pump keeps stopping when trying to fill gas tank

17 years ago

Hi!

Can someone give me a clue what might be suddenly going on with my 2000 Hyundai Accent? This past week, on 4 separate occasions, the pump will only put in a couple cents' worth of gasoline, then keep stopping. It only started about a week ago, and the first time I thought it was a faulty pump, because my gauge inside clearly indicated it was down to half a tank.

But today this same thing happened for the 4th time--different pumps, different places (but same brand)

I've been buying gas from there always, so what's suddenly the deal??

I even tried removing the nozzle completely then reinserting it, no improvement.

Operating the nozzle manually didn't help, either.

Thank you.

Featured Answer

spankeeees

10 years ago

I have a 2007 Jeep Patriot and the same thing happened to me recently. I took it to my Mechanic and he confirmed the gas fumes are not venting during the fill up. Cars today have a closed venting system to prevent the fumes from escaping into the atmosphere. Another EPA Mandate to complicate things I guess. Its suppose to collect the fumes, convert it to fuel and burn it off. My Mech troubleshooted it for over an hour, but could not fine the cause. He removed the vent lines between the tank and the collection chamber under the hood, checked the collection chamber, checked the filler tube and found them all to be clear and open. In the end, he felt the issue was coming from s part of gas tank that's not accessible or repairable (Thanks Jeep!) He suggested I take it to Jeep and have them look at it. I decided to suffer with the 20 minute fill-ups, not wanting to spend $1200 on a new gas tank just yet. Tough going when its freezing cold out. That's when I discovered the unconventional, slightly dangerous alternate fix. If I leave the truck running when I pump the gas, she takes it all in like champ! Hey, whats life without a little danger? Filling up this way can trigger the check engine light, but I can reset that. I will share my discovery with my mechanic to see if the new info changes his original assessment. If the diagnose is still replace the tank, I will do the "leave it running" fix for now and do a mini vacay with the $1200 saved. Bob M

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Comments (12)

randy427
17 years ago
The automatic nozzle shut-off is sensing a pressure in the fill tube which is indicative of a full tank. An early shut-off can be triggered if the fuel is not flowing freely into the tank.
Angling the fuel nozzle into the fill pipe differently usually does the trick. i.e. Holding the handle up instead of letting it hang down, or rotate it a bit in the fill tube mouth. Also, make sure the compression cuff around the nozzle is fully in contact with the mouth of the fill tube, and compressed against it.
john_g
17 years ago
This is not an uncommon complaint. Air and fuel vapors in the tank have to escape to allow the fuel to go in. The normal path is through the carbon canister which traps the fuel vapors and allows the air to pass. Either the vent valve is stuck closed, the filter (if used) is dirty, the opening for the filter/vent valve is obstructed with debris such as an insect cocoon, or in some cases the canister itself has plugged up.

You will need a technician familiar with evaporative emission systems to test and find out whats wrong.
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twinklenose
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you both, so much, for responding.
My mechanic will check it this week to see if the vent is stopped up.
meanwhile, I'll just try to bear with it.
My son asked me yesterday if I was having 'issues' with the gas pump.:)
I'll say!!!
Jasdip
17 years ago
Hi Twinklenose,
This is my first time posting here, as I frequent other GW forums more often. I have a 2002 Sonata and a year ago my car was doing the same thing.

It took quite a while for the mechanics to figure out what was wrong, but they eventually did. I can't think off-hand what the exact problem was. I love my Hyundai dealership, they worked at it till they got it right, and absorbed a lot of the costs.

Good luck!
hnord05_yahoo_com
15 years ago
I am going out on a limb here but I suspect that last post was from a less then suttle dealer or dealership employee! In my experience and opinoon the dealership is always the most exspensive!
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Read john g's Feb 9,09 post.
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I have a 2008 chevy impala air ecasping while trying to put gas in it comes back then 3rd time it went down
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My Chevy truck is doing the same thing.

pump keeps stopping when trying to fill gas tank

spankeeees

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randy427

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pump keeps stopping when trying to fill gas tank

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