Most fuel at fill-up?

P

pickerdd

New member
Maybe this is a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway... What's the most fuel you've put in your tank when you've filled up at the gas station? Just the fuel tank, not extra gas cans. ;):

I ran the tank pretty darn dry this weekend - the little low fuel light was on and the computer display noted that I had a whopping "0" miles left on the tank. So, I filled up yesterday so that there was a little gas above the little metal piece in the gas spout. I put in 24.31 gallons. I thought the tank capacity was 23.1 gallons.

The cost was a freakin $71.20 here in Georgia. I know that's probably less than some states and maybe more than others, but it's still seventy freakin dollars to fill up the dang truck! :twak:

David
 
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Wow, The Toyota website lists 23 gal as the tank capacity. I don't know if that is with or without reserve, but something sounds a little funny with the pump putting in 24 gal.

If it were me I would probably buy my gas at a different station and report that one to the county auditor as one that they should check!

You were running on fumes anyway! And then to get whacked with a $70+ fill up is just brutal!
 
Hmmm weird. Even when I ran down the trip estimator to 4 before, it still only filled up the tank to around 21 gallons so it had about 2 gallons left in reserve.
 
I agree. The last time the computer listed below 5 miles left on the tank I filled up between 21 and 22 gallons. This time was a little different in that I filled up so that the gas was visible in the spout when I stopped filling up. To be fair, this was the first time I had the fuel gauge below the Empty mark on the gauge. :(
 
I believe it is possible that the filler neck could hold an additional gallon of gas (depending on how far after the pump auto shutoff you fill it), but sounds like the pump was a little off (did you see a calibration sticker on the pump from the state)...

One word of caution about running it below 21 gallons... The fuel pump is in the tank and relies on the gas for lubrication (hence the 3 gallon "reserve"). If you run it dry, you run the risk of damaging the fuel pump (replacement cost is roughly $600-$700 talking the the mechanics up here - got to watch a 2003 having this done last week because the owner "ran it dry one too many times" (according to the service manager). And since this is monitored by the ECU (and the little black box inside), this is not an item covered by warranty.
 
.....you must have been bone-dry......the filler neck holds over a gallon of gas so if you filled it past the steel collar then there's the difference between the 23.1/gallons and your 24.31 gallons....
 
20.738 gallons.


I try to fill up at 1/4 tank when it is convenient. I hate to be in a rush and have to stop for gas.
 
You guys shouldn't fillup the filler neck and should just round up after the handle does it's first "click". Your tank needs a little room for the pressure in the tank to expand and overfilling leads to failure of the evaporative emissions system and will cost you more than it's worth the little extra gas you're adding.

I repeat,don't overfill as this should be common knowledge.
 
In my old 1997 T4R, I regularly put more gas in the tank than it was supposed to hold. Basically, I was told that the neck holds upwards of a gallon & the fuel lines can hold a good bit as well. I would not freak out about getting screwed at that one gas station.

And I feel your pain about the ATL prices. I went to Tennessee last weekend...a state that has double the gas taxes of Georgia...and their gas is 20-30 cents CHEAPER than ours!
 
pickerdd said:
Maybe this is a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway... What's the most fuel you've put in your tank when you've filled up at the gas station? Just the fuel tank, not extra gas cans. ;):

I ran the tank pretty darn dry this weekend - the little low fuel light was on and the computer display noted that I had a whopping "0" miles left on the tank. So, I filled up yesterday so that there was a little gas above the little metal piece in the gas spout. I put in 24.31 gallons. I thought the tank capacity was 23.1 gallons.

The cost was a freakin $71.20 here in Georgia. I know that's probably less than some states and maybe more than others, but it's still seventy freakin dollars to fill up the dang truck! :twak:

David
Click to expand...


At about 2.90 a gallon, your gas is dirt cheap compared to southern california. We are at about 3.50 on average, and I have seem some stations over 4.00 a gallon.
 
gas capacity

they gave me a coupon for a free fill-up when i got the 4runner, so i ran it down to 17 miles after the light came on and i put a tad over 25 gallons in.
 
