Hello!
A month or so back I heard a caller on cartalk describe a problem I’m having: unable to fill my gas tank unless I pump the gas excruciatingly slowly. Just keeps clicking off as though the tank is full. I reported to my mechanic the solution Click & Clack gave to the caller - some type of overflow valve needed replacing. He checked with Hyundai (my car make, 2003 Accent) and they indicated replacement of a coil in the gas tank ($13). That was done but still the problem persists. Any ideas on what to do next? Winter’s coming and pumping gas at this rate in VT could cause severe trauma!! By the way, my mechanic didn’t charge me for the work he did since it failed to fix the problem. He’s a good guy!
Thanks for any information you can offer,
Nancy
I would check out the venting for the tank which may involve the charcoal filter.
Your vehicle has what is called an On-board Refueling Vapor Recovery system. This system prevents fuel vapors from being released into the atmosphere as the fuel tank is filled. This system also has an anti-overfill valve at the bottom of the fill neck to prevent damage to the EVAP system from overfilling the gas tank.
The first thing that should be checked is to make sure this anti-overfill valve isn’t stuck preventing gasoline from entering the gas tank. If this checks out okay, then there may be a restriction in the ORVR system preventing the gas tank from venting as it’s being refilled. For this, have all the hoses from the gas tank to carbon canister removed and blown out with compressed air to remove any possible restrictions.
Tester
Before you had this problem, did you or someone else, top off the tank after the first time it shut off the fuel? Is there a sticker on your car or instructions in the owner’s manual warning you not to top off the tank?
The evaporative vent control valve being closed is sometimes the cause of the gas tank not accepting fuel. A fault with the gasoline fill tube is another possibility.