‘It’s better to tow it’, mechanic warns about gasoline problems affecting 73,000 stations a year – what to know before pumping

DRIVERS filled with diluted fuel after a simple mistake – a mechanic is advising affected drivers to go to a workshop immediately.

Nearly 400 gallons of water spilled into a fuel tank, affecting customers.

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A Birmingham, Alabama gas station made local and national headlines after a cap was left off an underground fuel tank, causing hundreds of gallons of fuel to dilute.

Before the owner realized what had happened, 10 drivers had already filled up with contaminated gasoline, the FOX affiliate reported WBRC.

Water entering the fuel tank can be catastrophic, depending on the amount of water mixed with the fuel before it goes into the combustion chamber.

“Just half an ounce of water in a 15-gallon gas tank can cause problems with engine performance and fuel efficiency, leading to possible car repairs,” he wrote. Ford Orchard.

The amount of time water remains in the system can also make or break an engine.

“If water is detected early and treated immediately, you can minimize the potential for damage,” the website continued.

“On the other hand, if water remains in the gas tank for a long period of time, it can cause significant corrosion and damage to various fuel system components, leading to costly car repairs or even engine failure.”

Edgar Barron, shop foreman at Long-Lewis Ford of Hoover, said there are certain symptoms drivers should watch for before a disaster occurs.

“Typically, water in the fuel can cause teething problems,” he told WBRC reporters.

“Driving down the road, it can start to hesitate, jump, not climb, or not run properly. That’s what you run into in water. It can cause damage almost instantly.”

At his workshop, he said that measures would be taken immediately to prevent major damage to the vehicle’s engine.

“If there’s not a lot of gas in it, we’ll take the tank out, empty it and clean it,” Barron said.

“So we put it back in and start the engine again. If it clears, you’re good. In some scenarios, depending on how long the water has been in the gas tank, it can cause more damage and your repair could be more expensive. In Worst case scenario, it could damage an engine.”

Depending on the amount of work needed to clean the fuel system, the repair can cost between $200 and $1,000.

You’ll usually know quickly when you have a lot of water in there. If it’s just a little bit of water, you might notice that it’s running badly, maybe missing a little, and if it dies, the best thing to do is to have it towed.

Dax Ulrich, automotive technician

A new engine, however, can range between $3,000 and $8,000, sometimes more depending on the brand and engine.

A woman in Shreveport, Louisiana, experienced firsthand the catastrophic effects of diluted gas after a large storm caused water to leak into a gas station’s fuel tank.

“About five to 10 minutes after I bought gas and filled my tank, my truck started shaking and my check engine light started flashing,” she told the CBS affiliate. KTSH-CD in a video interview, where she withheld her name.

“So I couldn’t take it to my husband, who said, ‘We have to take it to O’Reilley’s, we have to find out what’s going on, we have a trip coming up!’

She was shocked, as she and her husband took the truck in for regular repairs.

Signs that your fuel is contaminated

The Orchard Ford service center says there are signs that your fuel may be contaminated by water or other contaminants and may need immediate draining and flushing of the system.

Symptoms to look out for are the following and they happen quickly after refueling:

1. Poor engine performance. The engine may start to idle or run extremely rough, or stall completely.
2. Hard start. If the engine struggles or does not turn at all, it may be due to the fuel’s inability to ignite and therefore the engine to start.
3. Dramatic drop in efficiency. A small amount of water may not have obvious effects, but a drop in miles per gallon can be a good sign that something is wrong with the fuel.
4. Lack of brightness when accelerating.
5. Engine misfire, which would illuminate a check engine light (CEL).

If your vehicle exhibits any of these symptoms shortly after refueling, make an appointment or take it to your local repair shop to have the fuel system evaluated.

Source: Ford Orchard

“We have maintained maintenance on our truck and have not had any issues of any kind.”

Now his truck is at the local shop to be fixed before his planned trip this week.

Dax Ulrich, a mechanic at Southern Automotive in the city, says that by the time symptoms appear, it’s often too late.

“Well, the first thing they [cars] What usually happens is they stop less than a kilometer from the gas station, usually no more than five kilometers,” he said.

“Usually you’ll know pretty quickly when there’s a bunch of water there. If it’s just a little bit of water, you might notice that it’s draining badly, maybe missing a little, and if it dies, the best thing to do is to tow it away.”