Don’t top off your car’s gas tank. It can damage your car and the environment.

That little bit of extra gasoline that you try to squeeze into your tank when you top it off is more likely escaping into the environment or causing damage to your car rather than giving you that extra bit of fuel.  According to the EPA, when you top off the tank, “gasoline is probably being sucked back into the gas station’s vapor recovery system or evaporating into the air, causing air pollution.”*  Although you may intend to further fill the tank, “if you continue clicking on the nozzle, that extra gasoline will either be sucked into the vapor recovery tube or overflow.”*

Topping off can also cause harm to the charcoal canister of the onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) system in your car.  Consumer Reports points out that “adding more fuel after the gas pump clicks off can damage the charcoal canister by saturating it with fuel and cause the check engine light to illuminate. If the ORVR is damaged, it won’t adequately capture those harmful vapors.”**

*EPA, June 26, 2004, “Don’t Top off Your Gas Tank -- Save Money at the Gas Pump and Help Protect the Environment”,
https://www.epa.gov/archive/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/714cf2672631269e852570d60070fe91.htmlwww.epa.gov
**Devin Pratt, November 13, 2021, “Should You Top Off Your Car’s Gas Tank?,” Consumer Reports.org https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/should-you-top-off-your-cars-gas-tank-a1176503026/

Photo by Mike Mozart, Flickr Commons

---