Yikes, I left the gas cap off while going through carwash! Did I damage my car?
I took my car through a automated carwash which is attached to a gas station. I had just gassed up and apparently forgotten to put the gas cap back on. How much water do you think have gotten into the gas tank and have I damaged my car? What should I do next? Should I drain the contaminated gas out of my car? HELP!
No fuel cap car running rough?
Hey Ive just got a quick question, I am wondering how a unbolted fuel cap affects the car? Because while changing my fuel filter 3 days ago I forgot to bolt it back in and just left it in the hole without bolting it, and I noticed for 2 days the engine a little noisier and some more vibrations while the car is idling, after I saw the unscrewed cap today at the petrol station after filling up tightened it properly and the car ran smooth again. Does this sound right? And why did the car run rough with just the fuel filler cap missing?
I almost ran out of gas and now the car's running funny?
Yesterday, I was on the way to get gas when the gas light came on. A couple of minutes later, the car started jerking. I got to the gas station and got some gas but the car's still acting weird this morning. It's sputtering and even back fired once. I'm sure this is somehow tied into running low on gas. Anyone know what I can do to fix the problem? TIA
Is it safer to leave an engine running while pumping gas than it is to turn it off and restart it when finished pumping it?
Several answers to this question but none answers the real issue with leaving your car running. That is, leaking gas from a dropped dispenser. It doesn't happen often, but occasionally the pressure of gas filling the tank can cause the dispenser to shoot backward, squirting gasoline all over your vehicle. If some were to hit or coalesce over the tailpipe while the care is running you may have enough heat to ignite the fuel, putting your children in a very sporty oven. The chances of this are very slim however, considering you keep your hand on the handle 100% of the time. (You do, don't you?)Regarding other sources, sparks don't just fly out of your car's engine bay, your cigarette (thought ashes can fall), or your cell phone. That's a myth. Sparks do form on dry days from your clothing through static electricity. The same thing that shocks your fingers when you scoot out of the car can also ignite your gas fumes as you're pumping your gas (unless your vehicle is diesel, in which case carry on). You're better off running the engine and making sure to touch something metal before your vehicle refuels to discharge any static. As for the engine, keep your hand on the handle and you should be just fine.
Can a low gas tank when filled cause the engine light to come on?
yes. on some cars, refilling with the engine on (yes, people do that) is enough to set off an EVAP leak DTC which turns the check engine light on, because your fuel cap is off and engine is running. not tightening the cap after will cause the same light.tightening the cap will not shut the light off, you could either disconnect the battery for a second to a full minute; depending on the car, have it shut off using a scanner at a repair shop or dealership or allowing it time to shut off by itself which could take between 3 days to one month.(10 drive cycles or so, too much to explain, you can look it up if your really that interested)nothing bad will happen if that is the cause of the light and you decide to just leave it until it shuts off by itself.
Car acting strange after gas fill up?
What you got is watered down gas if you go to a pharmacy and get 2 bottles if not 3 of rubbing alcohol 92% and get 2 bottles of gas treatment from a parts store this will take the water out of the fuel but if you have burned off some of the cheap gas go to a real gas station and get real gas like a chevron and top it back off but dump in the bottles and then fill it up with real gas.Your problem will go away and power will be restored.But use chevron gas only it has techron in it and not water.Stay away from cheap gas stations.
Could driving with with oil cap off lead to engine misfire problems?
The answer is no. A rough idle is caused by a either ignition problem, a fuel problem or a faulty sensor. Your Subaru would continue to run fine even while a pressure washer is sprayed all over the engine compartment. (as long as its not sprayed in to the intake) So its very unlikely that the small droplets / mist of oil would penetrate an ignition component. First thing to do if you are not experienced with auto repairs, take your car to a AutoZone or similar auto parts store. They will hook up a diagnostic computer to your car for free to check for any faulty sensor. Sensors are extremely easy to replace and usually inexpensive. I'm going to bet that its a oxygen sensor that is on your throttle body. Next possible fixes are below Possible ignition causes: -Spark plugs -Plug wires -incorrect timing Possible fuel causes: Water or contaminated gas or dirty fuel filter - Replace the fuel filter. Dirty throttle body The oil cap would have only let oil to escape. A low oil level cannot cause an ignition problem or fuel problem.
