Wanted to get some thoughts on how I handled a recent problem with really bad gas ( in my car ) and the Torque app with an ELM327.
On Monday this week I was running on vapors and stopped at a local Citgo to fillup. I've bought their gas before and it was fine. I normally go to Shell or BP or Marathon but I was stuck and needed gas.
Car was running great on the way. Shortly after filling up the tank, the car ran like total s***. I couldn't load the motor at all. Slow acceleration was possible but any significant throttle input and the car would buck and studder. I could barely accelerate.
I was pissed and wasn't sure what to do, so I stopped at the closest auto parts store on my way to work ( NAPA ) and bought a bottle of Lucas octane booster.
I put that in the tank, rocked the car a bit as best as I could in the parking lot to mix it up, and hit the road.
It's a 30 minute commute for me and within 5 minutes I realized this wasn't doing s***.
I stopped at another autoparts store, this time O'Reilly and discussed my situation with the clerk. He suggested it's likely there was water in the gas and I might try a product designed to remedy that and maybe some octane booster again. I bought both and dumped both in the tank and limped the car to work.
No change, only this time I get a CEL on the way.
At work, I decide it's probably a s*** load of water in the tank and the lazy assholes that run the gas station haven't been changing their filters and I'm never buying gas there again. The problem is what to do about it now. Do I try to siphon the bad gas from the tank? Can I burn it without damaging the engine?
Would more additives allow the car to burn it?
I elected to take the car home, get my Nexus7 and ELM327 and check the code to see what the ECU was reporting. Maybe it's coincidence and the gas is fine, but it sure seemed obvious to me. I didn't write down the error number but it was in the 100's and said something about bank1 lean. There were three codes all the same.
I cleared the codes with Torque which worked great. I decided it had to be the gas.
At this point I've started burning up some of the bad gas as noted on my gauge, and elected to drive the car to a gas station north of town via the expressway that has racing gas.
I was hoping this might be the solution, plus driving on the highway the car was fine and I didn't have to stop on the way and it would let me burn more of this crappy gas.
As I approach the exit ramp I notice the car is running much better when given slight throttle inputs. The stutter is almost completely gone. The CEL had not returned.
I chickened out on the race gas, and instead filled up with premium from a BP station and added yet another bottle of octane booster.
I encountered maybe only a couple minor stutters after fillup and hit the highway. Within 5 miles the car seemed fine and I could drive it normally again.
Now at half a tank and the car pulls great like it always has. I think if I've damaged anything, by now I should have experienced zoom zoom boom.
Has anyone else had this happen and if so, what did you do about it?
TIA
On Monday this week I was running on vapors and stopped at a local Citgo to fillup. I've bought their gas before and it was fine. I normally go to Shell or BP or Marathon but I was stuck and needed gas.
Car was running great on the way. Shortly after filling up the tank, the car ran like total s***. I couldn't load the motor at all. Slow acceleration was possible but any significant throttle input and the car would buck and studder. I could barely accelerate.
I was pissed and wasn't sure what to do, so I stopped at the closest auto parts store on my way to work ( NAPA ) and bought a bottle of Lucas octane booster.
I put that in the tank, rocked the car a bit as best as I could in the parking lot to mix it up, and hit the road.
It's a 30 minute commute for me and within 5 minutes I realized this wasn't doing s***.
I stopped at another autoparts store, this time O'Reilly and discussed my situation with the clerk. He suggested it's likely there was water in the gas and I might try a product designed to remedy that and maybe some octane booster again. I bought both and dumped both in the tank and limped the car to work.
No change, only this time I get a CEL on the way.
At work, I decide it's probably a s*** load of water in the tank and the lazy assholes that run the gas station haven't been changing their filters and I'm never buying gas there again. The problem is what to do about it now. Do I try to siphon the bad gas from the tank? Can I burn it without damaging the engine?
Would more additives allow the car to burn it?
I elected to take the car home, get my Nexus7 and ELM327 and check the code to see what the ECU was reporting. Maybe it's coincidence and the gas is fine, but it sure seemed obvious to me. I didn't write down the error number but it was in the 100's and said something about bank1 lean. There were three codes all the same.
I cleared the codes with Torque which worked great. I decided it had to be the gas.
At this point I've started burning up some of the bad gas as noted on my gauge, and elected to drive the car to a gas station north of town via the expressway that has racing gas.
I was hoping this might be the solution, plus driving on the highway the car was fine and I didn't have to stop on the way and it would let me burn more of this crappy gas.
As I approach the exit ramp I notice the car is running much better when given slight throttle inputs. The stutter is almost completely gone. The CEL had not returned.
I chickened out on the race gas, and instead filled up with premium from a BP station and added yet another bottle of octane booster.
I encountered maybe only a couple minor stutters after fillup and hit the highway. Within 5 miles the car seemed fine and I could drive it normally again.
Now at half a tank and the car pulls great like it always has. I think if I've damaged anything, by now I should have experienced zoom zoom boom.
Has anyone else had this happen and if so, what did you do about it?
TIA
