Stories when filling up at "gasoline station"

Masonjar

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Location
Ottawa
TDI
2005 Jetta Wagon GL
... it was a pimply teenage pump jockey who taught me the venting trick when filling me up!
Yeah... The pimply teenager who tried to show me broke off the vent button. I was not impressed.

On that note, I understand the plus of squeezing in a few more litres, but what are the cons? I note that my manual says not to overfill due to potential expansion or foaming of the fuel from heat or motion...?


Andrew
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
Yeah... The pimply teenager who tried to show me broke off the vent button. I was not impressed.

On that note, I understand the plus of squeezing in a few more litres, but what are the cons? I note that my manual says not to overfill due to potential expansion or foaming of the fuel from heat or motion...?


Andrew
Well no more venting since the Mk V Jettas. But in all the years I did vent (or filled to brim after ventectomy), no issues. Diesel is nowhere near as volatile as gasoline. I maybe wouldn't park it in the sun for a long time on a hot day immediately after filling up, but if you drive off you should be OK.
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
And, there are hidden pockets of foam that will dissipate even when venting and filling all the way, and that will make room for expansion.
 

FormerGasser

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Colorado
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6M
I had the chance I had practiced for!!!

I responded: "You mean you don't choose the color of the pump handle to match the car?" The diesel pump handles are green, like the car. He says: No!! "That is diesel fuel, not gas!" I said: "What do you think I should put into the car?" He said: "Gasoline, Not diesel! Of course!" I said: "I wonder why Volkswagen printed 'Diesel fuel only' on this fuel lid and fuel cap? Think I should ignore it and put in gasoline anyways?" He looked shocked. I pointed to the chrome "TDI" badge I put under the VW symbol on the rear decklid and said "The 'D' in TDI stands for Diesel, not 'Dip****'." I then proceeded to fill up the car.

He didn't say another word.

My wife was so happy that it finally got to be said.
Really? You practiced for this and that's the best you came up with?

As others have mentioned, only a d-bag would act like this towards someone trying to help. Congratulations.......do you feel tough now?
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
^^^^^I concur with what formerGasser said....
Ya in this day and age, when it seems that nobody is concerned about anything but themselves, someone actually wanting to help is refreshing.

I would think that a simple "thanks for your concern, but it's a diesel so I'm OK" would do. That of course may end up generating a conversation that has "wow, it gets over 40 mpg???" in it somewhere, and a potential convert.

Never miss an opportunity to evangelize :D
 

snakeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta and Wagon, GLS 5sp
Ya in this day and age, when it seems that nobody is concerned about anything but themselves, someone actually wanting to help is refreshing.

I would think that a simple "thanks for your concern, but it's a diesel so I'm OK" would do. That of course may end up generating a conversation that has "wow, it gets over 40 mpg???" in it somewhere, and a potential convert.

Never miss an opportunity to evangelize :D
We should do some door to door. :D
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
We should do some door to door. :D
Been there, done dat! There are 6 houses on my street. One is a rarely occupied secondary residence. In the remaining 5 houses, there are 5 TDIs spread among 3 of them.

With those kinds of ratios it's no wonder you never hear funny "filling up at the gas station" stories in these parts...
 

jbright

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Location
Indianapolis
TDI
2009 Jetta DSG
After three years someone finally said something to me while I was filling up -- well, right after I was done calculating my mileage and writing it down in the log book. A guy in a big new Ford diesel pick up came over and wanted to know what kind of numbers I got. His wife drives an '06 Jetta TDI. He was very interested in my car. We talked DPFs (he's going to delete his after warranty), tunes (he has a Bully Dog), the HPFP issue and previous Duramax injector problems. I use the same station 99.9% of the time and I'm always the only diesel car amongst the trucks but no one ever looks twice.
 

canux

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Location
Toronto
TDI
2013 Beetle TDI
This morning I was going through my fueling ritual when a pickup pulls in to the non-diesel pump across from me. As the guy gets out of the truck I'm pouring my additive out of a flask that looks like a giant shot glass and into my car. "Looks like your car has a drinking problem" he says. "Yep, " I said "It takes after its owner."

