If people are actually OVERFILLING their tanks, that seems like you're asking for big time trouble.

 

Yes people are overfilling. I haven't had any problems with any of the cars I overfilled but others have.

 

This from an October 1 Mercury News online article:

• Overfilling your tank can potentially damage your vehicle's internal vapor recovery system, which is designed to prevent an excessive amount of fumes from building up in your gas tank.

• The way most modern pumps are designed, it's possible for gas to be pumped backward from your tank back to the nozzle if you have overfilled your tank. You could wind up paying for gas you don't actually receive.

• There's a chance the gas could overflow and spill, in which case you would also be wasting money.

• And there are environmental considerations. Evaporating fuel is a significant problem that adversely affects air quality, particularly when standing next to it.


Pretty much the same things are said on the EPA website,

www.epa.gov/donttopoff/
seems they couldn't come up with a more creative name

based on this information, i just play it safe and i don't top off at all. it makes it a bit easier as well to calculate mpg by hand, dividing range by gallons filled. i know many hybrid drivers on this site top off to maximize their range, and i believe strongly that it's your choice whether or not to do so. make your decisions wisely!

 

Yes, it can be a bad thing. But the key words are "potentialy", "possibly","chance",

So its not a great idea to do it but often times it doesn't mater. Better off being safe than sorry though.

 

Some cars including mine are only 11.9 gallon tanks??? It's in my manual and on some specs on websites? So what's with the 2 tank sizes? I drive a 2005 ULEV.

 

my 2004 AT-PZEV HCH has an 11.88 gallon tank, and also slightly different EPA mileage numbers (47 city/48 highway)

ULEV HCHs like yours have the larger 13.2 gallon tank with EPA 48 city/47 highway, which are reversed compared to the AT-PZEV versions.

why? I really don't know. I figure it has to do with the different emissions systems/catalytic converters (maybe the AT-PZEV emission system takes up more space, requiring a slightly smaller gas tank?)

I think in California, Honda only sold AT-PZEV HCHs to impress the Air Resources Board and California state emission requirements (the stringest in the nation), but somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

frustrates me with regards to range - ULEV HCH drivers can go farther because they can hold more gas.

 

Yes - this is due to the two versions of the HCH that are sold (ULEV vs. PZEV). The PZEV vehicles are designed for the CA emission standards. The tank sizes may have to do with design trades to get a PZEV rating. But yes, an HCH may have a 11.9 or 13.2 gal tank depending on what flavor it is.

 

I've never gotten moer than 10.8 gallons in mine. Its non a PZEV, either. The 10.8 was when it showed no bars whatsoever for fuel remaining. From previous posts I understand that you can still go 50-100 miles with that. I, however, fill up immediately since it just scares the crap out of me to look at my fuel be completely empty.

I used to top off all the time with my old car. I tried it once with my HCH. The pump clicked and I immediately pushed the thing so more gas would come out (force of habit at the time) and gas went spitting out all over me. Didn't like my car too much that day. So yeah, no more topping off.

On a related note, has anyone actually ever run out of gas in a hybrid? I imagine its just like a regular car but maybe the electric motor still works? Probably not but I would love a definitive answer on that one.

 

Yes, people have run out of gas. There are a few threads.

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...run+out+of+gas
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...run+out+of+gas