Like people leave their engines idling while waiting for a pump and that’s not an issue… and if there was a chance of a spark traveling back along the line and ignigting the tank (and thus, the station), then why doesn’t this happen during normal operation?
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I worked at a dealership several years ago, and I was told that the bigger issue is that modern fuel systems are pressurized, so if you take the cap off to add fuel, the computers will think there’s a leak in the system and trigger a dash light. Which causes customers to freak and hassle the service department when they get a bill for a minimum 1 hour of labor just to tell them to read the manual. Or listen to what they were told when they bought it. But also, if you do accidentally do this, or just simply not tighten the cap enough, the dash light *should* clear itself after a couple on/off cycles (after you’ve tightened the cap properly). But I always do what I was told, which is when replacing the gas cap, turn it until you hear 2 or 3 clicks (you’re not hurting anything, they’re designed this way) and that should prevent triggering the light, at least for that reason. I’ve never had an issue when following this procedure. And also, even as small as the chance may be, accidents happen. It is marginally safer in case things don’t quite go according to plan.
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