Has Anyone Pumped Any Bad Fuel Lately???

[ChiciB1]

Recently while returning from a trip to Orlando my car started sputtering and lurching. Since I knew my oil and transmission fluid were okay because they had just been checked I thought maybe there was something wrong with my radiator. The indicator lights didn't show this, but I wasn't sure. Then I thought it was just some sort of fluke and it would go away. But it got worse and I just kept saying "please let me get to an exit soon"!

I finally turned off of I-4 and got to a gas station. Since I had no idea WHAT could be wrong I asked a man there if he could help me. He asked me if I had gotten any gas at a Shell station recently and I said no that I had gone to Hess & BP. He told me he had heard that Shell had some bad gas and perhaps that was my problem. However, he suggested I use some STP and that's what I did. My radiator was NOT the problem. And he also checked my oil and transmission fluid for me and they were okay.

I went on my merry way and to my surprise my 50 mile trip home was relatively smooth. There were a few more sputters, but nothing like before. I was sure my car was going to come to a full stop right there on I-4!! Could it be we are being supplied some bad fuel??

Any input here??

[Randi_Listener]

1. I had the same shit happen to me.

They sold me some fucked up gas for a rental in Orlando.

[Ironpost]

3. that picture you have of *

sure looks like he's shitter than a drunk house mouse

[ChiciB1]

7. Well, At Least You Had A Rental...

Now I'm worried about my car. After reading these replies I wonder what's going on. Does water in the gas cause just as much damage???

The drive to Orlando is a real horror from where I live and I hate to think about having to go back there again. What usually takes 2 1/2 hrs. took 4 hours the other day!! They ARE working on the roads, but it's taking forever!!!

[Randi_Listener]

21. Water in the goddamn tank is the worst thing that can happen.

Many of the stations around central Florida have the fucking problem with shit gasoline.

[ChiciB1]

24. Does Seem Plausible Because Of Humidity...BUT

never happened to me before. I lived here for a long long time. Maybe it was just Orlando. Has anyone been there lately??

HORRORS! I will never drive over there during "season" again!!!! I just hope they get those roads fixed sometime in the next FIVE years!

[shoelace414]

2. Milwaukee had a problem

where the gas was plugging the fuel injectors.

well.. the gas companies said "nothing wrong with us" and the car companies said "it's the gas"

[Warpy]

4. One gas station locally in central NM

was caught selling naphtha as mid grade gasoline. Naphtha is cheaper, your car will run on it (although badly), but it will eventually damage your engine rather badly.

It was unclear whether or not the station owner knew of the subsitution, if it had been accidental, or if it had been the refinery trying to make a fast buck by screwing the station's customers.

I would hope anyone who has this problem with a tankful of gas takes a sample to the appropriate state agency to be tested. Only when several customers complained to the State AG's office of consumer affairs was the station's supply tested and the substitution found.

If it turns out to be naphtha, the only thing to do is siphon every bit of it out of your gas tank and hope you haven't damaged your engine with it. If you have suffered damage, the only thing is to sue.

On edit: another problem that can cause spitting and sputtering like you described is gasoline contaminated with water. That station's underground tank may be leaking.

[ohio_liberal]

5. Yes!

I just had to replace a fuel filter way earlier than normal. My car was stalling all over the place. Mechanic's diagnosis = dirty gas.

[ohio_liberal]

6. ....

The indicator lights didn't show this, but I wasn't sure.

If the "check engine" or "service engine" lights don't go on, its a mechanical part, not a computerized part.

[ChiciB1]

9. Hey... I'm Just a Stupid Female!

What do I know??? I just have someone work on my car, but thanks for the input. I think I'm going to have to "bone up" on my mechanics!

And yes, one should try to be aware, but it's not my forte!

I think it was the gas!

[ohio_liberal]

11. Yes, it helps to be aware

I have a family member who is a mechanic so I get all kinds of info. If you car starts sputtering or stalling with no "check engine" light, here's the first things to check:

fuel filter (cheap part, less than $10)
clean the throttle plates
clean the idle air control valve (it's a big hex bolt near the throttle module)

Don't let anyone talk you into expensive parts like EGR valves until they check out this stuff first.

[butchcjg]

8. Yes - We had a problem

We often get our gas at a Shell (NJ).

Our "check engine" light came on recently. THe book says that this is due to "poor gasoline quality" or leaving a gas cap off.

It's STILL not off, so we have to take it in tomorrow.

[rockedthevoteinMA]

18. I know in my parents new cars that if you top the gas off at all

the check engine light will come on.

The check engine light wouldn't go off in my car, so when I took it to get inspected (after a year of taking it to the mechanics every other month to get "fixed" for a non existent problem)- the guy inspecting it disconnected the battery, and it shut off.

