Cannot fuel up

This actually happened to me like a year ago and was maddening. I couldn't find anything wrong.

Went offroading one weekend and it fixed itself. So I guess something is hung open and needed a jar to correct itself.

 

The best time to fix the stuck winch that lowers your spare tire is before you need it after getting a flat tire, so I would add that to your to-do list after fixing the no-fuel problem.

 

Thanks Markcal, I had that on my to do list. Just got it done with Seafoam penetrator oil. Unstuck it in 20 minutes works like a charm now.

 

No nothing missing from the gas can but when I push a 4" zip tie into the filler neck it goes all the way. My mechanic is leaning toward the valve. It's throwing code P0453

 

I have nothing helpful to add, but I love a good mystery. Good luck, OP.

 

Be careful throwing parts at it, evap codes usually require a little diagnosis

 

The truck is throwing code P0453 which is an Evap. Can. code but my mechanic says that we should take it slow and not just waste money replacing parts because there are several little simple things that can cause that code.


Also my fuel in over half a tank (I know that for a fact) but my fuel light is still on and the gauge is stuck below 1/4 tank. Is that because the sender is bad or because the problem throwing the evap code is disabling the fuel level sending unit?

 

Amen! My mechanic said the same thing

 

I have a bmw that does this, but if I put the gas pump in the car upside down it magically works

 

Thanks, I will try to honor the unspoken trust of the forum by posting everything I can so that it helps other Tacoma owners down the road who may face this same issue.

 

Also a problem with Fords. We have 2 F-250’s for work and they both have this issue. We had the fill hose replaced on one but it did no good. Some nozzles work better than others so we get gas only at certain stations. Giant PIA.

 

Okay, question: Is there a flap or check valve/ gate at the bottom of the filler neck like one would expect as an anti siphon/ theft device? My dad used to call a siphon hose an Arkansas gas credit card. (Just a joke peace to all from Arkansas)

 

1 down 1 to go...

 

did i read that right you had over a quarter and you burned all that up idling how long did this take

 

I’ll get back to you. You may be onto something I have studied on this all day. Especially the member who suggested the fuel gauge was wrong.

 

Okay, I have not investigated this theory yet (Plan on pulling the tank tomorrow) but here's what I think happened. Today I put an icemaker water line tube into the tank through the filler neck (to vent it manually) and was only able to put in a little over 1 gallon. Later I was thinking back over the whole two days that I did the stereo swap. (this swap included lots of other mods while I had the dash off like dual usb charging ports in the front and in the back seat).

1. My drive way is on a grade so I usually back in so rain water will drain out of the bed. This makes the gas needle show less than actual levels in both of my trucks.
2. My wife corrected me and we actually drove 181 miles the weekend before on that tank of gas. 181 divided by 20 mpg is 9 gallons. I dumped in 5 in the drive way with my gas can and then Friday at the gas station put in just over 5 more. (it was full)
3. I got in the truck and the needle was still below 1/4 tank with the low fuel light on so I drove across the street to another stations with (and I quote myself) "a gas pump that works!" It was there that I did the clickity click thing and over filled the neck causing fuel to drain back into the evap canister. It was after the second gas station activities that the CEL light came on.

I think Rick is onto something... the fuel needle may well be stuck and that lying needle caused me to over fill my tank.

So will my evap canister heal itself and the light go away in time and can I just drop the tank and unstick the fuel sending unit? Any guesses about my hypothesis.

Bill

 

I would drive it if it's full. Your needle might be wrong because of something you did behind your dash, I'd investigate that. I would think if you burn some gas and reset the cel that code would go away but maybe not. I haven't searched what happens with that code.

 

MYSTERY SOLVED: Camcruiser and Rick's 2012 thank you both for asking and/or suggesting the simple obvious things. Thank you to everyone else as well for helping me narrow things down.

It turned out to be a bonehead move on my part. Down at the kick panel there was a wire into which I spliced for the backup camera and I forgot to plug that harness back in.
Just now I went out and pulled the kick panel and sure enough I found a harness unplugged and when I plugged it in the fuel gauge began to work. I'll give you three guesses what my fuel level is and the first two don't count! Yep... it is FULL and that's after I drove 30 miles round trip to Sam's to get my Hankook 265/65/r17's today. So I am responsible for the overfilled tank causing the 0453 code.

 

Will the evap can get better on is own? Should I remove it and try to dry it out?