Motoring experts are urging people to stop filling their tank as soon as the pump clicks to a halt for the first time. Graham Conway, managing director of UK leasing firm Select Car Leasing, said: “Squeezing the fuel pump after the first click, also known as ‘topping off’, might seem like the right thing to do so you can make it up to the nearest pound, but it’s really not.
“That’s because it’s likely to still dispense some fuel that won’t end up in your tank. If you ignore the first click you could be filling past the top of the fuel tank port, and that extra fuel will end up running into the small drain under the entry and onto the ground beneath your vehicle.
“On some pumps the extra fuel may be sucked back into the pipe. This means you are paying the petrol station to give them back their own fuel. A more serious issue, one that could damage your car and cost you serious cash, is connected to the vapour recovery system.
“This prevents evaporated petrol or diesel escaping when you release the petrol cap to fill up, capturing it in a charcoal canister instead. But if you are forcing surplus petrol or diesel into the tank, this can propel liquid fuel into the pipes and damage the vapour recovery system.
“That means you will soon see warning lights on your dashboard and run the risk of failing emissions tests. You’ll also be looking at an expensive repair bill, possibly up to £500. That’s something definitely worth avoiding during the current cost of living crisis.”
People will sometimes try to squeeze in a few more pence of petrol or diesel in a bid to hit a round number. The habit of filling up to a certain monetary value is decades old, dating back to when all transactions were done with cash.
That meant putting exactly £20 of fuel in the tank would see you simply handing over notes to the cashier instead of having to dig around in the glovebox to locate loose coins. But with the vast majority of people now paying on credit or debit cards, and many using the common ‘pay at pump’ facility, there’s much less need to hit a specific mark.
A thread on forum-hosting platform Reddit discussed the subject, with some revealing insights. One user wrote: “I just fill the tank to the brim. However when I look around at other pumps, it seems like most other people do try and aim for a round number – I'd say around 3 in 4 pumps have one (or close to one). I don't really understand why you would do that.”
Select Car Leasing’s Mr Conway said: “Many people have a slightly obsessive-compulsive side to their character, so it is understandable that they want to hit a nice round number. But with the majority now shunning cash for cards, and even phone-paying apps such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, there is less need to be so accurate.
“It also removes the frustration of carefully trying to get to a certain mark and the counter somehow ticking over by a penny – an experience most will have had at some point.”
Fuel prices are currently at their lowest level since May after a year of escalating costs across the board.
