In CA we have these anti-pollution and anti-spillage gasoline fill up nozzles that are pretty sensitive. I have not been able to fill up my gas tank without having the damned thing automatically shut off about 30 time during the process. There seems to be a design problem with either the gas tank or the pipe that connects to the tank that is causing the nozzles to sense that the tank is topped off when it is not.

 

I had this problem with my Merc CLS 63 (I hate to even mention it they're so ugly now) and I would have to put the gas nozzle in different positions to get the damn thing to work. I have never had this problem with my XJL, ever. This reply sounds weird when I read it back but WTF. I expect DOCHANDS to reply to this with a good one!!

 

I also have this problem with my wife's E550 coupe--must be a MB thing! No problem with the XJ though.

 

No problems here, but aren't those damn things specifically made, on part, to prevent you from completely "topping off" your car? to prevent spillage and evaporation of the gasoline vapor?

 

Yeah, it's definitely an environmental thing. The problem is that some tank filler tubes have some weird bends that cause the gas to backup while filling and shut off the nozzle prematurely.

 

Brought it into the dealer (Hornburg) along with a couple of other things. They ended up doing nothing after having my car for 2 days. As with the other complaints that I have, they said this is normal. Seriously? Am I the only one who is having this problem? I've heard Hornburg's service is very bad, but they are close to my work so I thought I'd give them a try. But, I can they really don't want to do any work.

 

Holein1, Try Rusnak in Pasadena, I've had very good luck with their service dept. on the few occasions I've needed them.

 

I can't answer for your specific XJ, but are you seeing this problem at every service station or just the one you use.

I have a very similar problem on a non Jaguar car, my local station has a very high flow pump which is very sensitive to reflux.

However down the road there is a pump that is not so sensitive.

Pull the nozzle back out as far as you can when filling and don't squeeze to max flow.

It is not just environmental, but also anti-syphoning, you'll realize when your prices hit $11 per gal, fuel theft is big.

 

I've tried several stations and at various level of gas remaining in the tank plus various nozzle positions and holding it manually at very slow flow. It still triggers the auto shut-off.

I will probably have to take it back to Galpin where I bought the car and maybe they will make more of an effort to fix it.

 

When you stick the nozzle in do you ask permission and speak gently? I find that always helps even in Oklahoma. lol

 

^LOL.

Be interesting to see what they find.

Could it be something as minor as a vent issue?

Best of luck, I know how annoying this type of problem can be.

 

I finally made it back the Galpin Jag, where I bought car. Hornberg Jag in Santa Monica was just the worse dealer I have ever seen. They were not helpful and appeared totally apathetic to any issues that I brought.

Galpin had my car for several days and the service rep Vic was awesome. They only had a Volvo as a loaner (they have a Volvo dealer too) the day I took the car in; but when Vic found out that they would have to keep my car for a few days, he went out of his way and secured a brand new XJ demo for me and had me switch out the Volvo loaner. Vic kept me informed along the way of what they were doing and why it took so long.

They finally had to take the gas tank off and the fuel system apart to diagnose the problem. They eventually found that one of the valves in the filling pipe would get stuck open and partially block the path of the gasoline during a fill-up causing a back flow. They replaced the valve and hopefully this would be it.

They even fill up my tank at th end; I had less than a quarter tank when I took it in. I will make the 18-mile trek in the future and always bring my car to Galpin.

 

Holein1, if by chance Galpin doesn't or can't make a repair in the future, try Rusnak in Pasadena. There mechs are very good, can't say the same for the sales dept. though..

 

As an Englishman living in this rather small country, I am surprised that with the huge size of the USA, and the huge distances between places, that 18 miles to an agent is considered to be a "trek" !! Heavens sake, this is about the same distance to my local Jaguar agent in Wilmslow and I don't consider that to be very far at all. OK, if it was 50 miles, yes, it is a bit of a nuisance.

 

18 miles can absolutely be a huge trek, depending on where the 18 miles is located. In Kansas, it might take 15 minutes to go 18 miles, however, in Los Angeles, it could easily take 2 hours.

 

Now that's great service and they fixed your problem.

 

It all depends on where you are in the US. In West LA, 18 miles would take you 40 minutes to 1 hour sometimes. On a bad day over Sepulveda Pass, which is the route I have to take, it can take one and half hours. In other cities, it may be a 10 minute drive.