Fuel overflow at the pump
 

Over the years I have owned a car, maybe once has the gas pump overflowed before automatically capping off... Now, after the 4th time of filling up my (new) car it has happened twice already; what gives? The pump will automatically cap off, but it will overflow and leak down the side of the car -- nothing major, but enough to want to wipe it off the side with paper towels, and it is quite annoying. Anyone else get this often?

i got that at a specific fuel pump at a local shell gas station, the other pumps work fine...

That happens to me at most pumps, if I have the nozzle on automatic at the highest rate. I find that it won't overflow if I've got the nozzle on the slowest notch.

I'm too impatient to fill at the slowest rate. I have a reasonable idea of how much gas it's going to take, so I fill at high rate until I'm within a couple of gallons of that, then drop to the lowest notch.

If this happens regularly, the spilled gas is not going to do the paint and sheet metal any good. I've got an Accord where the sheet metal around the filler is rusted out, pretty much because I wasn't diligent about avoiding and cleaning up fuel spills. If this happens with my 8, I use the gas station's windshield cleaner as well as paper towels to clean it up.

Ken

^^^

Yep filling to fast.

Never happened to me on the RX-8 before.

Thank goodness I am not the only one. Happens all the time. I have prepared for it now. I pre-pack a couple paper towels by the filler and DO NOT TOP OFF THE TANK!!!!!
No spillage now that I started using towels. Tiny burps of fuel get soaked up.
And yes SHELL is worse than others.

I almost always leave it on the fastest notch or hold it all the way untill it cuts off and have never had this problem. And shell is my station of choice (whitewater pearl and shell just go together)

Another design defect on the 8. It happens way more than any other car I have ever driven.

This happens to me all the time no matter how fast I refuel the car. Sometimes I think I wipe off more gas then I put in it.

If this were a design defect it would be affecting most if not all RX-8. It doesn't. There is a flap in the filler neck that is supposed to shut in case of a rollover accident. In these overfill cases there may be a problem with the flap partially deployed. You should get it checked. Engineers do not design cars to spill fuel.

it happened to me once when i tried to squeeze in a few more cents. needless to say i dont do that anymore. once it stops i wont try to put anymore in.

It COULD be something with the individual pumps I used; so I guess I'll be wary of using those again. (I pretty much stick to QuikTrip.)

You put to much faith in engineers. So much for the engineers that designed those visors.

What makes you think everything is designed by engineers? An awful lot of stuff is designed by designers. Sometimes by someone who's just a parts-picker.

The overflow deal with my car varies from pump to pump. I've got it under control by slowing the fill as it approaches full, but I think I'll mention it the next time I bring it in for service.

This is the kind of thing that, if common, can lead to a safety recall. I won't drop the dime (Zoomie is family) but has anyone reported this to NHTSA?

Ken

Never happened to me and i always refill at shell on the fastest setting.

After 3 years and 26K miles I have never had this happen. Always use the fastest setting and top off after the pump shuts off.

Has only happened once, and it was when I tried to squeeze those last 15-20 cents to round it up to the next dollar... needless to say I now only round to the nearest 5-10 cents. has not happened since, andI'm very careful to clean any spilled drops

Happens to me at most stations...Exxon seems to do it less often than most. I always just run the car down the the fuel light..when I get around 11 or 12 gallons slow the pump down until its full. Might still get a little burble so I keep a rag with me at all times. Is this possibly an issue with '06 models?

If you search this forum you'll see that it has happened to many people before. Make sure the nozzle is snug and slow down the fuel flow when you're close to the top. The filler neck makes a different noise when the tank is almost full. Plus you can look at the trip odometer and do a quick calculation in your head on how much fuel you need.

The one time I overfilled, I spilled over a liter of gas. I wasn't paying attention when it started, so by the time I looked down, it was like the Niagara Falls. It was all over my quarter panel, bumper and rear wheel. Took all the brake dust off my rim. :mdrmed: Good thing my brake wasn't hot.

Never happened here, and I habitally try to top the tank off or round it to the nearest dollar. I've overfilled in a CR-V twice though.

Happened to me the very first time I filled my 8 up. You know, the free tank the dealership gives...I hate using paper towels cause I know it'll scratch but I had to the first time. I, too, use the soapy water from the squeegie to "rinse" off any left over gas. Now, I keep a microfiber towel (10 pack for $10 at Kragen) in the trunk. One for the windows, does not scratch tint; one for the exterior; and another for gas.

When washing/detailing, I make sure to put at least two coats of wax inside the fuel crevace--hole where gas cap is--and on the rear fender just incase of gas spills.

RX8strakes.com sells a cool gizmo, by the way, that holds the fuel cap for you while fueling. Some hook it to the gas door hook, and I've even heard of some cut the line. But this gizmo is a neat folding platform that is grippy and will hold the cap and spring shut when the cap is removed. Why Mazda forgot a gap holder is beyond me.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This happened to me for the first time the other day. About a 1/2 gallon wasted before i noticied....lost that $1.30

First time post....I have had my 8 for about 5 months, 2006GT. Have been on the site on and off for a year or so but I am having the same issue and thought I could help. It has taken three trips to the dealer but they have ended up replacing the tank. For the first few months the car filled up fine, then it started to overflow, at first I thought it was the different pumps but it was every pump. The first trip yeilded a call to Mazda and they said to check the vent hose for kinking etc. Trip two they replaced the cannister/filter and a few other parts that could be replaced. Nothing worked so it was determined to be a vent piece (sorry do not know the proper name) but in the 8 this piece is part of the tank. The service manager said that with a lot of other manufacturers this piece can be changed but not with Mazda's so the tank has to go. I know I left out the proper name of the vent part but maybe someone else can figure out what I mean by my description.

