Don’t Be Rash With Your Gas

Is the Gas You Use Ruining Your Car?

Jacob Alves, Staff Writer

For decades people have been driving their cars, filling them with gas from whatever gas station is more convenient at the time. Of the 1.015 billion cars being driven in the world according to Motor Vehicles from Wikipedia.com, very few people actually worry about where they get their gas from. Unless you couldn’t care less about your car or just use it to get from point a to b, you probably shouldn’t waste your time reading this because it’s not for you. This is for the people that depend on their car, care about their car, and didn’t know they were putting damaging sediment or water in their tanks.

For those that don’t know that putting anything that is not gas and gas only, is not good for your car. Having sediment in your gas can scratch, score and ruin your pistons in the engine, it can also destroy or clog up your injectors. Other problems like having water in your car’s gas or gas tank can lead to bucking, stalling, having trouble starting or not starting at all. Water and fuel(gas) separate especially after having time to settle when the cars sitting. Water sinks below the fuel where the fuel pump is on the bottom so it sucks in water before it gets any gas. When water gets into your engine it will cause rust and corrosion leading to failure of parts in your engine; before you know it, you’ll be looking for a new engine or new car. According to Watered Down Gas Is Way More Common Than You May Think in the NBCnews.com, “In North Carolina, nearly 24 percent of all gas station violations involved the discovery of sediment in the fuel, and more than 20 percent of the state’s gas station violations related to water contaminating the fuel.” Each state is different when it comes to their laws and regulations, while each state having their own data sets on the failures of gas stations. All states abide by the same inspectors, the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). Every station is inspected at least once a year and can be inspected as many times as there are complaints by the customers. Using a faulty pump could mean you’re putting watered-down gas or sediment mixed fuel into your car. You’re also paying expensive gas prices for water. Or you could think of it like you’re paying to ruin your car and depreciate its life faster. Also from the article Watered Down Gas Is Way More Common Than You May Think in the NBCnews.com, “Water leaking into gas accounted for the most violations in Georgia, at 20.7 percent, while more than 1 in 10 violations involved faulty discharge, and nearly one-third of all pump leaks occurred with regular-grade gasoline.” So yes, it is more common than you think. It’s probably just never been brought to your attention.

Don’t get me wrong, gas stations don’t intentionally try to sabotage they gas they sell to you. There’s lots of ways that you can end up with water in your gas tank. In the article from NBC News, they brought up a good example. “Remember when gas prices spiked in 2008 or 2009? People stopped buying premium,” said Helfrich, adding that when gasoline is sitting around in underground storage tanks, its composition may change. “You’ll see, as a function of time, a drop in the octane level.” If your gas is sitting around it can lose octane. If you have a nicer car that requires premium gas, this could be harder on your car considering its not getting enough octane that it needs. There have been cases where the underground tank at some gas stations have been cracked or damaged letting water and sediment into the gas underground. For some it wasn’t for a month or so till they caught and fixed them. When the stations have their tanks filled the deliver person could be careless and fill the tanks while it’s raining and there’s an easy chance for water to get it. A good way to avoid going to a faulty gas station is by finding a place with full service. Although you do have to keep in mind that it the gas station looks sketchy, old, rundown, outdated…drive away, even if its full service.  Attendants are always at the gas pumps so they’re able to monitor everything that happens to them. If the pump leaks or isn’t clicking off how it’s supposed to they will catch it and be able to resolve it before any further damage occurs. If you suspect a violation, you should not only report it to the gas station manager, but call the number on the sticker on the pumps. Not a lot of people are aware you can or should do this. People usually just get irritated and speed of cuz the pump wasn’t working correctly.

To make it a little easier, here’s a list of the top-tier gas stations according to Which Gas Stations Have the Best Quality Gas? from Your Mechanic.com: BP, Chevron, Conoco, Costco, Exxon, Holiday, Kwik Trip, Mobil, Shell. Now there’s a reason these companies made the leaderboard. In order to be a “top-tier” gas station you have to prove that your gas is as top quality as they say it is. For the gas to be top quality it has to prove that it has additives and detergents–that are safe for your engine–that prevent residue building up on the valves or combustion chamber. So if they keep your engine clean and residue free then they’re qualified to be a top-tier gas station.

Sometimes it’s not the gas stations fault. Your car could be old and corroded or have loose connections in your fuel system. Your gas cap connection or hose could be rusted and have holes you can’t see so when it rains or your car gets wet, water could be seeping into your gas without realizing it. More often that you think, people forget to put their gas caps on or close the fuel door allowing water to get in yet another way. Don’t forget to do your part too, it’s not nice when it’s your fault.

Now after all that I’ll bring it down to the basics so it’s easier to remember. Go the full service gas stations as much as possible. Stay away from old, outdated stations. Check your car for any corrosion. Report faulty pumps. And remember these gas stations, BP, Chevron, Conoco, Costco, Exxon, Holiday, Kwik Trip, Mobil, Shell. If that’s too hard you can always look them up on your phone before you put some low quality gas stations toxic waste in the car you may love.