Shortly after putting gas in my 1999 RAV4 and driving a mile or so I parked to run a quick errand. When I returned I could smell gasoline and there was a puddle of gas under the car on the side that the tank is on. Gas was dripping steadily. I wasn’t sure about driving the car but I did and headed to the repair shop a few miles away. When I got there the gas was no longer leaking. I always check the miles per gallon when I purchase gas and it has remained constant so this was not a small leak getting bigger. I stopped pumping gas when the sensor shut off and did not top off the tank. The weather had been hot with temperatures in the high 90’s but this happened early in the day so not that hot yet. My guess is that the gas expanded in the heat Does the tank allow for overflow to avoid too much pressure if the gas expands? Was it dangerous to drive the car in case gas got on the hot muffler? I have owned this car for 11 years and never experienced this problem before.
I had that happen in an old Honda. The fuel tank wasn’t venting pressure properly and so if I filled it up on a hot day and forgot to drive around until at least a gallon of gas was gone, the fuel would expand in the heat and spill out the fuel cap. Destroyed the paint under the fuel door, which was annoying.
There could be a hole at the junction point of filler tube and tank…I got about 10 years with my RAV before it began to rust through at that point…new england salty winters!