Diesel fuel economy and pump lubrication discussion followed.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
I had a guy taking a rather long look at the front of my JSW while fueling it up today at Haffner's ("It Kicks!") on 3A in Hudson NH. I left it idling and this guy was at the gas pump ahead of me and filling up his BMW 3-series gasser. It seemed like he was carefully listening to my JSW from about 10 ft. away (hard to hear it at 10ft distance!). I have a TDIclub "Yes, it's a Diesel" license plate frame on the front plate. It didn't lead to a conversation but I suspect he noticed it was a diesel and was marveling at how quiet it was. For a moment it was like what wasn't said spoke way louder than what would have been said between us if it led to a conversation at the pump.
 

naturist

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2001
Location
Bro Jerry's hometown, Virginia
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 2005 Jeep Libby CRD, 2012 BMW X5 35d
@n1das, have you stood 10 feet away from a BMW 335d and listened to IT idle? My guess is that if you encounter one at the pump like that, you'd be doing the same as that guy. They put the same engine in an X5 as well, and I got the car guy at our local dealership to show me one of those a few months back. I couldn't tell it was running save by looking at the tach, sitting in the driver's seat with the door open.

Wish I could afford a 335d or X5d. These are excitin' times for us diesel jockeys.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
@n1das, have you stood 10 feet away from a BMW 335d and listened to IT idle? My guess is that if you encounter one at the pump like that, you'd be doing the same as that guy. They put the same engine in an X5 as well, and I got the car guy at our local dealership to show me one of those a few months back. I couldn't tell it was running save by looking at the tach, sitting in the driver's seat with the door open.

Wish I could afford a 335d or X5d. These are excitin' times for us diesel jockeys.
Agreed. And LOL, already been there and done that with a friend's 335d. :cool: It makes a CR TDI sound loud by comparison. :cool:

Aside from being aware that the JSW was getting eyeballed by a curious gasser driver, it was an otherwise uneventful fillup. I was ready to help spread the TDI gospel if a conversation started but it didn't happen.
 

timwagon

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Location
Hauppauge, NY
TDI
2010 Jetta Sportwagen Stick
I was filling uop at a BP pump yesterday, and the driver at the next pump let me know that I was filling up with diesel. I thanked him for his concern and let him know that my JSW was a diesel car. He told me that he's seen misfueling at this station, because BP uses the single pump design, with the gas nozzle on the right, and the diesel nozzle on the left. There is a slight separation of the diesel fuel selection button, but I can see where someone could easily misfuel.

Also, I never pay any attention to the color of a diesel pump handle. I just make sure it's actually the diesel pump by taking a second or two to verify the signage.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
I started pumping B5 at Hanscomes Truck stop yesterday afternoon. I was getting .01 gal/min. Went in asked ***? he looked through the records said must be empty, they should have gotten a drop that day, sorry. I managed to get a gallon in the tank then filled the rest of the way up at Irving a few miles down the road with a heavy heavy shot of PS.

100 miles on the tank so far no issues.

Up note, 445 miles / 9.028 gallons, very happy.
 
Last edited:

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
I started pumping B5 at Hanscomes Truck stop yesterday afternoon. I was getting .01 gal/min. Went in asked ***? he looked through the records said must be empty, they should have gotten a drop that day, sorry. I managed to get a gallon in the tank then filled the rest of the way up at Irving a few miles down the road with a heavy heavy shot of PS.

100 miles on the tank so far no issues.

Up note, 445 miles / 9.028 gallons, very happy.
Hopefully there was no water in that 1 gallon at the truck stop! :eek: :eek: :eek: Good thing you had the PS handy!

OTOH, Irving diesel is good stuff and good thing you went there.

