Slow Fuel Filling

Doodlebug · December 21, 2002

I appear to have a problem when refueling my IS200. It takes ages to fill the tank due to the petrol pump clicking off as if my tank is full, the only way I can fill up is to push the nozzle hard into the filler neck and squeeze the trigger gently.

Is this normal or do I have a venting problem perhaps.

As the car came with a full tank of fuel I would have expected the dealership to have noticed and corrected it if it is a problem. <_<

Any thoughts

ricky_is200 · December 21, 2002

Have you tried another petrol station? I have had this problem at certain filling stations but others work fine. I remember one where I wanted to fill the car up, but by £20 I was just totally fed up of it continually stopping and gave up.

Some people have found that if you either rotate the nozzle to the left a bit or pull it out slightly that helps.

Let us know how you get on!

vince-com · December 21, 2002

same problem in all the gaz stations for me, the only solution gaved by my Lex dealer is to get the nozzle a 180° turn and put it in your tanker (trigger will be up), people use to look at me doing this but it works perfectly.

;)

djanderso · December 21, 2002

Have this too - what I do is hold the nozzle with my right hand, and hold the hose horizontal to the car with my left!

Brian Berry · December 21, 2002

Petrol stations with old pumps tend to take a much longer time to fill up. Quite often the cut off switch comes on too early or is faulty and this can be very annoying.

Doodlebug · December 21, 2002

Thanks for the input.

I use the same 4 petrol stations that are either local or on my way to work. I use BP for the Nectar points and I have never had a problem with my last cars and the other 3 cars in my household.

At least I am not alone in this and I will try the 180 degree fill up next time to see if that works and watch the faces of other people in the garage.

It can be a pain in the rear because it delays me that little bit longer from driving the beauty.

Matthew_McNally · December 21, 2002

I appear to have a problem when refueling my IS200. It takes ages to fill the tank due to the petrol pump clicking off as if my tank is full, the only way I can fill up is to push the nozzle hard into the filler neck and squeeze the trigger gently.

I have this problem if I do push the nozzle hard into the filler neck.

I find that only putting the nozzle in halfway work for for me.

If you picture a petrol station nozzle - it has a slight kink in it yeah, about halfway down - about a 30 degree drop?

I just put it into the kink - and find it fills no problem.

This is a Shell garages btw

JOHNNY-BOY · December 21, 2002

I too have this problem, I use the same method as Matt which usually solves the problem.

norkep · December 21, 2002

The same here, works a treat at Shell but not so much at BP

Steve · December 21, 2002

me have no problem.. my filler hole (oooo errr missus) is about 2 inchhes wide with no restricter!

ifraz · December 22, 2002

I have the same problem. But rotating the nozzle 180 degrees does the trick everytime. Who cares what anyone else think I'm doing, at least I'm driving a better car :D

Andy.thomas · December 22, 2002

Matt, I used to try the only put the nozzle in to the kin trick, until one Very early morning start, I was filling up and falling asleep against the side of the car and instead of the fuel stopping it just carried on! About £3 of fuel on the forecort! Nice!

thegooseman · December 22, 2002

Pulling it out a bit works. If the slight bend in the nozzle rests on the lip of the filler neck you should have no problems.

ricky_is200 · December 22, 2002

I do that and the pump stops fine when it is full

Unity_neil · December 22, 2002

Kind of on the same subject this...

A couple of years ago I was on a Market research thing where you go and talk about advertising and stuff, this one was on Shell as it goes and one of the questions involved what you thought was important.

One of their ideas was, "we keep our pumps maintained better so they dont click off prematurely" hmm certainly does seem to vary between filling stations...although my FTO was much worse for this and the Chevy doesnt do it at all ever!

anyone on here have a definitive answaer? :hocus-pokus: :hohoho: :hocus-pokus: :hohoho:

Matthew_McNally · December 22, 2002

anyone on here have a definitive answaer? :hocus-pokus: :hohoho: :hocus-pokus: :hohoho:

funny you should ask

;)

Near the tip of the nozzle is a small hole, and a small pipe leads back from the hole into the handle. Suction is applied to this pipe using a venturi. When the tank is not full, air is being drawn through the hole by the vacuum, and the air flows easily. When gasoline in the tank rises high enough to block the hole, a mechanical linkage in the handle senses the change in suction and flips the nozzle off.

Here's a way to think about it -- you've got a small pipe with suction being applied at one end and air flowing through the pipe easily. If you stick the free end of the pipe in a glass of water, much more suction is needed, so a vacuum develops in the middle of the pipe. That vacuum can be used to flip a lever that cuts off the nozzle.

The next time you fill up your tank, look for this hole either on the inside or the outside of the tip.

must....

confesss.....

got it from here

Steve · December 22, 2002

Well matt! I was starting to thing you were really clever when you starting talking about a Venturi...

What guts me is i knew the answer... but I have not been following the thread.. so i could have looked real clever.. just for a moment!

Matthew_McNally · December 22, 2002

;)

norkep · December 23, 2002

From some of these posts, are we still talking about filling your tank or emptying

something else

Donk · December 23, 2002

I have had the same troubles filling up. Newer petrol pumps seem to pump faster and that's a problem in itself, but I've found in the past with other cars and now the IS that turning the handle towards the cap door helps.

Pity that self service is expected evferywhere these days!