Is it ok to top off gas?

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: supton


By the same logic we should not alter tire psi nor use after market non-oem parts. Looks like many here get away with it.

On my Jetta I always fill to the brim. My gassers tho I go to the first click and call it good.


Not the same things...the evap system is engineered to perform with certain parameters, when the design parameters are altered it causes problems (flooded charcoal canister) . It's not like you are switching from a Bosch O2 sensor to a Denso O2 sensor with both being the correct application for the vehicle.

 

[horse123]

Done it for 3 years on my car, only up to maybe 1/2 gallon at the most, usually more like 1/5th, never had a problem. Maybe that's just because I don't drive a piece of [censored].

 

[BikeWhisperer]

How about how often we've seen dip-wads top off only to spill gas all over the side of their car/truck (their problem) and all over the ground (everybody's problem).

Just fill till it clicks off, you aren't in a Nascar race trying to squeeze two extra laps out of a fill up.

 

[Nate1979]

I've heard if you slow down on filling it will not click off so soon allowing to fill more while still stopping at the first click.

 

[xxch4osxx]

I always round off to the nearest .50 cents after the pump clicks off. Never had any problems.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: coopns
Within the last year seems like everyone gets snippy highbrow with replies. [...] not RTFM.

Obviously you can interpret my response any way you wish. I made the comment I did so that you could get it straight from the horse's mouth by RTFM. And if you're in the whole anti-RTFM crowd and don't trust what the manufacturer put in there, then why did you buy their vehicle in the first place?

 

[Lyman]

After the pump clicks off I give it another slow squeeze and quit when it clicks off the second time. Never a problem.

 

[EdwardC]

For years growing up, my parents would let me pump the gas and I'd always pump up to the nearest dollar (back then, gas was in the $1/ga range). Never really had a problem

Nowadays, I just stop at the first click to get as consistent as possible mileage measurements for fuelly.

I have no doubt that topping off too much every pump can and does cause problems, but I also have no doubt that the car manufacturers have some conservative calculation to account for top-off-ers.

 

[Nick1994]

I stop at the first click. But then again I can go 500 miles on 12.5-13 gallons of fuel.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I HATE when the attendants in NJ and OR top off when you say fill it! Usually they only do this wish cash, though.

 

[Wolf359]

Some of this depends on the car. On my Ford, I topped off for years and never had a problem to over 200k, however my sister with her Toyota had to get the evap canister/charcoal canister replaced as she topped off all the time too and that was at under 100k. So now I've stopped doing it.

 

[bbhero]

I top off too. All the time. I need to tighten up and quick

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Some of this depends on the car. On my Ford, I topped off for years and never had a problem to over 200k, however my sister with her Toyota had to get the evap canister/charcoal canister replaced as she topped off all the time too and that was at under 100k. So now I've stopped doing it.


This is accurate. Some vehicles may handle topping off, but others can't.

My Hyundai would frequently overflow when you were filling it. I read a lot of people online say it was because the previous owner had been topping off. That leads to gas leaking into the evap canister, it causes the material inside to swell and plug it up.

It was mounted in an inconvenient place so I just ignored the issue.

 

[eljefino]

I read a warning at the gas station that if you top off the gas station's vapor recovery will steal back the gas that you paid for.

True or not, it struck a chord!

If I do it, I trickle it, and hold the nozzle halfway out so its tip is barely touching the unleaded restrictor doorway, so I can see what's going on down there. A full fill is a satisfying feeling, especially if I'm on the road and know that it won't expand into my EVAP stuff before it uses some.

 

[cmhj]

I top off unless I'm not driving very far with an overnight or longer stop.

 

[rjundi]

EPA stance on it: http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/

I think its stupid as I have always paid with a credit card. Not exactly sure of the point of forcing more fuel in watching the Total cost go up even more.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
I routinely put 22 gallons in my official "17.5" gallon Accord allowing me to go from ~500 per tank to over ~630 per tank.

Of course you do! Doesn't everyone?

 

[Chris142]

People that topped tanks in the 70's and 80's often found there carburetor plugged with charcoal balls.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: BRZED
Out of safety concerns I stop short of flooding the filler tube though.


Yeah, I remember one time I topped off my X1/9 so full that I could see the fuel in the tube when I put the cap back on... didn't do that again

.

Of course, the most sophisticated piece of hardware in that car was the cassette player.

 

[MNgopher]

My Ford vehicles only say do not fill more than 3 click offs. Not one. With that method on my 2004 F150, I generally get 2+ more gallons in from the first click. Granted, my tank is a 30 gallon tank, so there is a bit more leeway based on volume alone.

Hundreds of thousands of miles doing so on multiple vehicles and never an issue.

I prefer to stop at the gas station as little as often. That's an extra gas station stop about once every two months for me. Just time I'd rather not spend.