I had about 3 bars of gas left.. went to the gas station today and pumped 10.6 gallons of gas before the pump stopped. I then lifted the nozzle up a bit so I can see how much more I could put in before it's really "topped off." I pumped it until it hit 12.9 gallons.. and it was still not full.. no gas leaking out, nothing. I thought our gas tanks can only hold 13.6 gallons? Why was I able to pump that much with 3 bars of gas left, and it was still not topped off?

Is it bad to actually top off the tank?

 

That's strange, are you sure you were able to put 2.3 more gallons without the gas spilling?

There was this one time when a gas attendant (I live in NJ) tried to match the whole dollar mark and spilled all over my car. In fact, I made the same mistake when I was pumping my own gas in New York. I believe I put no more than .25 gallon before the gas started to spill..

 

[QUOTE=Sfkn2,Jun 28 2006, 11:52 PM] I had about 3 bars of gas left.. went to the gas station today and pumped 10.6 gallons of gas before the pump stopped.

 

Three bars on our gas gauge really means nothing since the bars are pretty imprecise. Your tank could very well have been almost dry, but its hard to believe you had only .7 gallons left. Also, that station might be overcharging - you never know due to all the variables involved in filling your car with gas.

Yes, bad for the car, bad for the environment, and bad for your time. Just accept that its close enough and be on your way - its not like its hard to find a gas station and you have to get ever ounce you can while you're there (yet).

 

1. Due to "slosh factor", the gas gauge is very inaccurate, especially near the bottom of the tank. You may have had much less fuel than indicated.
2. The pump at the gas station you were at may have been a very strong, high flow one. It may have "popped" prematurely. Typically, where I fuel up, when the trigger is at max and it pops, I'm done. I can't get much more in nor do I really want to (for safety sake). If you have a really "fast" pump at the gas station, once it pops the first time, squeeze it at 1/2 way till it pops again and quit.
3. The last couple gallons were being shunted directly into the secret compartment.

Topping up is generally not a safe thing to do, especially during the summer or for those who park in heated garages in winter. If the tank is too full, the fuel will expand when the it warms up in the car. The fuel starts off being very cold due to being so deep in the ground.

 

I drive it until NO bars left and fill ups are 12 gallons

I use different gas stations all the time..
some click off and I pump .75 more and its spilling out
others stations... at least a gallon more of gas

After the first click off.. I pump it slowly or it bubbles out

one time on fumes...13.1 gallons to fill up

 

I have overfilled my tank (one time) by trying to go from .76 cents to the nearest dollar.

 

When I fill the S, when the pump shuts off, that's all that goes in. I have tried to 'top off', but fuel always spills out when I remove the pump handle. No more 'topping off' for me in the S.

 

the first time i tried to top off, it spilled the second i squeezed the handle. the second time i tried to make it an even 30 when i was at 29.90 and it spilled. just dont do it!

 

I usually will round up to nearest 5 cents. I hate having gas spill on side of car.