Rep Power: 259

The darn gas pump did not click off when I was pumping gas and as a result the tank was filled to the top and some spilled over onto the ground. This is the 1st time it has happened.

Is there any damage that can result from this overfill of the gas tank?

 
Rep Power: 321

yes it can...gas can go up your vapor recovery pipe into your charcoal filter which can destroy it...complain to the gas station, and take it to a shop and have them check ur charcoal filter cuz those things can run anywhere from 50-$400 or so

 
Rep Power: 259

Is there any indication that the charcoal filter is messed up? Will the engine light go on?
What exactly is that part called? The Evaporative emission valve?

Now just in case I bring my car into the dealer for annual inspection and it fails because of this overfill mishap, is that part covered by the warranty?

 
Rep Power: 279

I have also experianced this little annoyance with some pumps for my dad's previous and current car, but have not with my vic. Good thing they didnt have problems with it, so I'm guessing it should be ok if it didnt do that too often.

 
Rep Power: 265

huh i wasn't aware that overfilling your tank could cause damage that hasn't happend to me before

 
Rep Power: 0

WTF is a charcoal filter? and what does it do!?!?!?!?

 
Rep Power: 454

charcoal canister is a emission device. It stores fuel vapors and later they are sent to the engine to be burned.

Now 2 things could have occured. First the gas station nozzle could have been malfunctioning. Or you have a faulty fuel tank vapor control valve.

I am not too sure on what the purpose of the control valve is for, but I remembered this because I read about it in the manaul. Maybe someone else knows more about the 2.

Now I doubt you did any damage to the canister. If you did, it would have thrown a check engine light for the canister. It usually takes several times of overfilling it to happen. But going to the dealer and asking them to check it, I dont see a need. you cant really check it. Its either working or not working. If the light isnt on, then you are ok.

What I would do is next time you need gas, try a different station or different pump and if it happens again, that control valve may need replacing. If it doesnt, thenm that specific nozzle was malfunctioning.

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah if its not throwing a code its not gonna be a problem, anything that gets damaged when it comes to emmissions will throw a code real quick. Thats all OBD 2 did, was make it so emmissions are strictly monitored (I know it actually did more)