Good morning all, my 2020 exceed PHEV is showing 'Refueling system service required' Has anyone any ideas on this please? Called the dealer they said 'drive it around a bit' which is different to the handbook. vehicle has 4600 miles on it. Many thanks, Bob.
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Fuel system service - warning on display
- Thread starter sloperrs
- Start date
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I have owned by PHEV for 3+ years and for the first time I had the dreaded fuel system warning sign appear and the petrol engine roared into life. Due to covid restrictions I haven't been able to drive any long distances and its been 3 months since I last added any fuel. Some interesting observations, noise - now i know why I will never own another petrol engine car, fuel consumption - have been getting around 10l/100m which based on my experience with subarus is fairly typical for a petrol engine car with a 2l motor. Because the petrol is running all the time it keeps the battery fully charged which you then cannot really use and therefore regen braking is virtually not existent.
Finally, I can't understand why anyone would own of these cars if they weren't prepared to charge it - they are very average car when used on petrol only in suburban use.
Finally, I can't understand why anyone would own of these cars if they weren't prepared to charge it - they are very average car when used on petrol only in suburban use.
jaapv
Well-known member
If you don't top up on fuel for three months the car will display a warning and burn up enough fuel to enable you to fill up. This is to avoid driving on spoilt petrol and moisture contamination of the fuel. SO - NO WORRIES.
Fancy McDancy
Active member
Hello sloperrs. Did you get this resolved? My car has just started showing the same warning (2020 Dynamic Safety) but I top the fuel tank up every month. Where in the handbook does it refer to this warning?
littlescrote
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2019
- Messages
- 772
Top up how much at a time? If you only do a little bit now and again, you will not rest the 3 month stale fuel counter. It needs to be a significant refill from near empty (I forget the exact numbers).
Fancy McDancy
Active member
I don't top it up every month really, I just said that to save time. I fill up when the joint battery/petrol range shows below 100 miles. Interestingly, I took the car to my local garage this morning and they ran a diagnostic. Apart from a wide range of inconsequential "faults", it showed a "gross fuel leak". There isn't actually a leak at all (it had an MOT last week and an oil and oil filter change last Monday so it would have shown up) and when the mechanic cleared all the fault codes the warning disappeared and hasn't reappeared. Yet.
By the way, the car is running fine on both battery and ICE.
If anything else occurs I'll come back to the forum.
I seem to remember it is at least 15L...
Polyian
Well-known member
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- Sep 15, 2022
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- 46
Mines tells me in the warning...top up minimum 20L (15 gal). I try to keep the fuels gauge around 1/2 or less at 3 months time to accommodate this.
Fancy McDancy
Active member
Hi Polyian. I think 20 litres is more like 5.3 US or 4.4 Imperial gallons. Not 15.
Polyian
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2022
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- 46
You are correct, sorry about the bad conversion info.
On mine, it may mean top up to 20 litres.
The reason I say this?
Just had the fuel warning last week, and put $20 in the tank.
That $20 bought slightly more than 10 litres ($1.80 per litre for the clean fuel I use) but still cleared the warning and 'perma charge' behaviour.
The fuel I put in was sufficient to cause the gauge to show a fraction over half full.
The reason I say this?
Just had the fuel warning last week, and put $20 in the tank.
That $20 bought slightly more than 10 litres ($1.80 per litre for the clean fuel I use) but still cleared the warning and 'perma charge' behaviour.
The fuel I put in was sufficient to cause the gauge to show a fraction over half full.
Polyian
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2022
- Messages
- 46
I had a similar experience a few weeks back. Only added $20 instead of 20 L. The message was cleared but came came back intermittently a few days later. Finally cleared it by adding 21L. I can't explain why if partially cleared.
Fancy McDancy
Active member
The warning light has reappeared. I drove for around 32 miles yesterday and the warning light stayed, but the car drove perfectly. I'm stumped.
I'll call a Mitsubishi service centre tomorrow and see what they say.
Fancy McDancy01
New member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1
I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but I think I may have found the solution.
I filled the fuel tank yesterday and found that the fuel filler cap was really quite loose. I tightened the cap and today took the car to my local mechanic who once again cleared the code. I told him about the loose filler cap and he thought that may be the problem, mentioning that Vauxhalls were particularly prone to this sort of issue. He found a technical bulletin from Mitsubishi on his diagnostic computer which mentioned the possibility that fuel filler caps may loosen over time, releasing the fuel tank pressure and so triggering the warning.
The manual states: "The fuel tank filler door can be opened from inside the vehicle by pressing the fuel tank filler door opener switch located on the instrument panel. The internal pressure of the fuel tank will automatically be released to prevent fuel overflowing from the fuel filler." In other words, if the car detects the fuel tank pressure is low it would assume a fuel leak, hence the code showing "Gross fuel leak at tank".
So, solved? Again, time will tell. I'll let you know what happens, even if nothing does in, say, a week.
Fancy McDancy
Active member
I don't want to raise hope falsely, but I may have a solution to this problem / mystery.
I refueled the car yesterday and noticed that the fuel filler cap was really quite loose. I took the car to my local mechanic this afternoon to ask if he'd clear the code (see above) and, on doing so, he found a technical bulletin from Mitsubishi that warned about loose filler caps.
The manual states at 2-16 "The fuel tank filler door can be opened from inside the vehicle by pressing the fuel tank filler door opener switch located on the instrument panel. The internal pressure of the fuel tank will automatically be released to prevent fuel overflowing from the fuel filler. Before opening the fuel tank filler cap, wait until “READY TO REFUEL” is displayed on the information screen in the multi information display. If the internal pressure is high, it may take several tens of seconds."
This suggests that if the filler cap is loose there will be less or no pressure in the fuel tank and the system may interpret this as a "Gross fuel leak in fuel tank", which is the description of the code thrown up that generates the fuel system service required warning.
So, anyway, fingers crossed. I'll let you know if anything else happens, or (hopefully) doesn't. I'll give it a week of no warnings before I report that the problem is solved.
I refueled the car yesterday and noticed that the fuel filler cap was really quite loose. I took the car to my local mechanic this afternoon to ask if he'd clear the code (see above) and, on doing so, he found a technical bulletin from Mitsubishi that warned about loose filler caps.
The manual states at 2-16 "The fuel tank filler door can be opened from inside the vehicle by pressing the fuel tank filler door opener switch located on the instrument panel. The internal pressure of the fuel tank will automatically be released to prevent fuel overflowing from the fuel filler. Before opening the fuel tank filler cap, wait until “READY TO REFUEL” is displayed on the information screen in the multi information display. If the internal pressure is high, it may take several tens of seconds."
This suggests that if the filler cap is loose there will be less or no pressure in the fuel tank and the system may interpret this as a "Gross fuel leak in fuel tank", which is the description of the code thrown up that generates the fuel system service required warning.
So, anyway, fingers crossed. I'll let you know if anything else happens, or (hopefully) doesn't. I'll give it a week of no warnings before I report that the problem is solved.
