2009 Ford Flex: Easy Fuel Spill

My Volvo 850 did something similar to that and on a similar scale. On my car, there was an improperly seated gasket between the fuel pump and the fuel pump lock ring. This looks to be very different, however, appearing to leak from the fuel filler pipe. Keep us updated, of course.

sounds like a pump problem and not the cars

I've had that happen before. I think in most cases you need to be diligent about sealing the pump filler while pumping so the pressure builds for auto-shutoff

I've done the same thing with a 1995 F150 - super slow fill rate and the pump didn't shut off. That's a scary feeling when you hear liquid hitting pavement and you know that it isn't supposed to do that.

The exact same thing happened to me a couple months back with my '10 GTI. I was further offended by the gas station attendant's complete lack of concern for the substantial spill of gasoline all over the side of my car and the ground, let alone that I paid for a what seemed like at least half a gallon on fuel that spilled because of their faulty pump (Though I guess I should have known not to trust it? I sure don't trust slow pumps now...).
Anyway, my new reaction to a slow pump is "Go find another gas station".

I had this happen to me once. In my case the pump would click off prematurely, so I had to keep restarting it. Eventually it stayed on... right up until gas started gushing out of the filler tube. Now I listen for the gas to start coming up the tube so I know when it's getting close. There's a very distinct whoosing noise which you can use to judge how close you are to being at the top. This is just one of many horrible experiences I've had at gas stations, including ripping the door off my 96 Maxima at 1am in the middle of a snowstorm. One pump was out of order, so I decided to back up to the one behind it. Forgot to close my door. Oops.

Never fill to the top where you can hear it start coming up the fill neck. You will eventually damage your charcoal canister, which is not a cheap fix.

The gas pump overfill and splashing on ground has happened to me and it's a little heart attack moment! :)
Gas is not very flamable. You can throw a match into a pool of gas and it won't ignite (kids don't try that at home).
It's the gas VAPOR that is extremely flamable.

when filling our company vehicle, a 2005 Tundra crew cab, there is often a small splash of fuel that shoots from the tank at shut off of the pump. never happens with other vehicles at the same station/pumps. any other Toyota owner's with such an experience?

Around where I live (the People's Republic of Maryland, suburban DC sector), there's stickers on the gas pump, proclaiming that the person who pumps gas is responsible for her/his own spills, and will pay to have such spills removed/remediated ... presumably via some kind of hazmat clean-up method. Harsh, I know.

It appears pretty obvious that this incident wasn't the fault of the Edmunds staffer. Which begs the question .. would that person have been the responsible party if the spill happened here in MD? And how much would that spill have cost said staffer (and Edmunds, presumably) to clean up?

I want to say it's just a temporary malfunction of the filler. The shutoff works on a vacuum diaphragm has a rod that holds the valve open when you pull the trigger. The vacuum is created by the venturi effect of the fluid coming out of the nozzle, as there is a concentric hose around the outer perimeter of the place the fuel comes out and when fuel gets up to that point (even just a splash as the tank gets full), it ruins the vacuum created by the flowing fluid and the diaphragm snaps shut, which pulls the rod out from holding the valve open. Something like that anyway. Anyway, I think this action just, occasionally, doesn't work right. Possibly a filler nearing its end of life, or randomness. Some cars, on the other hand, seem to have a problem where they have trouble accepting fuel. Fords seemed to come up a lot in these discussions, which is interesting. The cap-less fuel system shouldn't change anything because it just uses the fuel lid door to seal, rather than the gas cap.

If anything I'd expect closed systems (like the Volt) to have trouble accepting fuel or show different filling behavior than the norm.

The slow pumping sounds like a clog in the fuel evap lines. It seems to be a semi-common problem on Fords.

@ethanp71, wtf are you talking about? You think the fill rate is determined by the car? If the pump exceeds the flow rate of the pipe down to the tank, the pump should continuously click off.

@stogied: Interesting. I had no way to clean this up, because there's no longer such a thing as a water hose reel at any local gas station in my area. No towels, either. About all I could have done was dump the contents (read: dirty water) of one of the windshield squeegee reservoirs on top of it for a little diluting action. Did I mention they were fresh out of paper towels, too?

In my Flex i had a similar situation i was pumping at an older station. I was nearly topped off when i saw some dripping. Under the Flex there is a rubber tube where excess gas dripps out. Intrestiong huh. All I have to say is dont try topping Fords off and use newer pumps.

Yep, I've noticed a similar issue with my Ford on the Easy fill stuff - one click from the fuel nozzle only!