Fuel Filling Issue? **Not Overflow**

SpoolAndGo

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2017 Hatchback LX CVT with 12,600 miles on it and purchased in August 2017.

A couple of weeks ago my low fuel light came on as I was driving to the gas station. Usually, when this happens, it will end up taking around 10.3 gallons to fill up. The pump shut off at 9.4 gallons. Looking at the fuel gauge in the car, it was a "box" or two short from the very top of the gauge, past the F mark.

Today, I decided to get gas. The low fuel light was NOT on, but I was pretty low. The pump shut off at 1.5 gallons so I restarted it and it eventually shut off at 9.4 gallons again. Now, from the amount of gas that I had left, that seems about right, but the fuel gauge in the car is one "box" short from the very end of the gauge. I went to the same gas station, but used a different pump this time.

Any ideas if this is a car issue or just bad luck with pumps? I know there have been issues with fuel overflow, but this is different.
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defeated

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Definitely try a different station. I've been to stations that just have one funky pump, but sometimes it's all of them.
 

dj2819

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I think this is a problem with certain type of nozzles, I went to several pumps that have the nozzle as I will post below. Depending on how much is inserted, it stops the pump prematurely.

This is the type of nozzle I have at my local shell stations:


If I insert the nozzle all the way in, the pump will usually stop very soon. The noise of the air escaping sounds similar to if the tank was almost full but this happens even if the tank is empty.


To get it to fill properly I have to insert the nozzle partially. The sound of the fuel flowing is much more normal now and the tank gets filled properly.


If I move the nozzle as its filling there is a tendency to stop the pump which is weird. Not sure if this is compatibility issue with this type of nozzle and the capless filler or what. I never had problems at these pumps before with any of my other normal filler type cars.
 

BailOut

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Has anyone experienced the "issue" where the fuel gauge declines very slowly at first (first half tank or so) and then increasingly accelerates as you near the empty mark? I've noticed this since I bought my 2018 coupe a few months ago, and it's most apparent comparing the F to the E mark. I can drive 100 miles and the gauge has only declined a few increments total. When it's closing in the E mark, on the other hand, I can watch the increments decline in real time as the car moves.

I called the dealership service dept to inquire about this behavior. They said as long as no warning/check lights were on there wasn't an issue, implying this was normal gauge functionality.
 


dj2819

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Has anyone experienced the "issue" where the fuel gauge declines very slowly at first (first half tank or so) and then increasingly accelerates as you near the empty mark? I've noticed this since I bought my 2018 coupe a few months ago, and it's most apparent comparing the F to the E mark. I can drive 100 miles and the gauge has only declined a few increments total. When it's closing in the E mark, on the other hand, I can watch the increments decline in real time as the car moves.

I called the dealership service dept to inquire about this behavior. They said as long as no warning/check lights were on there wasn't an issue, implying this was normal gauge functionality.

I think this is common for many new cars. My 2002 Acura TL seemed pretty linear. However my parent's '08 RAV4 and my '19 Civic seem to empty faster closer to E.
 

BailOut

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Gotcha. It's as if they consulted with a psychologist when designing the fuel gauge's change rate.
 

fjrman

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Was your car tilted to the left when you filled the tank? There's an air bubble in the tank when it's full. When the car is tilted to the left the bubble will be larger with less gas allowed in at fill-up.

Gas gauges are rarely linear since the tanks are not symmetrical. One inch of fuel equates to varying volumes in different elevations of the tank. I doubt Honda or any other vendor provides gas gauge software which accounts for the odd shapes of the tanks.
 
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civicdriver_

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2017 Hatchback LX CVT with 12,600 miles on it and purchased in August 2017.

A couple of weeks ago my low fuel light came on as I was driving to the gas station. Usually, when this happens, it will end up taking around 10.3 gallons to fill up. The pump shut off at 9.4 gallons. Looking at the fuel gauge in the car, it was a "box" or two short from the very top of the gauge, past the F mark.

Today, I decided to get gas. The low fuel light was NOT on, but I was pretty low. The pump shut off at 1.5 gallons so I restarted it and it eventually shut off at 9.4 gallons again. Now, from the amount of gas that I had left, that seems about right, but the fuel gauge in the car is one "box" short from the very end of the gauge. I went to the same gas station, but used a different pump this time.

Any ideas if this is a car issue or just bad luck with pumps? I know there have been issues with fuel overflow, but this is different.
This happened in my old Jetta, if I remember correctly, it's really bad to let the fuel level go below 1/4 of your fuel gauge consistently. There's a chance that it could be a bad pump at a gas station or whatever but it could also be that you have air in your fuel tank from letting the fuel level drop low more than occasionally (I assume). I'd first try refilling with different pumps at different station but if that doesn't fix the problem then I'd bet that you have air in your fuel tank. Here's a video that explains the problem and shows you how to fix it yourself. It's not too complicated and you can save a lot of money that way!



If you'd rather just live with it like I did on my old Jetta, just remember what your fuel tank capacity is and always fill up when your fuel tank is at 1/2 and put in whatever a little less than half your max fuel tank capacity to be safe you don't overfill. Good luck and don't be too stressed about it!!

Edit: I just realized this post was from 2018 lol
 

TheCanadian

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I figured out the magic angle to make the fuel fill in my Type R. Tilt the nozzle about 30-45 degrees counter-clockwise when you are filling. So the hose going to the station is facing bottom-right (towards back of car).

My car would stop early until I figured out the magic angle.
 


TheCanadian

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To get it to fill properly I have to insert the nozzle partially. The sound of the fuel flowing is much more normal now and the tank gets filled properly.


If I move the nozzle as its filling there is a tendency to stop the pump which is weird. Not sure if this is compatibility issue with this type of nozzle and the capless filler or what. I never had problems at these pumps before with any of my other normal filler type cars.
Trust me. Rotate the pump 30-45 degree's counter clockwise
 

BailOut

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Interesting point about the asymmetrical composition of fuel tanks causing the asymetrical decline rates on the fuel gauge. It makes sense.
 

Sing

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Trust me. Rotate the pump 30-45 degree's counter clockwise
I had this problem yesterday after driving a full tank empty, it could only fill up for 70% and thought something was wrong. I tried your method this afternoon and the tank is filled up full again nicely.
The sweet spot is indeed 30-45 degrees bottom right depending on the ground your car is standing on. Try moving a little to find out.
 

SethNES

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In my old 05 civic ex I installed a new fuel pump but didn't tighten it enough. So was gas smelling inside and when I went to fill up once it started pouring gas out bottom. I didn't know what to do so drove to friends house with gas trail. Let's just say after properly tightening gas pump and doing bounce test in back of driveway it was finally secure. Yea I'm a noob...
 

TheCanadian

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Option 2 is to push it in deeply. Some gas pumps don’t seal full unless you really manhandle it
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