Bad Gas

[wdfifteen]

To my knowledge I've never gotten bad gas at a gas station. That may be due to the fact that most of my cars are carbureted and old enough to burn weasel piss without chocking.
But I got gas for my '17 Volt in southern Michigan last week and my "check engine" light came on about an hour later. It didn't have a code stored in the computer. The Google machine said it could be an issue with the fuel. I still had about 1/4 tank, so I topped it off with 90 octane no-eth from Casey's. A few days later the light was out.
My conclusions are 1. I drove it so long with the light on the bulb burned out or 2. I got bad gas in Michigan.
First time ever.

[HobieMarty]

Green peppers give me bad gas, oh wait, different topic altogether.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[gregpark]

In spite of my dislike for the corporation I only use Chevron gas. Always clean and I'm a believer in Techroline

[Zeke]

Or the good gas diluted the bad gas to acceptable and the ECM learned. You will likely find the code in the history.

[Steve Carlton]

Briefly subscribed.

[908/930]

Or possibly the gas cap did not seal properly.

[pwd72s]

Stick to top tier gas...no problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK2b3TdVTvs

[stevej37]

I've had it just once..and that was in the 80's from a Shell Station. Afterwards I found out that dozens had problems like me that day, and they had all filled up at the same Shell Station.
One tanker fill-up affected a lot of cars before they realized where it came from.

[LWJ]

I have a co-worker who told me time and time again how his lawn mower was not working so he took it in to service.

I said: "ethanol free, moron."

He said that was all he used.

Turns out there was gas fraud. Gas station was selling piss water for the good stuff. They got nailed with some felonies.

It happens.

[911 Rod]

I had water in the gas at a marina when fill up my 200HP Mercury 2.5 outboard.
It went boom

[LWJ]

^^^yikes!

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by 908/930

Or possibly the gas cap did not seal properly.

This happened to me recently. Took a few days to clear the code.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

To my knowledge I've never gotten bad gas at a gas station. That may be due to the fact that most of my cars are carbureted and old enough to burn weasel piss without chocking.
But I got gas for my '17 Volt in southern Michigan last week and my "check engine" light came on about an hour later. It didn't have a code stored in the computer. The Google machine said it could be an issue with the fuel. I still had about 1/4 tank, so I topped it off with 90 octane no-eth from Casey's. A few days later the light was out.
My conclusions are 1. I drove it so long with the light on the bulb burned out or 2. I got bad gas in Michigan.
First time ever.

How's it going with your battery? Do you still have the original one? Have you looked into what it runs to replace it with OEM or reconditioned? I had a 2017 (Gen 2) and really liked it. I thought about getting another one as a commuter, but the values were pretty high and heard about cars left at dealerships waiting a long time for new batteries. Costs are high.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

In spite of my dislike for the corporation I only use Chevron gas. Always clean and I'm a believer in Techroline

I used to live down the road from a Chevron, and almost exclusively got gas there. I noticed the occasional pinging in a variety of cars. One time I was experiencing the pinging, and then filled up with gas from another station down the road and the pinging promptly stopped. I never went back to that one Chevron station, and I've never experienced pinging in any vehicle since.

Now I 1) never get gas at that old Chevron and 2) make sure that I'm always using a "top tier gas".

[Steve Carlton]

Did you try a different Chevron station?

[lindbhr]

You can get bad fuel from a few sources. The ones I remember the most were: 1) phase separation - when gasoline blended with ethanol separate at he gas station, 2) incorrect ethanol blending into the tanker truckload as it's being loaded, and 3) water getting into the fuel at a gas station, especially after a heavy rain, 4) water getting into the fuel at a truck terminal.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Did you try a different Chevron station?

Pretty much any other station, Chevron or otherwise is fine. It was that specific station. I don't know if they had crappy leaky tanks or owners topped up with the water hose or what, but their gas sucked.

Chevron runs "techron" which is their name for the same additive that makes top tier gases "top tier". So I am game to buy any top tier gas, and I actively avoid any gas that isn't top tier.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by lindbhr

You can get bad fuel from a few sources. The ones I remember the most were: 1) phase separation - when gasoline blended with ethanol separate at he gas station, 2) incorrect ethanol blending into the tanker truckload as it's being loaded, and 3) water getting into the fuel at a gas station, especially after a heavy rain, 4) water getting into the fuel at a truck terminal.

It was that particular station pretty much all of the time, so I assume it's that they had leaky tanks or did something nefarious.

[gregpark]

The top tier gas peddlers have good quality control but anything can happen. Maybe that chevron station received a truck load of lesser octane fuel? Did you ask them if they got other complaints?
Chevron is generally a stickler for customer satisfaction. The bathrooms are cleaner and the windshield squeegees are replaced frequently which they figure makes up for their greediness in a teeny tiny way :^)

[wdfifteen]

[QUOTE=Steve Carlton;12648400]How's it going with your battery? Do you still have the original one?

Yes, still the original. I've had it 6 1/2 years, 69k miles, so it's still under warranty. I've seen no noticeable loss of range. The real-life cost of a new battery at the dealership is $8k to $10k, but there are options for rebuilt units for half that. I'm not concerned about the battery. This car has been remarkably issue - free. A TPMS sensor is out, and it has needed two oil changes. I've spent a total of $89 on it in 6 1/2 years. It's about ready for tires, so waiting to change the sensor when I get tires.