Gas pump shuts off after less than a gallon on an empty tank

I noticed that I didn't have a lot of gas before work today so I stopped by a gas station to fill up. After filling up less than a gallon, the pump clicked off. I started it up again and it clicked off again. When I pulled the nozzle out, gas leaked out like it was full. I'm sure the tank is empty so the overflow was kind of puzzling.

I didn't have time to go check another gas station so that could be a possibility, but I have to drive to Chicago (from the middle of Michigan) tomorrow so I figured I would try to figure out the possibilities so I could act ASAP if this isn't just specific gas station problem.

The car is a 2003 Toyota Corolla and this has never happened before. Any ideas as to what I should do if this isn't a gas station problem? Anyone been able to fix this on their own before or am going to have to take this to a mechanic/dealership?

This thread has your answer

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum...-tank.html

want to give credit where it is due

Quote from komondor : This thread has your answer http://www.toyotanation.com/forum...-tank.html want to give credit where it is due

Thanks I'll give that a try! When I googled it, I got a few answers that recommended taking it in, but this seems doable and a lot closer to what my problem is.

glad to help some people think that you can just Google anything and get the correct answer but you have to know just how to phrase the search and also know which sites come up first that are garbage

Didn't realize there was an actual mechanical fix for this. I always just pulled the nozzle half out and that always fixed the problem.

Quote from teenbean : Didn't realize there was an actual mechanical fix for this. I always just pulled the nozzle half out and that always fixed the problem.

Same here. Learn something new every day.

I've had the 2 way solenoid valve ($95~ dollars!) go bad twice in 2 years that sits by the charcoal canister on my 1998 Chevy Prizm (which is a Corolla underneath). The last time I replaced it years ago, I made a pop can metal cover for it held down by a screw. This covers it from mud and water, and ever since the valve has stayed perfect. I always set one of the odometers to zero when I fill up (10gallons), and when I get to about 350~ miles, I know it's ready for it's next fill up.