Did you leave the car running when you went to put gas in it? I did it a couple of times and both times I had the problem you did. Try and make sure it is off next time and see if that helps, I have not had a problem since I made sure it was shut off.

I think the U.S. is the only country where I notice most people running the car at idle while filling up with gas.

Any other country I've been to shut their car off while filling up. Gas is very expensive elsewhere. I should think the practice is wasteful and perhaps even dangerous(?)

Not that much more expensive. It is more expensive here than in the states... but over here, Reg Unl is 92 octane, and Prem Unl is 97 octane. At least that was the rating the last time I checked. They may have changed since.

My fault for generalizing. Thanks for putting that straight.
It's about 2.5-3 times more expensive in many parts of Asia and if I'm not mistaken, twice as expensive in most of Europe. South America is probably not as expensive because it has its own indigenous petroleum supplies.

Don´t worry about it. :) But I do think you are right about gas being more expensive in Asia.

Here in Latin America it is not as expensive probably because of the oil reserves in Mexico and Venezuela (I think a galon is about $2 for Reg Unl right now over here, but the octane rating is like the one for Premium in the States, so it´s a fair price in my opinion).

I remember that in 1992, in Venezuela, a galon of gasoline cost the same as a little botte of drinking water (about 12 ounces). You could get either for $0.25 (Yes... A quarter or a galon of 95 octane gasoline!).

Hey JAC, you can probably correct me or verify that.

there are 2 methods for calculating octane, they may use a different calc in your area which is why your octane is seemingly slightly higher.

Re: Let it go people
 

The original reason for noticing if the flap should be there was that if infact it fell down the pipe then that would be the cause of the over flow of gas at the pump. If gas wasnt spilling all over the place I wouldnt give a #&*$ if it had a flap or two or eight for that matter. I just want to know why my gas gushes out of the pipe while filling. P.S. For those of you who know more than me "I stick the nozzle into the pipe and pull the trigger" I hope that no one comes back and says "Well did you hold it in a certain way or pull it in another way or shake it in another way. NO NO NO I stuck it in pulled the trigger and BAM it throws up

Try modulating the pump because some pumps have too much pressure and results in overflow. :)

Thanks for the suggestion. Really! but why would this happen to our cars and not to any of the last 7 cars that I have owned.

Re: Re: Let it go people
 

Sorry for being an ass, you are right. a broken flap could cause a problem. All you really have to do is call the dealership or just go check. i don't feel like reading back but was this once or many times at different pumps? i really doubt your PROTEGE is causing a gas filling problem. it could have been that the internal pump/sensor inside the handle was broken and it didn't sense that the tank is full. or the automatic release on the handle was broken. i am sure there is a perfect explanation to this. where do you live? are you anywhere close to south florida? i would love to check it out myself and help you figure this thing out.

just to let you know that it DOES NOT happen on my car or my mustang. the only time it happened is when i was holding the handle myself and trying for fill to to the top like an idiot.

This overflow doesn't happen to either my '99 ES or '03 P5. However, if gas is overflowing, how is that the fault of the car? The pump is supposed to automatically stop flow when an overflow is detected. I had a '74 MG Midget that just had a rubber six inch rubber hose that went from the fuel filler opening, into the trunk, and into the gas tank (whew, the fumes when you opened the trunk!). No special overflow devices or "flappy things." When the tank was full, the pump automatically stopped flow. Your car has nothing to do with it.

Oh wait... I just remembered. I did have an overflow once in my '99 ES. Surprised the heck out of me! But, the attendant came out, handed me some paper towels, and put an out-of-order sign on the pump. He said it was the third time it happened that day.

BTW, refueling with the engine running is illegal here in California.

Ive been there done that before but I havent done that since I last did it 6 - 7 years ago. Thats whats puzzling. Someone said something about the pressure in the underground tanks of the station or something like that but this happens at any gas station I go to. It normally happens when the tank gets 5 - 8 gallons in it then it just regurgitates. There are only two things that have worked.

1st is to let the gas trickle in until it gets past the 8 gallon mark at which point I can crank it up

2nd Is to hold the nozzle almost out of the pipe as its filling. this for some reason keeps it from doing it.

where do you live

I have the overflow problem when fueling as well. It doesn't matter if there is supposed to be a flap there or not, since the nozzle is in place supplying fuel when this happens, and a hypothetical flap wouldn't be able to close in any event.

I do consider this a serious problem, tho it is a different problem than the one Miata owners such as myself have encountered.