I know I shouldn't have to do this too often, but....

I am having trouble filing the tank. The gas pump seems to not seal well against the volt's filler pipe, and the pump handle tends not to say on, but rather turns off within a few seconds. It forces me to hold the pump with both hands to get a good seal and allow the pump to fill up. And, I never seem to be able to completely fill the tank.

All comments welcome, but WopOn any thoughts?

I and others have reported that it is near impossible to fill the tank to the full 9 gallons. The pump normally shuts off at 8 gallons and only by repeatedly starting the pump over and over is it possible to get to 9 gallons. It does normally fill to 8 gallons pretty easily. If it does not fill to 8 gallons easy, try another pump. Also, not pushing the pump handle all the way in to the filler tube helps.

Jim K.

I am having trouble filing the tank.

I absolutely have trouble filling my tank. And with almost 6000 miles on my Volt already, I've done it a fair bit. Even if you can get it to fill without shutting off immediately, it almost always shuts off with at least a gallon left to go. And at that point you have to milk it in to actually fill the tank.

Only way we've found to actually get the tank full is to ask the car via the smart phone app what percentage of gas is in the tank, and do the math to figure out how much it'll take. Then just trust to blind faith and ignore that it shuts off filling constantly and just cram the gas in.

Problem with that? I don't have smart phone (my wife does, and it's annoying as h*ll to have to ask her to ask MY car how much gas it has). Can I use MyVolt.com? No, it won't tell you how much gas is in the car. Can I ask my Volt how much gas it has? No, the car has no user interface to tell you how much gas is in it, short the +/- 8% or so indication from the 12 segment gas gauge.

Does the car *know* how much gas it has? Certainly! There's just absolutely NO way to find out without a multi-hundred dollar phone and an advanced subscription with a cell carrier.

Is this the one thing that most p*sses me off about my otherwise beloved Volt? Yes, because it's STUPID the *only* way to get a great plethora of useful information about what your car is up to is only through the smart phone app.

The user interface to the Volt should be AT LEAST as smart as the smart phone app! The car itself is currently crippleware...

I am having trouble filing the tank. The gas pump seems to not seal well against the volt's filler pipe, and the pump handle tends not to say on, but rather turns off within a few seconds. It forces me to hold the pump with both hands to get a good seal and allow the pump to fill up.

I had the same problem. The first couple of weeks I had the car I went on a road trip and hardly ever charged, so I ended up filling up 6 or 7 times, each time at a different gas station. Each and every time I had the problem you described and I had to stand there and keep the nozzle positioned just right so that it did not click off. I was convinced that it was a fault in the car until the last time I filled up (~1 month ago). I went to yet another fill station and this time I had no trouble whatsoever. So, it appears that I have finally found a nozzle design that works well with the car. Luckily for me it's my local gas station, but instead of visiting it every two weeks like I used to with my last car, I'll be lucky to see it every few months with the Volt :D

I absolutely have trouble filling my tank.

Does the car *know* how much gas it has? Certainly! There's just absolutely NO way to find out without a multi-hundred dollar phone and an advanced subscription with a cell carrier.

Is this the one thing that most p*sses me off about my otherwise beloved Volt? Yes, because it's STUPID the *only* way to get a great plethora of useful information about what your car is up to is only through the smart phone app.

The user interface to the Volt should be AT LEAST as smart as the smart phone app! The car itself is currently crippleware...

Voicing grievances here in the forum may help psychologically for a short time but in the long run I'm not sure how much GM reads these blogs. You should probably at least let your VA know in an email that you consider this one of the car's greatest weaknesses.

I have found with many GM cars just pull the filler hose out just a bit (1/2") and it doesn't shut off prematurely.

You should probably at least let your VA know in an email that you consider this one of the car's greatest weaknesses.

I hadn't spoken with my VA since my Volt arrived (Hi Brittany! :-). I've remedied that situation, and have discovered I've been assigned a new VA (Hi Ian!). We'll see how working that path in parallel with working with my dealer works out on this one.

I have found with many GM cars just pull the filler hose out just a bit (1/2") and it doesn't shut off prematurely.

Agreed, my Denali XL has the same problem. Too sharp a bend in the filler pipe???

Pete Foss GM R&D

My last GM cars a 1999 S-10 and a 2001 S-10 both did this as well. 2 ways I found to get around the issue were lock the pump in the slowest fill position so it tricles in slower. Pull the pump about half way out while filling, both methods work fine. Not sure why GM cant make a fill tube that dokes not shut off the pumps, i have heard that other GM models do this as well.

I have not had any problems with my 2008 Buick Enclave, though.

Haven't seen anything about this issue on the forum for months, but it continues to be a frustration for me. If I were doing any long distance driving it would really be nuisance.

I had the same exact issue on both of the Prius cars I owned, and it was explained to me that the fuel tank had a bladder inside which prohibited filling it completely. Is that the case with the Volt as well?

Wonder if anyone has found a solution with California gas pumps since this issue was last visited months ago. I know the tank can be filled completely because when I picked up my car the tank was at 99% and showing a 350+ range in ICE. Mode. Haven't come close to duplicating that since.

I know the tank can be filled completely because when I picked up my car the tank was at 99% and showing a 350+ range in ICE. Mode. Haven't come close to duplicating that since.

I'm not sure you can rely on the range number since that depends on lots of factors (driving style, temperature, etc). That 350 mile initial default range definitely is well-beyond my driving style!

You can't get it up to 99% full? (I fill my Volt so rarely with gas that honestly I can't remember...)

Most I have ever been able to put in is 8.3 gallons. I have run down to the Low fuel warning which cuts in at about 38 to 43 miles remaining which would mean about one gallon remaining in the tank. On both occasions I filled up at the warning and both times the gas pump indicated 8.0 to 8.3 gallons pumped to the Volts tank. So I think the measuring system does a fairly good job of monitoring fuel quantity.

Pat

@ David

Due to vapor shutting off the pump it may be difficult to fill completely. Make sure to not attempt to force any more than 3 clicks past original nozzle shut off.

I found that rolling an old towel and propping the gas filler on this changes the angle enough to get a good fill.

Was thinking about cutting a chunk of rubber or wood but had not gotten to it yet.

The most gas I have put in my Volt is 8.8 gallons. The early LO fuel miles that is indicated at about 8 gallons is the thing I like least about the car. It is ok to alarm the low fuel but I would prefer the estimated mileage go on down to zero, and let me decide how close I want to call it. I wonder if I could run in mountain mode and have a SOC buffer that would allow me to make it to a gas station after the car runs out of gas. Maybe I will try this but carry a 2 gallon gas can for a while and experiment with the distance I can go after the LO alarm. I would like to consistantly be able to go to the 9 gallon refill point and have a reliable means to identify that point.

Thanks for this thread!

Using most California pumps I get immediate shut off of gas flow when I try to use even the first (low flow) notch on the nozzle. Usually end up standing there for a couple of minutes while trying not to move my hand as I hold the trigger to the lowest possible flow rate...