On my 4Runner, I *ALWAYS* pump between 2.2 and 2.7 more gallons in after the pump clicks off for the first time. This brings it right up to the filler neck. I do this without fail every single time and have had no problems whatsoever over the last 14 months/25k miles of ownership.

Ricky
 
boston_kevin said:
One word of caution about running it below 21 gallons... The fuel pump is in the tank and relies on the gas for lubrication (hence the 3 gallon "reserve"). If you run it dry, you run the risk of damaging the fuel pump (replacement cost is roughly $600-$700 talking the the mechanics up here - got to watch a 2003 having this done last week because the owner "ran it dry one too many times" (according to the service manager). And since this is monitored by the ECU (and the little black box inside), this is not an item covered by warranty.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I haven't heard that the fuel pump could be damaged by running the tank low. I'll make sure and not make a habit of it. I wouldn't want to be stuck with the cost of replacing the fuel pump and other items because I ran the tank dry. I appreciate the info!

I'm sure the extra gallon was the fuel in the filler neck and hoses. My initial post wasn't so much about where the extra fuel came from or that the pump was not calibrated incorrectly, it was more amazement that I ran the thing so dry. I won't do that again. :bash:
 
Is it really worth the extra gallon or two to overfill?

Even if it hasn't had any ill effects on performance it's just a matter of time. Also overfilling forces the charcoal cansister to vent more harmful pollutants into the air that otherwise wouldn't be there. Point #3 is the fuel return line can be overpressurized and fail prematurely when you least expect it. Ask any mechanic that is worth a crap and he'll tell you the same thing,ask your dealer mechanic.
 
Ask anybody that's ever run out of gas before if those extra couple of gallons would have been worth it to them. I've never run out of gas, but I have run my tanks down pretty low in various cars I've had in the past....so it could have made the difference for me by doing it.

To each their own, but I would rather get the longer range between stops. For every 10 fillups, I essentially lose the need to make an 11th one by putting an extra 2 gallons in there. It all works out the same time-wise that I spend an extra minute topping off versus spending an extra 10 minutes at the pump one extra time. It's just more convenient to spend the extra minute each time since I'm already there.

I won't even mention the fact that it makes my gas mileage calculations from tank to tank that much more accurate when I KNOW that I'm filling up to the same point every time and not filling up more/less based on how sensitive the pump's auto shutoff is (I've had some shut off after putting just 2-3 gallons into an otherwise empty tank, so I don't trust that they'll shut off when my tank is truly full in the first place).

Ricky
 
Go ask those guys that shelled out a few hundred to the stealership for new charcoal canisters and even more for install and associated damages and ask them if it was worth it.


I know,I know,ignorance is bliss. :)

Hope I didn't waste 10 seconds of your life for you to read this since you could have saved it. ;): ;):
 
Nothing has proven to me that the damage to a charcoal canister was by topping off the tank. Some may have been defective in the first place and would have triggered a CEL regardless of how the user filled up his/her tank.

If the charcoal canisters were that fragile, any offroading you do (especially with a full tank) should slosh fuel into it and damage it.... So I guess everybody that offroads will have charcoal canister/evaporative emissions systems damage eventually too, right?

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge for sale.

Ricky
 
I don't know about the ill-effects to the vehicle for topping off, but I read on a link posted here on T4R.org that it rips you off. The cost is charged, but the short bursts are not enough to get the pump to flow the gas. Since reading the article, I stop topping off on my daily driver and the fuel gauge still comes up passed the F. Before I use to top off as if that would be last of available drop of gas for purchase, up to the filler neck threads. According to the gas station, I'm able to add half to a gallon of gas. But between topping and off and stopping after the pump cut off, I still get the same number of miles traveled when the fuel gauge needle moves to the F hash mark.
 
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