This is basically what I meant. A detail like an overflowing fuel tank is not going to be overlooked. It's not just a cosmetic thing it's a big safety issue. That means *most* RX-8 probably do not have a problem or it would have (a) been caught by Mazda or (b) it would already have prompted a recall.

That we keep seeing posts like this may indicate that some percentage are having a problem, perhaps due to a parts failure. These should definitely be brought to the attention of Mazda, and not just try to live with it by finessing the pump. Fuel spillage should NOT be happening. And yes, it wouldn't hurt to report to the DOT or NHTSA if you're sure you were pumping properly and the pump wasn't faulty. If they get enough reports it will definitely be looked into.

Same thing happens to me. '06 GT. Doesn't matter which brand fuel, or which pump at the usual station. It will "burp" out a few ounces. I thought it was just a quirk with this car. I have backed off the fill rate to the slowest and do the final top off as stated in an earlier post. Haven't had it happen to any other cars ovet the many years I have been pumping gas. My routine now involves folding one of the station's blue towels to go under the filler neck ledge to try to catch the spill.

I have only had the car 2 weeks and I filled it for the second time today. The first tome it spilled. I was trying really fill it to the max. Today iI used a slower rate stop after it shutoff.
550 miles the the 8 gets better with everyone.
Bruce
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Why don't you set the nozzle for fastest-fill speed for the first 80-90% of the fill up, then set it on the slowest for the remaining gallon or two?

Lots of Hondas are known for developing rust right around the rear wheel wells. Gas doesn't necessarily cause it to rust. It does however strip wax from what I've heard; so that area may need to have fresh coats put on periodically.

Only time i ever have a problem with that is when i'm trying to purposely top-off the tank to try and reach the next 25 or 50 cent increment. pretty sure it's only been once or twice though...never on it's own.

Oh yea...and don't actually "wipe" it off the side of the car with paper towels...over time, you'll find that they can scratch. Nothing as excessive as putting cardboard on yur paint, but down a somewhat similiar road. If anything, dab or keep a cloth in the trunk (i always carry one in the trunk with Meguires mist and wax for bird crap anyway). Just thought i'd give ya a lil heads up. :)

I put it on the second to fastest notch on the pump speed and it hasn't overflowed yet. It tended to do it on the fastest.

I have never had a problem with overfilling my '04 even at the highest rate.

There were a couple of times the pump would shut off immediately if the setting was set to high but when I pulled the nozzle out slightly it filled fine even on full throttle. :)

Fuel overflow
 

It could be an 06 issue. It happens on my o6 almost everytime I fill up. I tried installing an aftermarket quick fill cap that allows the gas nossle to be inserted through the cap. Not only did that not work, it acctually caused the check engine light to come on because it changed the pressure in the fuel system. BAD IDEA!
The only work around I have is to leave the fill rate on it's lowest position and if you can, fill the last gallon or so manually. Stuffing paper towels around the fill hole before starting is a great idea.

Well, we can't pump our own gas here in Oregon, but I've never had an overflow (I always look), even on the rare instance they top if off, up to 3/10 of a gallon extra once. I haven't had it happen the few times I have filled it up myself (in Washington). The last time I did it myself I topped it off a little bit (about 12 cents worth) to make it an even dollar amount. No problems. The only thing I've worried about is dripping when I take the nozzle back out. Maybe it depends on the length of the nozzle if it's going to overflow? :dunno:

For the most part in my case, I would come back to the pump after it automatically shuts off, and will see it start to overflow... I don't think I lose a significant amount of fuel, but enough to puddle up under the nozzle, and leak down the side of the car before even pulling the nozzle out (few ounces maybe?).

I am going to keep tabs on every time the pump overflows for the next month, and if things don't get better, I will address it with the dealership first... if they can't help, then I'll consider going to the DoT and whatnot. I did not expect such a turnout of people having the same problem.

I have an '06 GT and it happens to me all the time, regardless of the pump (although I only use Sunnocco's). I've learnt to figure out how much fuel I'm going to need, and ease off a few litres fefore it's full. It will still spill out, but not in such a great quantity. I also place paper towels around the filler neck (like a bib!) to catch the fuel that spills out before it hits the paint. It's annoying but I've learnt to live with it. The guys at the stations look at me funny when I put the paper towels on, but when after they see the fuel spill out, they understand. I never let anyone else fill it because I know how badly it can spill. I found that easing off at the end helps, but I still do get spillage. Good to know that others have the same problem!

I've noticed when I'm getting gas they just set it and walk away. When it gets close to where it's going to click off, the pump actually slows down some. Maybe that's the whole thing; the people with the problems are just pumping it full force and and it comes back up at you? :dunno:

It happened to me on my road trip last week- I live in Oregon and usually let others fill my tank for me. Nobody has spilled it and if they do they owe me a refund. The pump clicked off just as fuel started spilling out.

It was at a Shell in Washington.