Every time I fill the tank on my 2008 Scion xD (regardless of which gas station I go to) I get a little overfill than runs down the side of my car onto my tires and onto the street. Each time I use the auto-fill that is supposed to stop when the tank is full. The pump does stop when the tank is full, it just stops about 2 seconds too late and causes a slight spill every time. Just bought this car used. Is anyone else getting this issue? Any solutions?
P.S. I have read related gas overflow posts and would like to defend against snarky comments. Yes, I do stay by gas tank and monitor the situation while my tank is filling. Yes, I do have experience in filling gas.
Do you lock the nozzle trigger in the “full speed” and take the hands-off approach? Or do you hold the trigger with your hand and slow the pump down when it nears full?
I had the same problem with my car, I generally know about how many gallons it will take, stop the auto fill then pump slowly for the last gallon or 2. Sure I could spend time and money figuring out why, but with such an easy solution I say why bother.
I think the problem is due more on how the nozzle is inserted into the filler neck more than anything else. If anything is holding the handle from being straight up and down, that is causing it to sit at an angle, it will shut off late. I would also lock the nozzle in the center position instead of holding onto the handle the whole time.
Brian, you can spend a lot of time and money trying to find a mechanical solution to this issue and still come up empty. And spill a lot of fuel in the process.
I suggest you simplify and accept Barkydog’s suggestion of manual stop near the finish followed by slow topping. That may be a nuisance, but a very small one.
Filler necks have gotten smaller over the years. Some makes and models are worse than others so I’ll +1 here on SteveF’s suggestion. If they get any smaller this problem is going to get worse. I usually fill up at one of two different gas stations. The pressures are completely different at both staions. One is what I would call normal and the other one is supercharged.
Thanks everyone. I think I’ll go with Barkydog’s suggestion. Interestingly enough, I also posted this to scionowners.com and the corporate monitor asked that I call and discuss this with them. Haven’t called yet. Here’s praying they’ll just fix it for free…, but probably not.