petrol over filled

B

Beckie

Registered User
Messages
42
I've just filled my car with petrol in a service station in portlaoise. The pump did not click off when it was full and petrol gushed back out of car like a waterfall over the ground and my feet. I complained when i went to pay and assistant 1 said "its happened before". Assistant 2 said it was my fault as i wasnt holding it right. The owner said that the pump was not suitable for my car. I drive an alfa 147 and have regularilly filled petrol in that station since i bought it 2 years ago. I'm annoyed because not once did i get an apology although i did get €5 back eventually. I should be giving them the bill for new shoes too!!
My question is - am i really to believe that some pumps are not suitable for some cars???? it's so outrageous that it could actually be true.
 
All pumps can be used on all cars. The owner was talking rubbish.
 
Owner was talking rubbish although I would say maybe a little more care when filling your car. Don't trust the auto cutoff keep an eye on it.
 
write to the manager of the garage and submit a claim for shoes & pants.

I had to do this once when it happened to me. Petrol will rot your shoes & pants once it makes contact
 
Thanks all. I think i've calmed down a bit now. The nozzle was shoved in as far as it would go. He probably thought he was talking to a silly female who doesnt know the bumper from the bonnet - little does he know. Well, he's just lost a regular customer. If he'd apoligised and said he'd get it checked i'd wouldnt have been angry. But he went on the defensive immediately. Anyway, ive got it off my chest now. Thanks again.
Beckie
 
tosullivan said:
write to the manager of the garage and submit a claim for shoes & pants.
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I agree. Something similar happened to Mrs Joe1234 a few years ago. Hope the OP was nearly home as Mrs Joe1234 had to drive from Ashbourne to Monaghan, smelling of petrol.
 
Frank said:
Owner was talking rubbish although I would say maybe a little more care when filling your car. Don't trust the auto cutoff keep an eye on it.
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How exactly can you keep an eye on it? My head doesn't fit into the little pipe?

I always fill the tank, I rely on the auto cutoff, if it was broken the tank would overflow. You can hear the difference and should react quickly enough, even still some spillage will occur.

I would definitely be writing to them in the OPs case... one assistant said it was known there was a problem, that is disgraceful.. possibly ring the weights and measures people too...
 
I read this thread last week and you'll never guess what happened over weekend, I was in a petrol station in Roscrea filling the car with petrol and it spilled all over the place, thankfully missed my shoe's. There's no way you can keep an eye on it, it happened so fast. I did mention it to the manager and they were really nice about it and they said it had happened before. wonder is it the same place?
 
I can never find a pump that will stay on without being held,i put 90 litres a time in and it gets pretty painful holding the lever.
 
sparkeee said:
I can never find a pump that will stay on without being held,i put 90 litres a time in and it gets pretty painful holding the lever.
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Diesel ?

Use one of the "fast-fill" pumps for commercials and trucks - they are usually not under the canopy but off to one side.
 
Purple said:
All pumps can be used on all cars. The owner was talking rubbish.
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I used to notice with an old car (old model [e36] 316) that some pumps didn't work well. The nozel had to be held at an angle to get it to stop cutting out. Some pumps were fine, others worked with a little "adjustment" and some I had to give up at about €5 as it was just taking too long (it'd work for a couple of seconds, cut out, then work again, cut out etc. etc. - nozel fully inserted and appeared to be no issues with the size/fit).

Any other car I've owned never experienced any such problem, so not sure if it was a problem with that car rather than a potential problem with pumps.
 
No help to the OP or anyone, but I have to say that I never rely on the auto cut-off. If I need the tank completely full I always get the attendant to do it.
 

ahh good to hear this happening to someone else i thought it was me
 
If this is a common enough problem, then you might consider a small contribution to my favourite charity if I can fix it for you? (Our Lady's Childrens' Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin 12)

On VAG (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda) diesels (and other cars / vans) there is a little button near the top of the neck in the fuel tank. If you press this button away from you with the tip of the fuel hose, you will hear a hissing noise as trapped air escapes through a vent. This is air trapped in the reserve or expansion fuel tank (5 to 8 litres capacity).

Sometimes if you don't do this first, the trapped air has nowhere to go and tries to force its way past the incoming fuel, resulting in fuel on the car bodywork, your hands , clothes, shoes and forecourt.

This is not a fix for broken cut-out valves on forecourt pumps. Try this little trick before filling with fuel and the instances of fuel overfill / overflow will porbably reduce.

If your fuel tank hasn't got a little button, don't panic, it just achieves the same thing in a slightly different invisible way, which I can't help with.
 
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