My 2001 chevy prizm recently has a gas filling problem (see my other post for detail http://act…33769.page). It is very suspicious that the fuel vapors in the carbon canister or the vent valve etc is the problem. That reminds me something. I have this car for 5 years mostly in FL, 2 months in NJ without any problem, but as I get the NJ required auto inspection done in the state test center, I start to notice the problem: at first it can only be filled half tank, then it can only be filled ~0.4 gallons. Pretty sure about the timing!
I remember in the test center, a hose was hooded to the gas tank main inlet, are they blowing or sucking in any way, could that has anything to do with my problem? Knowing it is first step of fixing it~! Thanks a lot!!!
NJ inspects the gas cap to ensure it seals properly. My 93 Caprice failed inspection last time for the gas cap. If the gas cap is tethered then it might appear that a hose is connected to the filler tube. As far as I know, there is no connection to the filler tube.
Ed B.
So, you want to blame the NJ Inspection station for your car’s problem? In NJ a gas jockey pumps the gas for you, likely the only state in the nation where the customer doesn’t self serve at the gas pump.
Most NJ attendants don’t top off the fuel when the fuel nozzle clicks off if you buy with a credit card. When you pay cash they run it up to the next $.25 increment and stop pumping. Therefore in NJ gas tanks in cars are not “topped off” with several repeated clicks of the nozzle at a fill up.
When you fill the car yourself in FL, do you “top off” the tank as you fill it? If so, this is what has caused your carbon canister problem - not a one time NJ inspection for fuel vapors due to a leaky gas cap.
I agree with Uncle Turbo.
The OP’s problems undoubtedly stem from recurrent topping off of the gas tank over a period of years. It is merely coincidental that the problem surfaced after vehicle inspection.
There is a reason why the vehicle manufacturer posts “Do Not Top Off” warnings on the gas cap (or the fuel filler door) and in the Owner’s Manual. The result of ignoring those warnings is frequently the replacement of the carbon canister, to the tune of ~$400. Now, don’t you wish that you heeded those warnings?
Oregon is another -no self service- state.
“STEP AWAY FROM THE GAS PUMP” I heard in Portland once. Thought I was some sort of criminal with guns pointed at me from behind.
Nope, just the gas jockey running out to stop my heathen activity.
I live in NJ, and there is no reason to tolerate any misadventures by a gas attendant.
I stand next to the car as they fill it, and as soon as the pump “clicks off”, I announce, “Bastante, no mas!”. That stops them from trying to add a few more cents to the total in order to round it off.
And, if the attendant is not near my car when the pump clicks off, I grab the nozzle, put it back in the pump, print my credit card receipt, wave it at the distant attendant, and drive off into the sunset.
All you need to do is to take control of the situation, even if there is an attendant.
Incidentally, even with the “full service” policy in NJ, we almost always have the lowest gas prices in the entire Northeast.
Hey, I don’t want to blame anybody - before knowing what happened. I expect the same from you. I’m just trying to get some lead, to exclude or include things. Ed B said the inspection is not testing the vapor, but you suggest the opposite or what? I don’t thing anything done to the vapor system should not be excluded by default, and I truely not sure what is done in inspection, thus the question. It may be a coincident, or not, who knows.
To answer your arugment, yes, I usually round it off to a full amount, sometimes $0.25 sometimes $0.90, but nothing worse than NJ gas guys (I have not seen any gas guy in NJ that does not do that). If they are not the problem then what I did should not be a problem either. Also I put only 15K miles (from 50K to 65K) on the car for all 5 years in FL, and then another 10K in NJ before I notice the problem, so I’m not doing so more offen either. But anyway, could it be the problem, why not? It could also be the heat in FL that causes gas to vaporize more and reduce the life time of the carbon canister? Who knows.
What I’m doing is just putting things together and trying to explore posibilities, why you have to look at it negatively that I’m looking for someone to blame?
It funny my wife loves full service fuel which is rarer in New England. She frequents a small service station and always says don’t top it off. The nice arab folks who run it now stop her words and smile and say we know…