empty tank symptoms

[natethegreat38]

Just my unsolicited advice:

While working at Toyota's corporate call center a couple of years ago, we saw that a lot of people were getting check engine lights. After an investigation was done, it was found that this was occurring when people "top off" their tanks. The reason is quite simple: For emission purposes, there is a canister connected to the fuel tank which is filled with charcoal. This "charcoal canister" (as it is technically called) filters out fuel vapors that the fuel tank emits. Well, when you top off the tank with fuel, gasoline over-flows into the charcoal canister and dissolves the charcoal in the canister and triggers the CE light. Then, the customer would take the car to the Toyota Dealer to find out why the CE light is on and this is what they would tell them and seeing as how it is the car owner's fault, the car owner has to buy a new charcoal cannister which can range in price but is usually $200-600 (or somewhere around there, including installation).

The "top off"- a seemingly harmless move that may end up costing you hundreds :)