What's wrong with my fuel tank?
 

I picked up my car last May ('04 C4S) and I've never been able to pump a full tank of fuel. I typically fill up when I'm down to a quarter tank left and the nozzle clicks full completely randomly. It's clicked as though "full" with as little as 3 gallons pumped.

On Sunday I went for a long drive and pulled up to the gas station with the on-board computer telling me 21 miles till empty. It clicked full at around 10 gallons and I didn't want an overflowing tank (which has happened) so I stopped at 12.5 gallons. The gauge read about 1/8 tank low when I started it up.

Whenever this happens, I'll manually squeeze the nozzle but it'll click every 1/10th gallon or if I'm lucky, I'll get a little over 1/4 gallon before it clicks. The times when the pump thinks I'm full at 3 or 4 gallons makes for a very looooong refueling stop.

Any ideas why I can't fill up like a "normal" car?

Try filling with the pump upside down. I've found that helps.

+1...That's what I do now and it works every time. Not sure why but it fills my tank to capacity every time :)

Wow, I never would have thought of that. Thanks! I'll give that a shot next time. Out of curiosity, how did this idea come up?

^^ I actually read it here on another thread. Don't recall what the name of the thread was but I got the idea from that and decided I would try it and sure enough it worked.

LOL on upside down, its not like we dont get enough damn looks because we are filling at the front of the car already..

LOL hilarious yeah an exotic car with an upside fuel nozzle going into the gas tank... imagine that! Yes its another thread RL (rennlist)

Now we know the workaround. Do we know the reason why this happens?

I have the same exact issue.

Not sure if I can post a direct link to rennlist but if you wander over to their 996 forum, there's a thread called "Gas pump always stops around 11 or 12 gallons" where a whole bunch of theories come up. Honestly, I wish I could get 11-12 gallons before it clicked.

Have you tried the upside down trick? I swear it works as I have never had the problem that you guys are talking about. Also, as was stated over on Rennlist, there are some really good reasons not to push the tank level below a quarter anyway.

I hadn't thought about that...Very true and very funny hilarious

Haven't tried it yet, but I swear I'm gonna next time I need to refuel. I haven't driven the car since Sunday. I've spent the last 2 nights in the garage with a clay bar, polish & wax getting her nice & shiny. :D

Funny - that was me who posted about this on Rennlist. Next time I fill up I'll try holding the nozzle upside-down and see if it works.

It's odd though because this never happened until it got cold outside, so maybe now that it's finally warming up this problem will go away.

I get some funny looks at the gas station with the handle upside down but it works well for me. I can usually balance it so the auto clip holds the same as if it were right side up. Still gives me a chance to check the tires and wipe off some of the never ending brake dust buildup.

-Bo

It's a saftey feature , u have to fill it upside down