Do not overfill or top off while filling gas tank

[BAScott62]

sweettea_ on tik tok is my go to guy for all things automotive

The reason I top off is to try to keep each fill as consistent as possible for tracking milage.

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[Soderholmsvag]

Thanks, but….. How often are we even filling the tank?

 

[My Maverick and Me]

This has been posted before I'm sure. Just doesn't hurt to remind everyone and to offer the information to new members.

https://www.dailydot.com/news/overfilling-gas-tank-warning/?amp

I was guilty of this practice for many years until I had an issue with a minivan I owned and had to have repairs done. I now stop once it clicks off and don't top of the tank.

 

[Rivers90]

I learned a lot when I topped off a 100+ gallon tank on a motorhome I had. The temperature went from about forty degrees to eighty plus that day. "Oh, the gasoline expanded. My motorhome is peeing gasoline. But it will stop soon."

No, it won't.

No, it didn't.

I poked that bear once and got away with it. You all go ahead and poke your own bear. I'll watch.

My mom in the past would top off. She stopped when she got a new car and after topping off a few times filled the vent lines with gasoline and the car had to go to the dealer to get fixed. The vent line goes from high up on the top of the gas tank down to the chasse, runs to the engine compartment then back up to a vent system to keep dirt, water from getting in the vent and in to the tank. Well the vent line was full of fuel and both ends are higher points compared to the middle so it would not drain out and the line needed to be disassembled and drained.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

sweettea_ on tik tok is my go to guy for all things automotive

The reason I top off is to try to keep each fill as consistent as possible for tracking milage.

I have only found between 1-2 10ths. variance between the Mavericks computer and the hand calculations.
How close are your calculations?

 

[Rivers90]

I was guilty of this practice for many years until I had an issue with a minivan I owned and had to have repairs done. I now stop once it clicks off and don't top of the tank.

Yes
This is exactly what happened to my Mom. Got away with it for years then problems. The cost of fixing it when it did go bad made the top offs not worth it. Plus the few days the car was at the shop was an inconvenience. Toping off was totally not worth the risk for her.

 

[BAScott62]

I have only found between 1-2 10ths. variance between the Mavericks computer and the hand calculations.
How close are your calculations?

After I recalibrated the meter down around 95%, usually within a MPG. Given the variability in pumps I'd find the kind of precision your seeing suspicious.

 

[commadorebob]

I don't put that much thought into it. When the pump says it is done, I take its word for it unless I know for a fact the truck needs more gas than that.

 

[CaReviews]

To those of you who say you can top off and it doesn't cause any damage to anything, clearly don't work on cars for a living. I can't tell you how many purge valves and emissions equipment I've seen fail as a result of overfilling or topping off the fuel tank. It's designed to take a certain amount, anything more is just flooding the system and causing premature failure of emissions equipment. If you don't care about that stuff failing, be my guest and continue to do as you do. Just another example of majority of owners thinking they know better than the engineers

 

[oysterville]

I guess I should consider myself lucky in that when I'm filling the truck I don't have to wonder when or if I will ever see another gas station again.

 

[HeyBales]

I think the major issue is the difference in what top off means.

The extreme of pumping slowly at the end and going past click after click after click until fuel runs out the filler hole because you defeated the safety mech.
We've all heard that at the pumps from others, perhaps ourselves - click, click, click, "oops oh shoot!"

That to me is "topping off" - filling the tank to absolute max with resulting poor off.

Then there is what the majority seem to be describing here. Using the safety mech correctly.
Fast flow - click, pause, slow flow - click. Maybe another click in there if you heard a lot of sloshing sounds perhaps clicking it off early, or person on other side of pump did a hard stop and yours stopped too.
The sound of fuel is no where near the top of filler, there is no overflow, there was still a 1/4 gal fill past 1st click and not defeating the safety mech.

Frankly, the fast click, click, click method probably protects people because they are getting click offs due to the sloshing effect before it runs down the neck totally, before they are actually maxing out the tank to overfill. It's the slow hand held method that allows getting past the clicks easier I've found.

I've found top-tier gas usually has good pumps. Now that single gas station in outback where everything looks questionable and old - ya that may be another matter.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I think the major issue is the difference in what top off means.....

The extreme of pumping slowly at the end and going past click after click after click until fuel runs out

I've found top-tier gas usually has good pumps. Now that single gas station in outback where everything looks questionable and old - ya that may be another matter.

Questionable and old.
I know what your talking about.
But at least there's gas or Diesel....

No plug in charger in sight.

 

[TheSEARCH]

This is like i never wear a seat belt and have been driving for years logic. Top it, don't top it. Its a real issue ignore at your own belief.

 

[Meeka]

This is like i never wear a seat belt and have been driving for years logic. Top it, don't top it. Its a real issue ignore at your own belief.

Bingo! The end of the world is coming and I don’t think having a fully topped up fuel tank right to the brim is of that importance, enjoy now for the next, oh I don’t know, 10 million years before the sun explodes! You guys are a riot! I love this forum. Besides, got a bunch of stuff from Amazon for my Mav today and had fun installing it all!

 

[notgoosemaverick33]

I never top off, but I will tell everyone, don't fill up with the engine running. The trip computer and fuel level will go funky for about a hundred miles or so.

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