I know back in the early 80's certain car manufacturers made it so the check engine light would go on at a certain number of miles, and the only way to shut it off was to take it back to the dealer. :eyes:

[sendero]

20. That light can...

.... come on for any number of reasons. The most common is a sensor (mass air, air temp, exhaust O2, etc) has failed, or it is giving a nasty reading.

Modern engines are pretty much run by computer. The computer relies on several sensors to tell it what is going on with the engine. The computer uses this data to effect real-time changes in the engine's operation. The ignition timing, fuel mixture (richness) and other factors are changed in response to what the sensors are telling the computer.

When the computer detects a sensor malfunction, it turns on the Check Engine light. This is not the only thing that will do it, but the most common. And it is quite common that the sensor itself has bitten the dust, and replacing it will fix the problem.

[rockedthevoteinMA]

10. That happened to me at Hess in Massachusetts, and Citgo in MA

too. The mechanic put dry gas in, and it worked fine after. *Check with a mechanic first before doing this, I don't know if it's a good solution* (Mechanic is a friend)

[ChiciB1]

12. Okay... Now There Seems To be A Pattern

here. What do we do?? We can't sue all the stations, and if you could sue any of them... how do you go about it???

Is there some way to get this out to MSM??? Oh, ain't THAT FUNNY???

[rockedthevoteinMA]

13. LoL MsM doing something to help people? HAHAHA

I have no idea what we could do. :( Maybe the better business bureau? Consumer Reports or AAA?

[ChiciB1]

16. AAA Seems The Best Bet...

Easier to visit the office personally. This could be a major problem, I know I sure was "freaking" for a while! Fifty miles from home with a 6 month old Labrador Retriever in my car. The DOG NEVER would have understood if I had broken down!!

[MadHound]

14. Sounds like you may have had water in the gas

This can happen in a number of ways. Condensation can form on the inside of your gas tank, especially if the weather was humid and cool. Or it can happen at the station tank, the refinery tank, or the transport tank. Get yourself a bottle of ethanol based gas "dryer" like Heet or its equivalent and add it to your tank. Should clear up the problem.

[ChiciB1]

22. I Already Put STP In...

Should I put the HEET in now, or when I get low on gas???

Somehow I think the gas stations etc., should be aware of this problem. I was thinking it was BAD gas. I guess condensation makes sense, but it still seems a little scary to me. I live in Florida and we do have LOTS of humidity, but haven't ever had this happen before. I've lived here since 1971 and that's a long time.

Funny that this should be occurring now, especially since the price of gas is so high. So essentially trying to sue ANYONE is fruitless because they could always say it was condensation.

That was why I was asking, being the suspicious sort these days. I'm not very trusting of "big oil" anymore considering what has gone on with our politics of late.

[MadHound]

23. Add a bottle of HEET with every tankful you pump

It should take care of any water in the gas.

And it could be something really simple on the part of the gas station. We had a station up here that was consistently getting water in their gas, and for over a year they couldn't figure it out. Finally turned out that they had a bad seal on their tank lid that was letting in the moisture. And like I said earlier, it could be getting water into the gas at any point in the line, from refinery to storage, to transport, to your local station. You could experiment and fill up there again, see if your car starts sputtering. Or you could simply switch to another station.

[LiberallyInclined]

25. if you keep the gas tank almost empty most of the time -

you're more likely to have a problem, especially if there's high humidity- you'll end up with condensation in the gas tank from the moisture in the air in the tank.

[ChiciB1]

26. Nope...

I try to keep it pretty full! I filled up when I left and then again when I started back home.

Remember where I live.... and I know it's NOT Hurricane season, but you do learn a few lessons!

[woodsprite]

15. Same happened to us a while back

and we were towing a trailer. We were heading south and stopped at the last BP station before getting on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It was scary since were were also towing our camper. Going thru that tunnel sputtering and lurching made my blood pressure go up. On the upstroke it just seemed the engine could get no power. Luckily we made it out the other side going about 20mph and stopped at the first gas station we saw. They did something to it - not STP, but another additive and topped us off with good gas. We had some problems until that tank of gas ran out and we got a good full tank of some other gas along with another bottle of additive.

We seem to be fine now. We don't drive the truck much except to tow, so we weren't sure if it was from so little use or something else. That was the first time we've experienced anything like that and we've had that setup for 12 yrs.

[dweller]

17. Is this the time of year where they switch

from winter to summer blends?

dp

[Pool Hall Ace]

19. Wow, my husband just called me from the road this afternoon

and said his truck started to sputtered all the way to D.C. Fortunately, he knows what to check for, but I'm wondering about dirty gas. :think: