @ Oct 10 2006, 10:29 PM) [snapback]331036[/snapback]</div>

Huh, this is news to me. But then I'm new to the prius cult -- 1 month maybe? So far I've been pumping as I always do (two or three times so far), on the fast setting and haven't had any problems. Perhaps the warmer climates in the CA valley helps? Then again, I only managed to get in about 9.5 gal, which seems a bit low. I always chalked it up to a small tank. How big is the tank? (I know, I know, read the manual.)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(auart @ Oct 10 2006, 09:31 PM) [snapback]331018[/snapback]</div>

They certainly don't pump slow in NASCAR though... What's the difference?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mr. Zorg @ Oct 11 2006, 12:13 AM) [snapback]331058[/snapback]</div>

Pumping slow didn't make sense to me until I began trying it. I'm usually one of those people who keep driving for an extra 25-50 miles with the last bar blinking and with "fast pumping" i filled up 9-10 gallons max; in the contrary "slow" pumping filled 10.5-11 gallons. I've done this many many...many...many...times and the results are the same. This actually ticks me off a bit... so i have a super advanced car, but i have to pump gas slowly? errrrr?

But then again i was watching TV once about this Honda Hydrogen car around Torrance and they had two settings at the pump: slow or fast fill up. Supposedly slow is better, but I don't recall why.

 

I've never had any trouble filling the Prius starting with the "max fill" speed. I then finish off with a couple more clicks and I'm done. No puking, no dribble.

I'm not saying that the bladder isn't a factor, as it certainly does rob the car of some potential space in the fuel tank. Some factors: (and if you do a search on this topic you can read till your eyes hurt)

1) Weather - if it's cold you can't fit in as much
2) The pump - here in San Diego Chevron seems to have very conservative cut-off settings on their pumps, and sometimes I haven't been able to put in more than half a tank on any car. Each station is different.
3) Your car is new to you. Wait until you learn its fuel consumption habits. If you see that the MFD says you got 45 mpg for the current tank and you went 400 miles, then you should be able to fit in [miles/mpg] = [gals] or 8.9 gallons of fuel, minus any cold weather adjustment.
4) Don't trust the dealer fillup. It means nothing.

You'll get the hang of it. I fill up at one bar and I usually put in < 10 gallons and I'm happy with that. I only get gas every couple weeks now and I actually look forward to it so I can put a new entry in greenhybrid.com :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SiliconAddict @ Oct 11 2006, 09:12 AM) [snapback]331103[/snapback]</div>

I'm posting this as a theory/question because I don't know how the bladder lays in the tank...is it possible that the bladder in this guy's car has a twist in the neck of the bladder or the bladder is partially folded inside the tank? It seems that either of those scenarios would cause the symptoms he describes.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimCarlos @ Oct 11 2006, 09:44 AM) [snapback]331129[/snapback]</div>

I think it's within the realm of possibility, but since this was his first tankI don't think we can read too much into it. If after a few months every tank only goes half full, then maybe there's a problem. There are many threads where new owners worry about something being broken in the car when they do their first fill.

Silicon : enjoy your new Prius and don't worry about the gas tank!

 

The main thing to remember is: every pump is different. Different pumps have different cutoff settings. which means different stations, and even different pumps at the same station, may result in the automatic cutoff at different points during the fill. This is a bigger problem for the prius than other cars because of the bladder.

The bladder is in the car to help reduce emissions. It acts mostly like filling a waterballon - There's no air in the bladder at any point (ideally). in reality, there may be a very small amount that gets in over time. What this means is that the gas can't evaporate into the partially empty tank. This reduction in gas vapors directly translates to better emissions for the vehicle.

As people have pointed out in other threads, there are other ways to achieve these reductions without using a bladder. the bladder is simply the cheapest way to do it.

As posted about nascar, having the bladder also helps with the safety of the vehicle, incase of an accident.

I'd say there's nothing wrong with the car, don't read much into the problem. it's been posted here many times, and a few weeks later the OP almost always comes back and says "no problem this time!". Keep in mind the above posts/methods if you have trouble in the future, as they may help.

For me personally, i've never had to change my pumping styles from my old car. squeeze pump all the way, lock pump in highest setting, and wait. it's possible (and maybe even likely) that i would get more in the tank if i pumped slowly, but it doesn't really matter all that much to me.

 

I have had my car for about a month now, with 3700 miles. I have been filling up at the same gas station, same pump for the last several fillups. I have not had any problems getting fuel into the tank since I got the car until this week. That same pump would not put gas into the tank without clicking off. Even just barely holding the handle on by hand at the slowest possible rate caused it to click off. Knowing that I was no where near full, I had to keep clicking the handle to get any fuel into the car. All of a suddent, it was full, and when I started to pull the nozzle out of the tank, gas spewed everwhere.

What happened this time to cause this? The temp was around 75. I got around 170 miles before the first bar went off. By far the most ever. I usually get less than 100. I get around 44 to 45 MPG.

Dennis

 

I'm at 5000 miles and still can't get more than 7.5 gallons in it. And I fill up after I have been driving on 2 pips for awhile.