2004 Fuel Tank Problem

Hello,

I have a 2004 regular cab, 4 cylinder Tacoma. All of a sudden, I am unable to fill the fuel tank like I used to. When filling, the tank acts like it is full or obstructed. I have to pull the fuel nozzle way out and trickle the gas in or the fuel will back up in the neck and shut off the nozzle. It can take 15 minutes or more to fill from empty. Does anyone know what the cause of this could be?

 

I always thought that the sensor was in the hand pump not the filler hose. But I could be wrong about that.

 

Is it possible there is a check valve or anti-syphon valve at the inlet to the fuel tank?

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and take the truck back to the dealership.

 

Does it happen eveytime or just the once?

Do you stick the nozzle all the way in? if only half way and you squeeze the trigger full, it'll back flow right back in the nozzle tripping it as full..

When it's empty and you unscrew the gas cap do you here air escaping? gas tank should be pressurized..

Do you have a CEL/MIL ?

 

It happens all the time. I have tried sticking the nozzle all the way in, as far out as possible and everywhere in between. I haven't noticed air escaping when I remove the gas cap, but I don't know that for sure. I've owned the truck about 6 months and I could fuel it like any other vehicle prior to this problem.

One day I tried to fuel up and the pump kept shutting off. I blamed the pump and went to another service station, but I had the same result at the next station. I've never seen anything like it. I was hoping to fix it myself, but I have no idea what is wrong so I am going to take it back to the dealership. Of course, this happed when I was 700 miles over 36,000.

What is a CEL/MIL?

 

CEL = check engine light

 

Malfunction Indicator Light

Keep us updated.

 

Hey Spunky1,

Just ran into this thread now. Too bad you are MIA. You should visit often dude and so should I. It appears you are having a venting problem such as a blocked or kinked vent tube

When you are filling an empty or partially empty vessel, the air occupying the empty portion of the vessel must be evacuated simultaneously or allowed to escape in order for another liquid to occupy the space the air was already occupying. It appears your tank is not venting properly and the air displacement is occurring deep down through your filler port, which is obstructed by the gas nozzle and the new gasoline entering the tank.

The vent nozzle, if I remember this right terminates in and around the gas filler port. Your vent pipes along with excess fuel return should be all clumped together around the sending unit on top of the tank. This is assuming your fuel pump is in the tank. You’ll have to drop the tank and follow the tubes to trouble shoot. If your truck was off roaded and sank in the mud, I would suspect one of the above conditions. Look for any obstruction of a small port around the filler port before you drop the tank since dropping the tank is a pain-in-the-neck kind of job. The vent pipe may even terminate about 2 to 3 inches inside the filler port. It just occured to me, the vent pipe has to terminate within and NOT outside the gas tank containment system or you'll smell fumes all the time and your gas would evaporate causing a safety hazard. It should terminate above the trap door which the gas nozzle pushes down upon entry. If you try to look at the filler port from underneath the truck, you will probably see the vent tube's exit point. See where it terminates and clear the obstructions, if any. Let us know what happens. Good luck.

 

I have a 05 Tacoma and have the same exact fueling issue. I am so needing help. The check engine light is on and the codes are for the the speedometer and the thermostat, both which appear to be working fine. Anyone have any insight?

 

What do the codes say exactly?

 

My slow fueling problem was an obstruction in the tank. Apparently, someone put a sticky tape substance like a packaging tape into my filler neck and it gummed up the works. The dealership cleaned it all out and $180 bucks later I was good to go again.

 

tacoma problem is the expose fuel tank..
anyone can open it and put anything in or out of it..
they should have the push button to open the fuel door!!

 

Another thing that can cause this problem is if you over fill your tank to much you will have liquid fuel go into the evap system and glog up you evap charcoal canister. the canister is only designed foe fuel vapor not liquids if it gets to soaked the escaping fumes from you empty tank have no place to go and your pump will keep shuting off.

 

Report this problem to the NHTSA. Tell them it's a safety issue because you could over fill the tank and send fuel to the ground.

 

^^ LOL three years later....

 

I have a 2004 Tacoma that has a filling problem as seen by these other complaints. I have had the vapor canister replaced ($300+), the vent valve replaced ($150+) and still i cannot fill up with a continous flow. It still stops every .10-.15 cents. Now they say I need to replace the fuel tank because it "could be" the rollover valve is not functioning properly. Oh, and they have blown out every tube.

 

Hey guy's new member here....have always owned Toyotas never owned one I didn't sell for 2/3 of what I paid for it....nothing holds it's true value like a Toyota truck.
I see there are multiple thread concerning the same issue that I am having on my 1st gen. Tacoma 2002 with 100k
Can't fill the fuel tank stops like it is full every 10 sec.
I dropped the tank( what a pain in the ass) removed the filler neck...used compressed air and blew out both metal vent tubes....no blockage...removed both one way vent valves on top of the tank....one has 4 small screw holding the metal cap with a 4" metal tube and the other valve is a larger (black) 4-5"long black tube that goes into the tank thru a rubber grommet. I think that both are "one way valves" that only open whit suction or negative air pressure. They both open white suction but close/ no flow with positive air pressure.
I think that they is the way there suppose to work....one way only as a vent for the tank or for fuel vapor containment as both connect to the evap/ charcoal canister next to the tank and mounted to the bed.
My question is whether or not the two valve that are mounted to the tank are "one way vales" and if so do you think it might be the evap canister that is causing pressure build up in the tank.
I see in one of the previous threads that the canister was replaced and didn't fix the filling problem.
Just don't want to go thru the hassle of remounting the fuel tank to have the problem reoccur.

Thanks for ant advise,

Hammer Head

 

I'm new member here and I stumbled across this looking for and answer to a problem I'm having with my 2004 Tacoma. During a fill up the filler neck foams up and shuts the pump off about 10 to 15 times every gallon. I pulled the filler neck out and checked the filler tube and vent hose. I didn't bother to check the charcoal EVAP system because those tubes connect to the top of the filler neck and I couldn't see how they would be a problem during a fill up and the check engine light should come on if that system was a problem. I couldn't see anything wrong so I put it back together and still had the problem. Again, I took the filler neck out again and this time I took the rubber tube off the tank that connects to the bottom end of the filler neck. I took a mirror and tried to look into the tank and there is a flap type valve there that I suppose is a rollover valve (I could find no mention of it in the repair manual). It looked a little bent so I stuck a rubber vacuum hose in there to see if it would open and it was stuck. I used a screwdriver and gave it a good push and it opened up and worked freely after that. I put it all together and went to the gas station and had no problem filling the tank. My guess someone tried to steal my gas and put siphon hose in the tank and damaged that valve when removing the siphon hose. The problem is fixed and it was a damaged rollover valve inside the gas tank where the filler neck nipple is.

 

I had the same problem some kids tried to siphon gas out by cutting the fill tube hose, I replaced the fill tube hose but did not check the roll over valve. I will pass on this info to my helper mechanic. Thanks