Gas Fill Up Problem
Created October 13, 2008, at 1:02 pm by WompaStompa
I didn't think this fit under the tank capacity thread, so I created a new one for this issue. My wife and I bought a 2008 Prius back in March and have recently encountered a problem while filling up with gas. Even when the tank is near empty, the gas pump will click right away as if the tank is full. We have tried a couple different gas stations with the same results, and the fuel gauge is usually down to 1 or 2 dots. The only way to get the car filled up is to keep pressing the pump down, letting it click and stop, then pressing it down again, but it takes a very long time to fill up this way. I can also press ever so gently on the pump and the gas flows slowly but wont stop automatically.
Has anyone else had this issue with a 2008 or earlier Prius? We are thinking of just taking it back to Toyota to have them look at it because it must be an issue with the car telling the pump that the tank is full when it is not.
Any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Adam
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3 years ago
This is an infrequent problem. Seems to be hypersensitivity on the part of some gas pump nozzles to trip off.
Part of the problem is that Prius has a soft rubber fuel bladder, NOT a hard metal fuel tank, like every other car since the model T Ford.
what I found is that if the pump keeps clicking off, you can fill the first gallon S-L-O-W-L-Y, then after the first gallon or so, you can increase the speed of the pump without it tripping off.
For some reason, the Prius fuel tank occasionally causes back pressure on the filler neck, making the gas pump think the tank is full.
3 years ago
Thanks for your reply. This makes sense. So is there anything they can do to fix this or it is just yet another opportunity cost of driving a Prius?
3 years ago
People here are a little nuts. People like this live in a vacuum. With all the American computer companies like apple, Microsoft and intell making chips and boosting the CA economy I fall to see where CA people get there anti American industry from when they are in fact themselves American manufactures.
GM is the largest American company in the USA and employees more workers than any US company and purchases more parts from us suppliers than any auto company.
They mean well and one person who doesn’t even work for GM anymore gave the order to recall the ev1.
So one person is not an entire company of smart young bright engineers who want to make a difference and bring the company into the future.
GM also sells more cars than toyota.
Toyota was down 32 percent last month.
GM down 15%.
So let the press make a mess out of GM if they want they are an easy target.
I think the next target should be toyota. They have caused a lot more harm than good to our economy.
G
3 years ago
Eff off G.
3 years ago
My wife took her car in and they did say there is an issue with the gas canister. They are replacing it and I'll be sure to report back if it fixes the problem.
Hopefully it's not just an issue with the car in general.
3 years ago
my 2008 prius has an 11.9 gallon capacity. the gas gauge in the car has 13 dots. i logically assumed that each dot represented a little less than one gallon. so if i had 2 dots left i would have about 2 gallons left. when i went to fill it up it only took less than 5 gallons. toyota customer care says the gauge is not calibrated that way. if that is so what is the purpose of the gauge. anybody else having a similar problem
2 years ago
I have the sample problem with my 1999 Toyota Corolla. A way to avoid this is not to introduce the pump nozzle too much into the canister. That will allowed proper breathing of the system and therefore no trip off.
2 years ago
Wow, I'm kinda glad Gschaut posted his question. I just bought a 2005 Prius and within less then a month, it already has a problem! The gas gauge won't accept gas anymore but I'm going to try everyone's advice and go a little slower and try more carefully. Thanks for the heads up!
-SFlame
And G, while I understand your opinion you did nothing to help solve the issue at hand. And I am about 95% sure I don't live in a vacuum.
2 years ago
My old Jeep Wrangler had this vapor pressure backup problem.
If you look at the two extremes of putting the nozzle all the way in and just barely hanging it in the tank, I'd pick about half way in between. Then I'd only set the filler on the slowest setting. Sometimes that would build up too much vapor pressure and I'd have to hold the nozzle the whole time.
I've carried over the same habit with my prius with no problems.
1 year ago
this problem is happening to many different makes of cars. i have a 2003 toyota carolla this problem started this past year. i called toyota service and of course they act like this is the first they heard of this and of course they want you to bring it in. its got to be something with the new pump these
stations are installing. i didn't have this problem six months ago. theres people having the same problem at the same time i 'm trying to fillup. just look on the internet and see how many thousands of complaints there are concerning this problem. car dealers won't admit there is a problem with the pumps because they see this as an opportunity for more service calls to rip people off.
