How did I get 63 litres of fuel into my Volkswagen Touran's 60-litre fuel tank?

I have a query about the size of my fuel tank (Volkswagen Touran 1.9TdiS 07). I filled my car up with diesel yesterday, and my tank was already 1/4 full. The Volkswagen owner's manual says it is a 60-litre tank and so I reckon it had approximately 15 litres within. I managed to spend £74.20 on diesel fuel at Tesco at £1.179 per litre. When I got home I did the maths.

I reckon I got 63 litres in, which is more than the tank holds, and if it was already 1/4 full I should have only been able to get about 45 litres in. Am I missing something here? Is the tank capacity really possibly around 17 gallons. Thinking the pumps may be wrong I rang Tesco - they said they would check the pump. I am not sure they checked the right one but they said it was ok and they had 'no other complaints'.

I am left puzzled at how I managed to get 63 litres in a 60-litre tank and how did I get up to 78 litres in the tank. Can you shed any light please at how this might have happened.

Asked on 3 June 2010 by david alne

Answered by Honest John
The tank is a bit larger than the stated capacity. Your fuel float gauge could be faulty. Or the pump failed to deliver the quantity you were billed for.
Similar questions
I have a 2010 Toyota Auris Hybrid T-Spirit and have a query about the fuel gauge. The ‘Optitron’ fuel gauge has 10 blocks on it which, when it gets to the last one, flashes and displays a Low Fuel Warning....
I have 2011 Volkswagen Polo. The fuel gauge is showing full all the time. What's wrong?
My Ford Focus 1.6 has done 88,000 miles. It kept showing an intermittent display fault with the odometer, speedometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge all not working. Now none of these have worked at...
Related models
Solid, small 7-seater with a comfortable ride. 2.0 TDI model is greatly improved by DSG autobox and gets 3 stars.
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer