I have a 2005 savana van and am having difficulty filling the gas tank. I am unable to position the filler nozzle so that it doesn’t click off. Also I must barely hold the nozzle on so that the gas is pumped as slowly as possible or it backs up the fill tube and shuts the gas off. I have looked under the van and there is no kink in the line and I also pushed a piece of clear plastic tubing into the filler neck about 24" and found no obstruction.
Can you help me? It takes about 45 seconds to pump in a gallon so you can see that it takes a long time to fill the tank with 25 or so gallons. Help!!!
My email address is gwharton@centurytel.net
Have you or another driver been in the habit of topping off the tank, before you had this problem?
Very often this problem is the result of damage to the vapor recovery system caused to topping off the tank after that first click. If that is it, you may need a repair to the system. While there are other possible causes, topping off is a prime subject. BTW you will likely have a sticker somewhere on your car or in the owner’s manual warning you not to do it.
Good Luck
Thanks, I’ll try that tomorrow
You should edit out your email address. It will attract a lot of spam.
I can’t figure out how to do that. Can you help?
Use the search feature and enter “gas fill” to read the many posts on this subject. Try for 36" with the tubing.
Over on the left you will see “edit profile”. Go in there and unmark the show e-mail address box…
Seems to me that the stylists placed your filler the way they did on my Tundra. Darn nozzle has to hang from the filler like it wants to fall on the ground.
I’ve found that the hose must hang straight down from the pump or the nozzle will constantly turn off.
Maybe, actual engineers will get together wi the pump makers and…naaaw.
You could move to Oregon. They have a ‘make work’ law that prohibits you pumping your own gas. You could pretend it was the good old days.
Thanks, I’ll try that tomorrow
I am not sure what you plan to try today, but if the car has been topped off too many times, then it usually means some moderately expensive repairs. A good shop can check that out for you.
Check for a filler pipe TSB(service bulletin). My 1993 grand cherokee was like this new off the dealer lot. Vapor system never failed, the pipe was just a bad angle and gas would splash back at the pump nozzle and the pump automatically turned off. Eventually there was a fix released for it but the car was out of warranty. Later model years had a different pipe.
Here’s what I’ve done so far.
rechecked the fill tube and made sure there were no kniks. Removed and inspected the vent tube, but could not determine if there was any obstruction down in the tube. Did not appear to be any kinks in the vent tube. Talked to a certified GMC service technician who thought the problem was a blockage in the vent tube. He did not indicate that there was a great problem if there was gasoline in the canister; said if there was I should just"pour it out". I couldn’t get the canister off so am not sure about that either. Still have a problem.
I JUST got this fixed on my 2000 Volvo V70 (posted the problem here some while back) The vapor recovery system or EVAP uses a charcoal filter and a set of solenoid valves to capture the tank full of gas vapors when the tank is near empty. Those vapors are pushed into the charcoal canister (which acts like charcoal absorbing lighter fluid). there is a small vent on the outside of the canister which releases the filtered air.
- if the tank was topped off excessively, the canister likely became saturated with fuel and needs to be replaced.
- a spider crawhed up into the vent tube of the solenoid, got stoned, and died there, clogging the tube.
(see attached)
Short version-500 bucks (if it’s a Volvo)
When the fuel filler cap is off, the tank is vented to the outside, through the filler, not the carbon canister…Many vehicles have an anti-spill roll-over valve in the filler neck near the tank. It’s usually a cork ball in a cage. If it sticks in the closed position (which can happen from overfilling) the next fill-up can be very difficult. Sometimes the ball can be dislodged by sliding a flexible switch down the filler neck. One of those fiberglass rods used for flag whips on bicycles works great.
Caddyman, you get the prize. I finally took it to my dealer (Behlman CARnection) in St. Peters, Mo who after dropping the tank discovered that the anti-spill roll-over valve was stuck almost completely shut. I had bought my van from Behlman’s and had the problem from day one. They took it in, gave me a car to drive while I waited and fixed the problem at no charge. They were super to work with. I couldn’t be more pleased with their service.