I bought a 2007 Honda Fit Sport about a month ago. The owner’s manual says the gas tank is 10.8 gallons. I have filled the tank four times. Each time, the “low fuel” warning light was on, but, fortunately, there was still gas in the car.
My first fill-up, I put in (or at least paid for) 11.4 gallons. The second time, it was 10 gallons.
I don’t usually overfill the tank, but the third time I decided to cram as much in as I could, and put in 11.95 gallons – a full gallon-plus more than the specified tank size.
The fourth time, I drove 20 miles after the low-fuel light had come on, yet could “only” get 10.3 gallons in.
So my question is – how can you get 11+ gallons into a 10.8-gallon tank?
You have an intriguing question that could probably be best answered by the Honda Customer Service people, whose phone number can be found in your Owner’s Manual. My best guess is that there is a misprint in the manual.
However, what would concern me much more than an issue of exactly how much gas that tank can hold is your own statement, to whit:
“the third time I decided to cram as much in as I could, and put in 11.95 gallons – a full gallon-plus more than the specified tank size.”
In case you were not aware of it, doing this is what damages the carbon canister that is the heart of your evaporative emissions system. Hopefully, one incident will not kill the canister, but I can assure you that repeated incidents like this will kill that canister–without which you cannot pass state emissions tests.
Although I can’t tell you what the replacement of a Honda carbon canister would cost, I can tell you that on Toyotas, replacement of that canister, with labor, tends to run about $400.00–and this is not covered by any car maker’s warranty because it constitutes owner negligence.
Traditionally, Hondas have no room left in the gas tank when the pump “clicks off”, and while you should not attempt to force more gas into the tank on any make of car, I believe that this practice would be particularly injurious on Hondas, due to their tank configuration. Let’s hope that you have not already caused damage and that you will heed my advice for future fill-ups.
You should have 2-3 gallons in the tank when the low-fuel light comes on. So, unless you drove the car until it sputtered out of gas, there should be gas still in when you filled it those times. Gas pumps are measured for accuracy by a state department, like here in GA, the Dept of Agriculture. The pumps here are supposed to be checked every year. And, overfilling the tank usually means forcing gas into the filler neck and vent tubes. For most cars, this could add as much as a gallon.
Based on all that, I would contact Honda, and ask f the owner’s manual was correct for your car. I suspect that the tank you have is probably at least 13 gallons.
A study of pump accuracy in Arizona publicized in June found that 1 in 50 pumps were shorting customers (and consequently overcharging them) by as much as 10%. Of course, approximately 1 in 50 pumps were also overdispensing.
Some states inspect pumps once a year at best. Some inspect only every two years. Digital displays that measure to the thousanth of a gallon are there to imply to the customer a degree of accuracy that does not exist in reality.
Change gas stations and see what happens.
and quit topping off the tank, it’ll lead to problems down the road that VDC already covered. When the pump clicks off, don’t put any more in.
Around here there are gas stations that are on Indian land and are not subject to Federal and state regulation. They are checked for accuracy by an Indian agency on the reservation. Filling up at the reservation sometimes leads to some very drastic changes in fuel economy…if you know what I mean.
here in the uk my dad has a honda jazz,which is the same as a honda fit in the us,its tank is 9.2 imperial gallons,or 11.1 of your us gallons,in the uk the jazz is availiable with a 1.2,or 1.3 litre engine.my dad has the 1.3 and regularly gets 42 mpg in the town!!hes retired and doesnt drive much,hes done 10,000 miles in 5 years!!!quite often you will get at least half a gallon more in when you brim the tank up to the filler pipe,but youre best just filling up until the pump clicks off.