I am interested to know whether this happens to anyone else.
There are a lot of petrol stations near me, and I use a few of them irregularly. I stopped in at one that sells E10 one morning last week and filled up.
My fuel light is supposed to give 70km warning before it runs out, and had been on for about 30km. So I was not concerned about running out, I had at worst, 10 kays up my sleeve.
Here's the thing. Once I filled up the fuel pump read 68.5 litres, and that is what I paid for. But according to my car's owner's manual, and the internet, my car's fuel capacity is 67 litres.
I reckon that the pumps were not accurate and I was being stung. OK, it's probably only $2-3 worth of fuel, but it's the principle of the thing.
Anyone have this experience?
Fuel Bowser Rip-off?
Comments
Jerry (petrol) cans often are not meant to be filled to the top, to allow for expansion in heat, so its very easy to get more than the rated amount into the can. Newer cans have a line to indicate the amount, older ones dont have the line.
Is this guy serious?
Whats that saying about common sense not being that common
Unless the pump has been recently calibrated then yes, they may be out. Have a read of this for further info and what you can do about it
I wrote a similar post on here somewhere. In my case (it was at a non manned petrol station) and the pump started, stopped, started etc and then completely stopped on around 8 litres off memory. I only got a couple of km down the road heading to the next station and my car ran empty (and I keep a log book and my car uses around 8-9 litre per 100km), so I should have got ~ 80km @ $1/ litre.
Anyway, I looked up and contacted the service stations state management, and also the NMI (as above). Basically the NMI said they do random checks and will do a random check on this particular station. I think the state management were happy as it gave them a heads up to fix the issue before the NMI got there. As for me, I never heard a thing from any of them again.
In summary, you may help out another future motorists from being ripped, that's about it.
That does sound dodgy. There's probably a fuel watchdog or someone you could report them to I reckon
bikies are the only course of action from here OP.
or your owners manual is lying to you…
how much petrol do you reckon the pipe between tank and the petrol inlet may hold?
The fuel capacity isn't the actual amount the tank holds, but the amount of usable fuel. There is usually a few inches that is saved for fuel expanding and contracting.
Also, you could probably fit a litre in the fuel tank filling tube.
Edit: This is a good read
Fuel float in any car is not accurate, fuel gauge is an inaccurate indication of remaining fuel level, compounding source of errors.
A while ago some guy was complaining the 5L of petrol he put into his car didn't move the fuel gauge at all (ಠ_ಠ)The tank capacity might be 67L, but did you fill up to the top of the neck? There is an extra litre or so.
when your car calculates how much distance is left it uses your driving history to calculate average fuel consumption, uses the fuel guage to guess how much fuel is left and then estimate a range. If you drive up or down hill the fuel moves around in the tank and may give a false reading depending on where the sender in the tank is placed. It doesn't mean that you can drive 30km exactly. You might have been down to less than a litre in your tank and got a nasty surprise around the next corner. There are reasons they say you should not let your tank run down that low.
Your car is not a VW, by any chance?
Need to remember that manufacturers will allow for a buffer of fuel so that you don't completely empty your tank and allow for expansion with heat. If you completely empty your tank, your fuel pump may burn out which can easily cost your over hundreds of dollars to replace. Especially if it is fixed to your fuel tank.
May as well play it safe and fill up when the light is on or at least be sure to carry around a jerry can. Try not to start the car when it does run dry.
Interesting read that was posted on HS a day or two ago:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/faulty-fuel-pumps-…
Cheers
Plastic fuel tank can stretch over time….
Petrol bowsers are randomly spot checked to ensure they deliver the correct amount.
As a %, your extra 1.5l is nothing!
Aussie car, 12 years old…
Also, in engineering there is something called Design capacity and Operating capacity when doing calculations
Usually 5-10% difference between operating and design capacity, depending on the what it's used for.
Design capacity is the theoretical maximum. Operating is the one that's put on the manual with the safety threshold (unknown to anyone but internal team).Have you ever wondered why on lifts they say 14 people maximum capacity, and 1360kg weight?
That's because they leave around 10% as a safety buffer. The lift won't break at 1370kg. It will at 1500kg though.Only way to check if the petrol station has really been ripping you off, is to use a calibrated measuring device.. a bucket with a line will do (assuming you filled exactly 10L of water with it before).
a bucket with a line will do
I understand you concept, but a bucket would be very dangerous, if the servo would even let you fill it, which it shouldn't.
An approved can which you have marked after defining the 10L would be a far safer method.
Good points! Pretty much we need some sort of accurate measuring device.
If you think you are not getting what you paid for, please Email me and I can check the accuracy of the fuel bowser if I am in the area. I have 2, 15litre and a 200litre test provers that are certified by National Measurement Institute regulation 13, cheers
Thanks for that.
My post was in January and I have not been back to the same servo since, as a matter of principle. But I will keep your offer in mind.
A friend once filled up a 10lt jerry can/container of petrol, but the bowser read more than 10lt … they're definitely dodgy