What happens if a car is driven without a gas cap?
Not much. You may loose a bit more petrol through evaporation. You may be more prone to have a fire, due to some fumes coming out and a possible spark, somewhere near by. People may steal your petrol. But you would have to be very very unlucky for those things to happen.You may also have some issues with petrol itself. gasoline is a compound of various hydrocarbons. Some are very light. They are called aromatic hydrocarbons and they evaporate readily. If your gas tank is open to the atmosphere these hydrocarbons vanish into the air and what is left behind are the heavier hydrocarbons changing the gasoline to something less than your engine would like to run on. There will be changes in octane (anti-knock properties) and fuel economy. Dirt also may get in there. The gas cap, to most, it's thought of as little more than a plug which must be removed to allow the tank to be filled, then replaced. Until 1970, gas caps were generally considered simply plugs to keep rain and other contaminants out of the gas tank, with vent holes to equalize the pressure between the outside atmosphere and the inside of the tank as fuel was drawn out.Around the same time, attention was focused on preventing fuel loss from impact and rollover situations, protecting occupants from possible burn injuries or death.Fuel caps today are able to maintain the seal even if the crown is completely broken away.In 1971, the first Federal requirements concerning evaporative loss were put in place.
Why did my car shake and the check engine light flash while stopped at a light?
What you experienced was almost certainly a misfire event and the cause may be recorded as a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) in the engine controller’s memory. Most failures that are significant enough to cause MIL illumination will record a trouble code and its environmental/ data information from the moment, even if the MIL is no longer lit. Onboard Diagnostics work constantly to keep the MIL off, looking for a reason to turn the CE light out if the condition hasn’t been seen again recently, eventually even erasing trouble codes if all’s good. I can only speculate on the nature of your event, but a thorough scan to retrieve codes and freeze frame data of the moment will often shed some light on the situation.Misfires come in many flavors, ranging from slight loss of performance in a single cylinder, to one or more holes being completely dead. Your description of shake at an idle implies a power imbalance, which usually involves complete loss of performance, but just one hole.Barring an at-home scanner being available, rolling the ignition key from LOCK to RUN three times, then leaving it in the RUN position at the end will initiate the customer code-read feature, spilling any matured codes stored in the PCM through the instrument cluster’s odometer window. All codes will be four digits in length, beginning with the letter P, such as P0123. DTC information can be found at OBD2-OBDII Engine Light Trouble Codes Definitions, Description and Repair Information online.One-trip failures - those that have not quite matured - will not be displayed in this feature, but will show up on a high-end scanner if present.If only a single cylinder misfire code is retrieved, pull the coil and spark plug to inspect for signs of flashover - black marks on the upper spark plug insulator and inner coil boot that will not scratch off with a fingernail. Flashover is pretty common on coil-on-plug ignition systems and the cure is to replace both the boot and spark plug together. Worn plugs tend to incite this sort of situation as spark will always seek the path of least resistance.If your DTC list includes an injector control circuit code that matches the cylinder of misfire, chances are good that the injector is at fault. The injector may test as completely normal when cooler, but will go to an open circuit once heated, either naturally or with a heat gun.
Will it ruin my motorcycles gas tank if I put carb cleaner in it?
KZ440 fun bike. My second bike was a very similiar 400LTD. Really had alot of fun on that bike or course that was 20 years ago I would actually recommend you do something else than run simple carb cleaner through the tank. It would be to use a flush (and possibly seal) for your tank. Older bikes tend to have two problems, one is varnish in your carbs which it sounds like you have taken care of, and the other is rust and gunk in the tank. Which will drive you nuts, because it will clog your petcock and your carbs all the time. It is such a common problem that they make specific products to clean and recoat the inside of your tank. The scary part is that the cleaner can actually clean the rust and gunk off the inside fo the tank so well that it will leave pin holes in your gas tank, so they usually package it with a sealer that you pour in there afterwards and swirl around, it can coat and seal pinholes, but not monster holes. Anyway, if properly applied, you can probably get another 20 years out of a tank after doing that. Anyway there are alot of products for doing this out there. I will add a couple of links to products or reviews.