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Gas Tank Fueling Problem on new 2016 smart

126K views 950 replies 112 participants last post by  Muckquomp 
#1 ·
I just picked up my 2016 smart last week. I tried to fill it up twice at two different gas stations. Both times the pump kicked out way too early. I knew by the amount of fuel pumped that my tank wasn't at capacity and sure enough, when I started the car, I was still 1/4 tank shy of a full tank (2 bars were missing for a full indicator). I tried in vain to top it off but the pump wouldn't let me. The dealership service dept blames the gas station pumps but I have my doubts. I will try a 3rd gas station tonight on my way home that is a different company from the 1st and 2nd. I looked on line and there are many issues on different types of vehicles regarding this same issue. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANY SMART OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM ON THE NEW 2016 MODEL.
 
#4 ·
No problems so far on filling my 2016 453. Bars go to the top. FYI - This has no bearing on your specific problem but the 451 tank had a max capacity including reserve of 8.6 gals. The new 2016 453 tank has a max capacity of 7.6 gals so each bar now represents a bit less than one gallon. Your into the reserve when tank is down to 1.3 gallons. MIKE700.
 
#11 ·
I have the same "full" filling issues on my 2016 smart - as the pump will shut off without fully filling the tank

I have to fill it to the initial fuel stop, pull the pump handle partially out of the opening so that just about half of the nozel is in the opening, then proceed to fill it very slowly till it tops off.

-Cody
New 2016 Edition 1 Smart
 
#14 ·
This seems to be normal in the new 453. They all do it. Run it down to "0.0" and try a full fillup and you'll stuff about 5 to 6 gallons in before the fuel nozzle shuts off.

Assuming you filled up completely, you jump back in the car and drive away only to notice a block or two later that the fuel gauge is missing 1-2 bars.

Which means, there's still room for fuel. If you fight through the click, you'll get it to really fill up and the gauge is full.
 
#18 ·
Being from Canada, all specs are in Liters. the specs show 28/5, which I assume is 28L plus 5 L reserve. If this is the case, then it's the same total capacity as my old '08 smart. The only difference is the old smart was 30/3 (3L for a reserve). This means that the indicator bricks are calculating based on 2 less Liters before the reserve Liters kick in and start flashing at you. I haven't run the gas down to see if this in indeed the case.
 
#19 ·
I consistently get 9 gallons in my 2015 451. I usually fill up around 0.5 gallon and fill 8.5 gallons. A few times I've had spillover from the fill spout, but it recedes quickly.

I'm tempted to drive the car a few miles after filling up to see if I can get any more in the tank. Maybe I'll try that sometime.

I think that filling a tank removed from the vehicle is going to be different than filling it installed due to the shape of the tank, filling dynamics, and possibly trapped air. Meaning, just because the internal volume of the tank is 10 gallons doesn't mean you can get ten gallons into it in actual use.

And, yes, it is a bad idea to run the tank empty if the fuel pump or transfer pump is in the tank, it's hard on the pump.
 
#21 ·
Yes, agreed. But now that I know my fill capacity is 9 gallons I won't let it happen anymore. Unfortunately it took me twice to figure it out, mostly because the thing is so temperamental to fill up. The auto shut off on the pumps around here are useless on the smart, so I had to fill it manually which lead to an overfill, unfortunately.
 
#25 ·
Up here in Canada, I'm jumping from Station to Station for each fill-up seeing if one station gives me less problems than the other. The last few fills have given me full bars showing but I'm convinced I'm not filling up to capacity as the first bar quickly runs out after about 10 or 15 miles of driving (20 or 30 km). I'm driving my car until the indicator signal is telling me 5 liters are left in my RESERVE. I was able to put 19.3 liters in during my fill-up so that should leave me with another 8 liters to fill but the pump was clicking off and all my bars were indicating full. It's a small tank to start with and I hate to spend my time at the pump filling up a small tank only 3/4 way every time. Why do we have to deal with this stupid issues. They are so irritating. This is going to be a pissing match between the smart dealership blaming the gas station pumps and me trying to tell them otherwise. RRRRRR!
 
#26 ·
This is going to be a pissing match between the smart dealership blaming the gas station pumps and me trying to tell them otherwise. RRRRRR!
Well, what do you want them to do? A car dealership does not design the car nor the fuel filler nozzles at the gas stations. The only thing your local dealership can do is alert the mothership of the 'issue' and at this time it doesn't appear that there is a design flaw in the smart.
 
#28 ·
Gas gauge

Hey guys. I have had my 2011 smart for almost 3 years and after a fill up I can sometimes go almost up to 100 miles before the gas gauge even goes down 1 tick. Now in our new 453 it seems like that by the time I pull out of the gas station parking lot the gauge gas already went down. Has anyone else experienced such issues?
 
#37 ·
No, because by definition it's not statistically significant.

I have FE entries for all my presently owned and recent cars on spritmonitor, 1 million km worth, and while individual tank results may seem interesting, the long term trends are what matters.
 
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#40 ·
Hey, whatever makes your thing swing.

I have seen too many "wow my car got 78 MPG" claims over the decades, when the reality is the person drove 100 miles and topped up and was not even close to the realm of significant figures. Tailwind, headwind, short fill? Similarly, unless a full tank is burned over exactly the same route (likely with different conditions), even accurately measured fills are not really comparable with each other.

But longer term trends are significant. For economical driving and testing alterations and modifications, the instantaneous consumption readout is better, used on the same road in the same conditions.
 
#41 ·
You know, this whole discussion harkens me back to 2008. A lot of folks were complaining about the 451 not filling up all the way as well way back then.

The solution? Fill the tank on the slowest setting.:bangwall: Easy-peasy... I have always used the slowest setting to fill my smart, and never had an issue with it shutting off early. Are we all in such a hurry we can't slow down for the 5 minutes it takes to fill a tank???:shrug:
 
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