Overfilling Your Gas Tank is a No No

While at the gas station filling your car up, the pump has an automatic cut off to let you know when the tank is full. If you continue to click click click with the gas pump you risk damaging part of your car's emissions control system known as the charcoal canister. Also known as the fuel evaporative canister.

By over filling your vehicle’s gas tank you run the risk of excessive gas running into the charcoal canister causing damage to the system. Once the charcoal canister is damaged it will need to be replaced. This will often make your vehicle run bad and your check engine light will come on. The cost of a new charcoal canister runs around $1000 installed.

The charcoal canister absorbs fuel vapor so that it does not vent out into the atmosphere causing pollution. The vapors that are trapped by the charcoal canister and are released back into the engine then burned in the normal air-fuel mixture. This reduces your carbon footprint and gives you better gas mileage. Once soaked with gas the charcoal canister is ruined.

So remember don’t overfill your gas tank to avoid the expense of replacing the carbon canister in your car. 

Over the years I know we have all done the click click click trying to put more gas in the tank. This is just one of many behaviors that we need to change as vehicles become more complicated or we will end up paying an expensive price for our old school habits