irondonkey

I just got home from driving the SC300 i picked up in flordia, and i've already run into a fuel issue.

the problem- the gas tank will only fill up to 8 gallons.

so before i leave the parking lot, i was told the people there filled up the tank. i decided to go into a race trac and attempt to top it off, and i only managed to get in 30 cents before it kept clicking off.

So i'm leaving the place, thinking that yeah, i have a full tank of gas.

i start the 375 mile trip back, and when i'm about 160ish miles into the trip, the car shuts off. i try and trouble shoot it but it wouldn't run. i let it sit for a bit after disconnecting the battery, attempting to run CEL codes, and the car started right up. no codes, no issues.

so i took the exit, and the car dies again. i figured it had to be a fuel issue, so after some digging, i come to find out that the gas tank was empty. i went in the trunk, tapped on it to hear it sound like it's empty. i put my ear against it, and had my friend rock the car, and i couldn't hear the swishing sounds. clearly i had an empty tank, so i had called AAA, they came and got me 2 gallons of gas, and i was on my way to the nearest gas station.

this whole time, the gas gauge needle reads that i'm at half full.

so i'm at the pump, assuming the gas tank is completely empty. i try and fill it up.... and it would only take 8 gallons before it started overfilling. i tap the gas tank, it's still half empty. it makes sense that i managed to drive 160ish miles on 8 gallons of gas.

am i in need of completely replacing my whole gas tank/fuel pump/and everything in it? has anyone ever had this problem..? what exactly could cause the issue where i can only manage to hold 8 gallons worth of fuel, when we all know the tank capacity is so much more?

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

AliSC3 answer: if you over fill it once and I really mean just once like you described where the gas comes out, the charcoal canister gets filled with gas from the vent line and you will have all sorts of issues like that for a long time, and that gas also get sucked into the intake and can cause rough running. you may need another canister if thats what happened.

the fuel should never be filled to a level above the vent line hole which is towards the top of the filler neck. If you had fuel coming out your filler neck, chances are a good amount of it is in your canister now. if you experience rough idle or stalling thats what you will need to check. if not then you may be lucky just fill it to no more than 1/2 to 3/4 tank for the next couple of fills and see if it can work out. do not top off on cars that have charcoal canisters, it will just cost you more money in the end.


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sea...archid=4272906

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/27...-gas-tank.html

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Ali's answer confuses me. Isn't the vent to the charcoal canister on the bottom of the tank? (Yes, that makes absolutely no sense to me, too, but I swear that's what is shown in the illustrations and described various places.) I thought the hole up at the top of the filler neck is just a drain hole down through the trunk.

As for the canister getting filled with raw gas, the service manual's steps for testing and cleaning it with compressed air seems like it ought to blow any liquid out.

As to the original question, it sounds like there are multiple issues. One being a clogged tank and the other being a whacky gauge. When I bought my other car, I could only add a tenth of a gallon at a time before it would click off. I finally peered in the filler spout with a flashlight and discovered that the remnants of a siphon hose was crammed down there. The gas would hit that and splash back up to the sensor, causing it to shut off.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

The charcoal canister vent to catch fuel vapors is on top / above the fuel inside the tank and then plumbed into the bottom of the tank with a tube from top to that bottom hole of the tank driver side.

The small tube from the top of the tank that goes to the filler neck is a pressure vent so the air inside the tank has somewhere to go too as it is replaced with fuel while you fill up.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

That explanation helps a ton, thanks. I couldn't figure out how a vent could be on the bottom of the tank, from previous descriptions.

irondonkey

i took it out again, and it died. i sat in the middle of the road for maybe an hour. pushed it into a dealership, and went back after another 30 min.

i managed to make it home.

Ramblerman

Maybe you should pull your tank out & take a boroscope & look inside maybe your tank is altered & you have something illicitt inside. LOL!

irondonkey

so i switched out the fuel pump, and the sensor thing on top of the gas tank.

i can finally fill more than 8 gallons... but my gas needle was going down as i was filling up.

it went all the way down to E, then went back up to F, and stayed there.

is my cluster bad?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I would just keep an eye on the needle over the next tank or two. Maybe that's how it re-calibrates itself after a sensor swap? (I know it doesn't do that after swapping pumps.) My gauge seems to have re-calibrated itself after ECU repairs. I wouldn't have thought it could behave that way... It used to read 3-4 ga low and now appears to be spot on, but like you, I need to watch it a bit longer to be sure.