It would not bug me if it only happened once or twice, yet five times in a row, now I think something is up. I've been daily driving the S since the good weather in our winter and spring this year, and trying to fill up once the tank is just below half full or about 1/4 full. Each time I fill up the fuel tank, I stop when the sensor automatically shuts off the fuel. When I get back in the car, the fuel guage in the dash does not read full. It's reading two bars from full. Any thoughts on what might be wrong, or how to get a fulll tank of fuel? It's a 2001 AP1 with about 96K miles.

 

If it were me I would top the tank off right up the neck one time so you can see that the tank is truly full. If your reading is off after that then yes, something is up. Have you been filling up at the same pump each time? Maybe it is kicking off too early?

 

I can usually put a few gallons of fuel in any car after the first automatic shutoff. These are safety devices at the gas pump so they don't over fill the tank and start pumping fuel on the pavement. At a slow speed this shut off is when the tank is full but no one has time to do that so we pump at high speed and splashing occurs which can trigger the shutoff.


-- Chuck

 

I had/have the exact same problem - gas pump clicks off, but the gauge is still 2-3 bars empty. But, this only happens in the winter or colder weather; so maybe warmer weather heats up the sensor, electronics or vent lines more and the gauge reads faster, irdk.

But, even when it does read 2-3 bars empty after fill-up during the winter, it usually eventually starts to read totally Full.. very slowly, or after driving it from the gas station about 10-20 miles..the gauge continues to rise to Full after driving it.

Whenever I gas up, I always have the key in the ignition and in the On position...so I can look inside on the dash/gauge and keep filling it up, until the gauge reads full.

 

The problem is excess pressure builds up in the tank which causes the gas nozzle to stop filling before the tank is full.

There are two reasons why this happens.
1). Your evap system's vent hole is clogged which is a charcoal filter to let out excess pressure in the system.
2). Tank was full and you kept forcing gas in it flooding it.

Good luck sounds like a pain.

 

My previous car (a Tacoma) had this exact same problem too (actually worse...gas pump kept shutting off, not even close to full and like at 1/4 or 1/2 tank). I fixed it by locating the Evap charcoal filter (or little square unit) and its' hoses/lines (that went to the gas tank) in the engine bay, then went to a gas station where they have compressed air, then compressed air'ed the line/hose that led to the gas tank (while the gas cap was removed) and listened to a "bubbling sound" from the gas tank. It cleared the lines of any stuck-puddles/condensation/cobwebs, and it worked well and I never had this problem again.

But, for the S2k, I have no idea where those same lines/hoses (that lead to the gas tank) would be located in the engine bay. I think this might work for the S2k too though perhaps.

 

The gas nozzle automatic shutoff is entirely mechanical. See the link posted above. Once the nozzle vent gets blocked by gasoline -- and foam or a splash will do -- the handle unlocks.

-- Chuck