Gas Gauge Glitch

Dave Ferrell

Dave Ferrell

Member
Discovered an interesting glitch this morning. I put gas in the car as we are looking at a potential major hurricane later this week. It only took 1.4 gallons. For the first time I didn’t just remove the nozzle when it auto stopped. I put an additional 2/10 in.


Upon restarting the car I found that the gas level gauge had not registered the additional gas nor had the HV mileage updated.


After driving for a few miles the gas gauge did eventually register full but the HV range did not update.


I have the B trip meter set to reset upon refueling and that didn’t reset to zero either.


My guess is that by putting that additional 2/10 in I messed up the computers mind a little bit.


Given that I very rarely use gas it’s going to take a long time to figure out if this fixes itself the next time I get gas!


Anybody else encounter this? Any theories?
 
What difference would it make to the Clarity if you topped off the gas tank? Does the pressurized tank malfunction somehow? Is there some kind of newfangled mistake-prone sensor in the tank other than the tried-and-true float?
 
insightman said:
What difference would it make to the Clarity if you topped off the gas tank? Does the pressurized tank malfunction somehow? Is there some kind of newfangled mistake-prone sensor in the tank other than the tried-and-true float?
Click to expand...

Interesting question......

I looked up the fuel tank parts, fuel filler parts, and emission parts and found lots of sensors and senders and purge valves, and vent tubes and so on. No traditional float showed up (but that doesn't mean it's not part of some assembly and not listed separately). From what I see, I understand why it's important to not top off or overfill a modern fuel system, because it might confuse the overall fuel system. I know on some vehicles, topping off can eventually damage the charcoal canister that's part of the emission system to control fuel vapor venting. I've no idea if that's relevant to the Clarity.

https://www.hondaautomotiveparts.co...ble/electrical-exhaust-heater-fuel--fuel-tank
 
Wow! a $160 vent-pressure sensor? AND a $111 vent-pressure sensor? The list of parts you linked to is incredibly long for a tiny 7-gallon gas tank!

Still, when Honda gives a car a tiny 7-gallon tank, it should expect owners to cram it as full as they can. Why not add yet another sensor--a top-off sensor that activates a pump to dribble the excess gas onto the foot of the person over-filling the gas tank?
 
insightman said:
Wow! a $160 vent-pressure sensor? AND a $111 vent-pressure sensor? The list of parts you linked to is incredibly long for a tiny 7-gallon gas tank!

Still, when Honda gives a car a tiny 7-gallon tank, it should expect owners to cram it as full as they can. Why not add yet another sensor--a top-off sensor that activates a pump to dribble the excess gas onto the foot of the person over-filling the gas tank?
Click to expand...

Brilliant. :D
 
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