Any harm in overfilling petrol tank?
Discussion
This reminds me of a story my old man told me. His first job was in a petrol station in the 60's.
One day he was serving fuel (how old fashioned) this old lady pulled up in a Mini Cooper and told him to fill it up while she got groceries from the shop across the street.
She came back, paid him and drove off. Leaving a massive puddle of petrol on the forecourt.
Her husband did a bit of casual rallying in it and had installed two fuel tanks. However as it was the off season he had removed one of them.
One day he was serving fuel (how old fashioned) this old lady pulled up in a Mini Cooper and told him to fill it up while she got groceries from the shop across the street.
She came back, paid him and drove off. Leaving a massive puddle of petrol on the forecourt.
Her husband did a bit of casual rallying in it and had installed two fuel tanks. However as it was the off season he had removed one of them.
You should only ever fill until the first click, that is the marker to say it is full. Beyond this you risk damaging the evap system (charcoal filter) as mentioned earlier in the thread. I learned this after researching into a recurring fault code on my old Leon. I had always put in an 'extra click's worth' until I realised.
The click is there for a reason.
The click is there for a reason.
jeremy996 said:
Some cars will go into limp mode if the carbon filter for vapour emissions is full of fuel. Some will reset after a number of starts, others will need a OBDC reader. Some Fords and Morgans can be a bit of a pain.
Overfilling can have some unfortunate consequences, from fuel being dribbled onto the tyres to pools of diesel on the road and car fires.
Overfilling can have some unfortunate consequences, from fuel being dribbled onto the tyres to pools of diesel on the road and car fires.
MikeTFSI said:
You should only ever fill until the first click, that is the marker to say it is full. Beyond this you risk damaging the evap system (charcoal filter) as mentioned earlier in the thread. I learned this after researching into a recurring fault code on my old Leon. I had always put in an 'extra click's worth' until I realised.
The click is there for a reason.
This/\ and this/\The click is there for a reason.
Modern fuel tanks are designed so that when notionally 'full' there is still a vapour space at the top.
Apart from that you risk fuel spillage as the cool fuel from the underground storage tank expands as its temperature rises after its pumped into your tank.
d!
I put the nozzle in, squeeze the handle and hold it there until it clicks. When it clicks, I remove the nozzle, place it back on the pump and then pay for the fuel which I've put into my car. I then get back in my car and drive away.
Putting fuel in your car should be no more and no less than this.
Putting fuel in your car should be no more and no less than this.
Rawwr said:
I put the nozzle in, squeeze the handle and hold it there until it clicks. When it clicks, I remove the nozzle, place it back on the pump and then pay for the fuel which I've put into my car. I then get back in my car and drive away.
Putting fuel in your car should be no more and no less than this.
You've made a task I enjoy sound utterly mundane and uninteresting.Putting fuel in your car should be no more and no less than this.
MikeTFSI said:
You should only ever fill until the first click, that is the marker to say it is full. Beyond this you risk damaging the evap system (charcoal filter) as mentioned earlier in the thread. I learned this after researching into a recurring fault code on my old Leon. I had always put in an 'extra click's worth' until I realised.
The click is there for a reason.
i have had several cars that would start clicking with only a third of a tank and you would then play nosel roulette as you try to rotate the gun to get an angle where it wouldn't constantly click and you can fill the damn thingThe click is there for a reason.
i have done 100k's of thousands of miles and always click multiple times until its on an exact ltr and never had any problems
MikeTFSI said:
The click is there for a reason.
Matt UK said:
There's no point filling beyond the click.
Too true. It indicates that if you let the bubbles settle you can get another thirty quid or so in the tank. Either that or you're filling up with the pump on the "wrong" side of the car as everyone of PH insists that it makes no difference, yet that click is the first of many while struggling to get even a tenner's worth of fuel on board within five minutes.Dave Hedgehog said:
i have had several cars that would start clicking with only a third of a tank and you would then play nosel roulette as you try to rotate the gun to get an angle where it wouldn't constantly click and you can fill the damn thing
i have done 100k's of thousands of miles and always click multiple times until its on an exact ltr and never had any problems
+1 I've had cars where if you stop filling at first click the fuel gauge doesn't get to full.i have done 100k's of thousands of miles and always click multiple times until its on an exact ltr and never had any problems
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