I have spilled gas at least dozen times for the past 4 years. No signs of any damage on my GS.

 

Thanks for the help everyone

 

Everyone says this but I've never actually seen it happen.

On my 2010 Camry I used to top that puppy off all the time for long trips, the car would literally hold almost 2 gallons extra when the pump stops the first time. In 260,000 miles not a single problem with the EVAP system, etc.

-Mike

 

I've never done this is any one of my cars but my wife has an 08 IS250 and she does this every time. For example, the pump will stop at $33.50 and she will keep going till $35. No spills, no problems till this day.

 

I have the habit of filling the tank all the way up the fuel filler neck. I've never had a problem doing this. Some vehicle gas tanks have enough space to take an additional gallon or so, whereas other vehicles (e.g. BMWs) will not take much additional filling.

 

I'm just curious on the newer Lex vehicles how the evap system works. Maybe they put some kind of a safety mech in it that prevents contamination of the evap system? It seems to be most of the people who said they damaged their car somehow, had cars that were over 10 years old, so I suspect automakers have changed something in the systems involved to prevent this damage. So you do it all the time on your 4GS and no problems?

-Mike

 

I'm sure it will most likely be ok. Just as putting 87 octane gas will most likely be ok. Just as putting a different grade of oil will most likely be ok. Etc.

I wouldn't do it just as a precaution but everyone's tolerance to these things are different.

 

Except that putting 87 in a car like this is distinctly provable as NOT OK unless its some kind of emergency, IMHO. In every car I've driven that "plate mandates" premium, the car will, in short order, PUNISH you for using lower octane gas. I did it a couple times in my old 2000 Buick Regal GS (had supercharger) and basically the fuel economy dropped by like 4 mpg and the power dropped waaaaaay off. It literally is not worth it- the whole exercise is a fools errand. Maybe you can get away with mixing the fuel- EG, do a mix to just reach 91, yeah, you could probably get away with that, but even that is more of a pain in the *** than its worth.

The gas fill thing is, in my book, something that doesn't appear to be immediately provable. It'd be fun to talk to an engineer or someone about this, like someone who knows the internals of the GS's gas tank, etc. I'm going out on a limb here, but I am guessing that Lexus/Toyota has engineered some kind of a protection in there to stop it. It's possible there's an air space in the tank where the evap sensor is and its basically large/high enough that its not possible to "force" gas in there anymore? Or there's some kind of a check valve that closes to prevent any measurable amount of gas from going into the can... ? I've topped off (literally just below the neck) on my 2010 Camry literally dozens of times, and never thrown a code or anything... and the car has 260,000 miles on it.

-Mike

 

Many people in many cars drive on 87 all the time, many dealers put 87 in cars that require 91 or 93. A friend drove his 535i with 87 for the whole time he had it and never had a problem. It too, like your Camry, never threw a code and he too had over 200,000 miles on it. The computer can adjust itself.

Anyways, my main point was some people don't want to follow manufacturer guidelines or recommendations and its their call. Your car, your call. You want to top off, go for it. I don't do it. I put California's version of premium and don't top off. You can chose to ignore which ever recommendation you want.

 

Correct, the gasoline is up the filler pipe every time I fill-up...and no problems.

 

Yeah, it probably won't hurt the car at all, that's not what I meant- What I meant is that because you can do it, doesn't mean that it's a good idea. Most of the people doing this are basically screwing themselves, whether it's efficiency, or horsepower, or both. Maybe they just don't know any better. Or maybe they're just skinflints. A lot of people who don't drive a lot (basically under 10K a year) often don't know any better. There's scads of cars out there that have never even seen WOT in their life, LOL.

I'm more interested in the mechanical design reality of the situation, so I can make a more informed decision. Sometimes what a manfuacturer recommendation is is based on liability, but not based in "hard facts". It could even be something as dumb as "we tell people that because we don't want some government agency coming after us, telling people that its OK to top off, because it results in more vapors being released" or stuff like that, too. (Nobody wants to be the next VW TDI fiasco automaker. ) Or they don't want some old bag like a Stella Liebeck type (mcdonalds hot coffee lady) suing them because she wasn't competent enough to top her gas tank without spilling, and got gas all over her clothes and somehow set herself on fire while fueling. Liability takes all shapes and forms, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every guideline is "necessary, because if you don't something bad will happen" kind of guideline.

-Mike

 

What is the source for your information? Hearsay or some factual data? I've been filling up to the brim for years with no damage to 3 Lexuses.