Good luck.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Yeah not to happy about it. I just installed a new FF 3,000 miles ago too.

He said if I had any problems with what I bought to call the front office. So I have that going for me.
 

That Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TDI
2001 MKiv Golf TDI
There's no confusing mine for a Diesel. After the exhaust upgrade it's definitely louder than it used to be....it's higher flow, but still with a muffler and CAT.;)

I'm not crazy about quiet cars. I like to hear what's going on.

My GTI is somewhat quiet this. It has a DSG trans, but I don't like to use the manual shifting with it. Because it's hard to tell when to shift without always looking down at the TAC.

With the TDI it's really easy to "hear" when you need to shift. And I can keep my eyes on the road.


Rented a Mazda car (Mazda3 maybe) a few years back while on a trip. When I got in it at the rental place I tried to start it and found that it was already running. Kind of embarrassing.:eek:
 

Tom Servo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
I started pumping B5 at Hanscomes Truck stop yesterday afternoon. I was getting .01 gal/min. Went in asked ***? he looked through the records said must be empty, they should have gotten a drop that day, sorry. I managed to get a gallon in the tank then filled the rest of the way up at Irving a few miles down the road with a heavy heavy shot of PS.

100 miles on the tank so far no issues.

Up note, 445 miles / 9.028 gallons, very happy.
I had that happen once, too. Except I was on fumes and it was around 2 am in a town with just one open store with diesel that I knew of. I got about .25 gallons and a very profuse apology from the woman running the place. "They were supposed to disable the pay-at-pump earlier," she said.

With literally nowhere else to go, I had to drive another 10-12 miles with the needle now just on the red mark, low fuel light still glowing and take a chance on a station in another town. It was closed but thankfully the pumps were on.

And, as it turned out, their diesel (B20) was actually only a few pennies higher than the other place that was out! So it was a good deal for much better fuel.

Had that second place shut their pumps off, I would have probably had to sleep in my car until the place opened up. :eek:
 

snakeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta and Wagon, GLS 5sp
Tom Servo don't stress too much. I'm not 100% sure your 2005 Golf's fuel tank and sensors are the same, but on my 2003 Jetta I regularly drive with the needle showing COMPLETELY empty for many kilometers (sometimes over 100).
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
Different cars end up calibrated differently.

IIRC, if you're putting 17+ gallons into a vented tank, that's when you were in the real danger zone.
 

snakeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta and Wagon, GLS 5sp
Different cars end up calibrated differently.

IIRC, if you're putting 17+ gallons into a vented tank, that's when you were in the real danger zone.
Oh I'm pretty sure 17 is empty. Had to park at a gas station once and wait for a truck to finish fueling. When he was done I turned the key but my car wouldn't start. Had to push it to the pump. I think I filled up with 16.6 gallons that time.
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
There has been some variance, though. Myself, if I've put in 16.4, I've gone too far for comfort. (That's 14.5 plus 1.9 of vent.) But, last time I said 14.5 plus 1.9 of vent for 16.4, people told me they've shoved 17.1 in, so...
 

sgoldste01

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Location
Webster, NY
TDI
None; Replaced 2010 Golf TDI with 2012 Subaru Impreza 5-door with manual tranny
I wonder how much an MK6 (which doesn't require a ventectomy) holds, if going from completely empty to the top of the fuel filler neck (which is how high I fill every time).
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
There has been some variance, though. Myself, if I've put in 16.4, I've gone too far for comfort. (That's 14.5 plus 1.9 of vent.) But, last time I said 14.5 plus 1.9 of vent for 16.4, people told me they've shoved 17.1 in, so...
Don't forget that pump volume is adjusted for temperature, so there will be some variation.
 

