Slow Fuel Fill Rate?

Thank you.

 

There are some things that are better left alone if the problem caused with an electric sensor failure is worse than the prevention of an already low percentage event. Or at least make the change mechanically simple and more foolproof than an electrical device. For example, the elegant solution of the anti-siphon capability built into the fuel filler neck. Engineers seem to love to design a circuit with electrical gizmos just because they can. Kind of a job security sort of thing.
In helicopters that we used to operate, the number of electric relays involved in the ignition circuit for a turbine engine helicopter is astounding. Too many points of failure.

But what do I know...

 

The service writer (who's been there 28 years and prides himself on knowing everything about Toyotas) says this sensor and mechanism was introduced to make them 50-state compliant on emissions regulations. He says this sensor going bad is "rare, but definitely not unheard of". I'd never even heard of the mechanism except with military and racing vehicles, but apparently they're out there.

I agree with you that some of these engineering "solutions" seem to be designed by people that are getting too clever, and introduce more complexity than is warranted or wise. I won't even consider a German car anymore for exactly that reason, you get an older VW or Audi (or BMW, for that matter) and the amount of sensors that go flaky will just drive you nuts. Found that out the hard way with my wife's Passat. At this point I'm just hoping the new tank assembly fixes the issue.

 

Don't shove the gas pump in so far. I have had this happen over the years with different cars and different pumps where i had to pull the pump out just a bit to get a good flow going.

 

Oh believe me, I tried all that. Not in as far. In as far as possible. All the variations I could think of. So did the tech at the dealership. They ran the electrical tests on it to find the sensor problem.

 

So, did I miss it somewhere, or did he not tell you what year the sensor was introduced?

 

Haven’t reached him to ask yet, today was his day off. I should know tomorrow.

 

Status Update: Had a wee bit of trouble since my last post, took a big spill during a training exercise and cracked some ribs to go along with a shoulder separation. Good news is, this issue is RESOLVED. The dealership swapped out the existing gas tank assembly for a new one, and it now takes gas full-blast from the strongest pump I could find. There were no deformations of the tank or filler tube visible, and the sensor fails the diagnostic test. They are certain the issue was with that rollover shutoff valve.

I asked my service guy and his techs (Service advisor has been there 26 years, techs 13 and 16, respectively), and they also answered the question regarding when these rollover valves first appeared in the tank assemblies. The answer surprised me -- apparently there has been some form of this in either the tank or the filler tube for many years. They said around 2005 or 6, when they went to the plastic tank assembly from the old metal tanks, that the valve moved into the tank from the filler tube. Also said that at some point since then, they went to an electronic sensor to detect rollovers that should activate the valve. So, apparently these valves have been around for all of the 5th gen years, and are part of the tank itself.

Hopefully this advances the general cumulative knowledge of this group here, I've gotten tons of great information on this site and it feels good to be able to contribute a small bit.

 

Sorry to hear man.

Glad to hear.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. My own fault though; I was running with the high-speed crowd, and forgot my high-speed tape.