Filling up tank quirkiness

[MN2///M]

Every car I have ever owned will allow you to add an extra .5 to 1 gallon of fuel after the first click...some of these will read full, some the needle will go past full, all depends on the car. As explained previously by other posters, fuel backs up into the fill tube depending on a variety of factors resulting in the pump clicking off.

If the OP thinks he has a gauge problem, take it to the dealer and have them check it out. My X5 saw the dealer 4 times before they straightened out an indication issue. On our way home from PCD with 325 miles on the odometer we discovered we had a bad fuel sending unit (there are two); stated we had more fuel than we did. This manifested itself at first as a CEL which the first dealer (Memphis) stated was a "confused computer" with the tech's hypothesis being that the computer became confused because my first fill up was the noi; reset the computer and sent us on our way with instructions to run it down to near empty. Home dealer diagnosed the bad fuel sending unit and replaced one of the two. Problem changed to only indicating 3/4 full; too more trips to the dealer where they replaced the other sending unit and then discovered that the cable for the sending unit was getting caught on the float....a couple of zip ties to hold the cable and all has been fine since.

I typically squeeze the pump handle for a second click to ensure the tank is full and our X5 indicates right on the F at that point.

Kudos to Apple Corps for the informative article.