No More Buffalo

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Location
Greenville, NC
TDI
Current: 2015 Golf SEL 6m Sold: 2012 Golf 2dr DSG
I'd like to know that too... most I've put in mine in the month that I've owned it was 14.22 gallons...range guage was reporting something like 10 miles at that point, maybe even 5. Wonder how close I was cutting it? I've heard that it's a really bad idea to ever run out with the CR fuel system. Sort of snuck up on me a bit...first time it'd been in the red for more than a few miles, and it dropped down to practically nothing a bit faster than I had expected...it looks on the guage like the red should be the bottom 1/8th of the tank, but it sure seemed to go faster than that.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Haven't posted in this thread in a while!

Last week I was up in San Jose to do some TDI work, the next day on the way back home, filled up in town, drove to a couple (by a couple I mean 5) Pick-n-Pull junkyards in the area, ending with two in Moss Landing, got back on Highway 1 afterwards and drove South through Monterey all the way down to San Luis Obispo. Gorgeous drive! Highway 1 ends for a while and I had to merge onto 101 South to get back home to Santa Maria.

The next day I was getting set to drive to Las Vegas for a TDI GTG. But first I get a call from a friend in L.A. asking to look at her car. Long story short, I didn't leave LA until it was after 9. Started my way towards Vegas, in the middle of the high desert, very little in the way of civilization, the fuel light comes on. I take out my phone and open the Gas Buddy app, load which stations near me have diesel. It comes up with NOTHING. It tells me the filter settings are too strict to load any stations.

So I begin messing with the filter settings, expanding the distance which it searches for stations. It finally loads a couple. I load the map view, start scrolling ahead of my current location, closest diesel was in Baker, CA for $4.79/gal. OUCH. I scroll ahead some more and the next diesel isn't until the Nevada border! More than 60 miles away. And it's WAY cheaper. $4.35/gal!

Well, the fuel light hasn't been on THAT long. I could PROBABLY make it. I slow down and get into the "Truck Lane" for slow moving vehicles up the long, somewhat steep grades getting into the high desert. Just trying to make sure I get to Nevada.

Watching the fuel gauge closely as it gets through the red zone and eventually the last white hashmark below the red zone. I'm sweating a bit now :D Phone's GPS says it's only a couple more miles until the exit anyway and the road had been going downhill for a bit, I'm practically coasting in gear at this point anyway.

I finally make it to the Chevron station just across the Nevada border. I quickly find out the only diesel is on the truck side. Haven't done that in a while. After turning around a couple times, I finally get myself situated in the correct direction. Go inside, prepay for the fuel only to have the attendant tell me the truck nozzle won't fit my car. I had to reassure her that it would and that I had done it before, she then tells me that it won't automatically shut off and would make a giant mess, again assure her I've used these nozzles before and can take care of it, it's no problem.

I do the usual top off, all the way up the filler neck while avoiding making a giant mess. I went 650 miles and the tank held just a hair over 15 gallons. That's about as far as I've ever gone in a Mk3!

If I had slowed down for more of the tank it would have gotten better, sure. Considering there's a few hundred pounds worth of tools (if not ~1000 lbs) in the back of my car for the entire tank, I'm not going to complain at getting 42 MPG, especially considering my lead-footed driving style in the twisties :D
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Don't forget that pump volume is adjusted for temperature, so there will be some variation.
That is true in Canada, but not in the US. This was the subject of a widely-read article in the Kansas City Star a couple years ago, that the fuel pumps did not correct for fuel temperature. Primarily, the argument was that station owners were making more in the summer months than they lost in the winter months. Of course, the article came out in the summer.
 

jrivers804

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 19, 1999
Location
Cape Charles, VA USA
TDI
Jetta, 1998, White
The whole thing about different amounts of fuel in summer and winter sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Most tanks are underground, which maintains a pretty constant temperature. That's the basis for geothermal heat pumps after all. So, unless you buy from a place with above ground pumps, I doubt it makes much difference. If the temp underground is 50F then I doubt it expands much in the few seconds it takes to travel to the nozzle. Just another story to rile people up over nothing, IMO.
 
Top