I’ve Seen it Too Much in Rochester – Why ‘Topping Off’ Your Gas Tank is Bad For Your Car

Do you 'top off' your car when you fill up? When you're pumping gas and it clicks to let you know the tank is full but you put in just a little more to hit the next whole dollar or gallon?

That's SUPER bad for your car, stop it!

I've been noticing this around Rochester (specifically at Costco since that's where I've been typically getting gas lately) and thought maybe I should write about it because it could save you from some costly repairs. Seriously, my grandpa was doing this exact thing and his car was acting up. The culprit? 'Topping off' the gas tank.

ALSO READ: A New Game Store is 'Coming Soon' to Rochester

Why You Should Never Top Off Your Gas Tank

When the pump clicks to let you know your gas tank is full, it knows what it's talking about. It's full.

You know how if you overfill a glass of water it'll slosh around and spill? The same thing can happen to your car if you top it off.

But don't just take it from me, Consumer Reports says,

Topping off could damage the onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) system, a charcoal canister that collects potentially harmful fuel vapor during the refueling process ... Adding more fuel after the gas pump clicks off can damage the charcoal canister by saturating it with fuel and cause the check-engine light to illuminate.

They continue by saying that this ORVR system is designed to last the life of your car. But if you overfill your tank it could damage it and cause "an avoidable repair that could cost hundreds of dollars."

So squeezing a little extra gas into your tank or trying to make the numbers hit a nice, round number definitely isn't worth the possible headache it could cause you.