Bad gasoline can cause problems for your car. It isn’t common to find contaminated gas, but it does happen, and it can damage your car. Cars get their power from high-quality fuel vapors being delivered to a combustion chamber, and when the gasoline is bad, the vapors aren’t able to combust correctly. This interrupts the ignition and leads to a sputtering engine, which can cause damage.
The gas can be contaminated anywhere along its supply chain journey, at the refinery, during the delivery, or at the gas station. Many factors can cause this problem, including a corroded tank, sediment or particles contaminating the gas, or age. The best way to avoid buying bad gas is to make sure that you go to a reputable gas station and use the correct octane level for your car. Read on to learn how to tell if automobile gasoline is bad.
Your Car Has Trouble Starting or Quits Running
When you have bad gasoline in your car, your engine may have trouble starting, or it could stop running while you are driving. When you turn your car on, the ignition needs the vapors from the fuel to travel to the combustion chamber. This process can be disrupted if the gas is contaminated, and it can cause you to have trouble starting your car. In addition, your car may suddenly stop working. The bad gas may not be able to generate the power that is necessary to keep the engine running.
If your tank is low on bad gas, you can fill it with good gas, and it may be able to dilute the bad gas enough to work. Otherwise, you may need to have the bad gas drained from your tank.
You Have Trouble Accelerating
The fuel in your car is important to keeping the engine running smoothly. Most bad gas is contaminated in some way, whether it be water, particles, debris, or contaminants. When you have bad gas, your car may not accelerate when you press on the gas pedal. When the gas isn’t making the engine run efficiently, it will not accelerate the way it should. If you find that your car is hesitant to accelerate, you should have it checked for bad gasoline.
You Notice Your Speed Changing
Bad gasoline can cause a lot of problems. You could be driving, and without changing a thing, your car might suddenly change speed. You will notice that your foot has not changed the amount of pressure on the pedal, but your car seems to develop a mind of its own. This can be a frightening experience, so you will want to have it checked right away. The problem is that when the gasoline isn’t able to reach the engine to power it properly, it can get energy to it in spurts, and your speed may fluctuate.
When you discover that you have bad gas in your car, you will need to get it out of the tank. One option is to drain your gas tank, flush the fuel system, and add good fuel to the tank. You will probably need to have your car towed to a shop to perform this service. You will need to do this if the gas is the wrong gas for the car, or if it is causing significant damage.
If you think your gas is contaminated, you can try to have it pumped out and replace it with good gas. You can try to do this yourself, or you can take it to the shop. This is not a terribly complicated solution. If your tank is almost empty, you can add gas and try to flush out the old gas. If the contamination is minor and your tank is nearly empty, this might work as long as there hasn’t been too much damage. Your best bet is to ask a professional for advice on how to remove the old gas.