44 weeks ago
The same thing has happened to me. In fact, I ran out of gas on the freeway. Not an enjoyable experience. I will also try this trick to see if if doesn't fill up for me. The most I can fill the tank up to these days is 8 and a half gallons-which is pretty darn pathetic for a nearly 12 gallon holding tank. If other Prius owners are having this issue, what will it take to get this issued resolved with a recall?
44 weeks ago
Read the other thread on the Prius fuel bladder.
bottom line: Prius has a flexible rubber bladder, not a solid metal fuel tank.
And the bladder gets stiff and less flexable in the winter.
EVERY Prius ever made only holds 8 or 9 gallons during the winter. But goes back to full capacity when the weather gets about 60 deg or so..
27 weeks ago
I am also having this problem. The tank was 1/2 empty and wouldn't take any gas. After reading various internet postings, I tried again the next morning and was able squeeze more gas in. But now the fuel gage is reading full even though I have driven over 185 miles. So now it appears I cannot trust my gas gage at all.
Is there a fix for this problem?
27 weeks ago
No fix, adapt.
It's not uncommon for me to use 2 to 3 gallons of gas and have the tank read full. The bottom half of the tank goes faster. Don't trust the last two bars, especially the last bar.
Use the trip odometer & mpg calculator. If you drove 400 miles & averaged 50mpg, then you should be able to add 8 gallons.
When the pump shuts off, I can typically squeeze in 0.5 to 1 more gallon.
23 weeks ago
My 2002 now has the same issue at the pumps where the the pump keeps tripping off due to sensed pressure. This just started about 6 weeks ago. Drives me nuts!!!!
As for running out of gas well that's a no-brainer if you drive a lot of highway. Use your tripometer. Set it at 0 at every fill up. I know the capacity of my tank. 30 liters gets me 550 km's. So every 550 km's or 4 days of driving to work and back I fill up. I pump the gas until a wee bit pools up where the nozzle goes in. That way I know I have a full tank. Now my gas guage can do what ever the hell it wants and I couldn't care less.
10 weeks ago
We had never had this problem until we went on a trip to Iowa in Sept 2011. I was almost out of gas, and the attendent came out and tried to get gas to not just turn off the pump. He had me move to another pump that did work, and placed an out of order sign on the original pump. It happened again and again at other stations during this trip, and I ended up having to go from station to station trying to find a pump that would work.
I am on a trip to Atlanta as I write this, and again when going through S.C. I stopped for gas and the same thing happened. At the third station, I didn't place the nozzel all the way in, and then the gas didn't turn off the pump, and there was a very small spill. I had been watching for this to happen, and so the pump was going very slow at the time. I am thinking that when I am able to get a pump to work, I might not try to fill it all the way, but stop at say 4 or 5 gals. But I am happy to know that I am not the only one having a problem. Has anyone reported this to the government?
9 weeks ago
This happens frequently - automatic shut off trips after starting to pump. I tried 2 different gas stations last week without success, so took it to the dealer. They had "no problem filling tank (albeit only 2 gallons total at 2 stations), and found no problem". Obviously per this forum, I'm not the first Prius owner with this problem, and I'm unhappy with this dealer's unwillingness to admit that it problem exists and offer suggestions about coping with it.
I tried again yesterday, and self-service assistant was also unsuccessful in pumping more than a few gallons when gauge showed half empty tank. However as I drove away, the gauge went to "full", so now I'm convinced that I have a gauge AND tank problem.
If I didn't have sentimental attachment to this car (late sibling's), I'd sell it tomorrow.
6 days ago
2008 Prius in Florida so no real cold winter. We do not have the reduced capacity issue described during cold months but we do have the gas pump problem. Recently it has gotten worse. I am glad to see I am not the only one; and very happy to see the cause on these posts.
Yes, these dealers know about it, it is just a pisser that they address it by saying it is operator error or misunderstanding. I wonder if they get guidance from Toyota corporate on these responses.
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