gas station put regular in my car
03-23-2008, 02:16 PM
#1
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gas station put regular in my car
i'm posting from my phone...as im sitting on the side of the road. i just filled up the car at a local gas station. turns out...the guy put in regular when i asked for super. needless to say, the car stopped running about 2 miles down the road. what now? i'm towing it back there. i assume they can take out the bad gas, change the fuel filter and i'll be ok? HELP ME!!!
03-23-2008, 02:25 PM
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S500
I would take the car to the dealer? but does the gas station have a little shop? If so they should be able to empty the gas tank. Just disconnect the gas line and let the fuel run out. any repair I would have the Dealer do and have the gas station pay for it. make sure you get your tank of gas too...
03-23-2008, 02:25 PM
#4
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2013 650i Coupe, 2010 IS250 AWD, 1999 S500
Car shouldn't have stopped because of gas. Modern cars have all kinds of systems in place to deal with lesser grade gas and will (or should) run on it until it is all used up.
M
M
03-23-2008, 02:26 PM
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S500
whats the octane on the fuel they put in? Your car shouldnt have died tho
03-23-2008, 03:02 PM
#7
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Ok, I'm home
The car was on empty beforehand. I put in $30 at the station and drove off. Literally less than 2 miles down the road it just died. I thought maybe the transmission slipped into neutral because I felt the car stop pushing forward (I was driving normally). I then saw every dummy light on the car light up and then I had to coast to the side of the road.
5 minutes later I was able to start the car, but "start" might be a better description. I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere, but it was technically running. We flat bedded it back to the station, and I was able to put the car in reverse and barely back into a spot.
I have no CLUE what happened. I left the owner a note to call me ASAP. The guy working there didn't really speak English so he was no help.
It just seems very, very fishy that 2 miles after I put gas in the car dies. It was fine as I was driving TO the gas station.
I think they put in 87, but who knows. The station has 87, 89 and 92. My receipt says regular and the price per gallon corresponded their 87 gas.
The car was on empty beforehand. I put in $30 at the station and drove off. Literally less than 2 miles down the road it just died. I thought maybe the transmission slipped into neutral because I felt the car stop pushing forward (I was driving normally). I then saw every dummy light on the car light up and then I had to coast to the side of the road.
5 minutes later I was able to start the car, but "start" might be a better description. I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere, but it was technically running. We flat bedded it back to the station, and I was able to put the car in reverse and barely back into a spot.
I have no CLUE what happened. I left the owner a note to call me ASAP. The guy working there didn't really speak English so he was no help.
It just seems very, very fishy that 2 miles after I put gas in the car dies. It was fine as I was driving TO the gas station.
I think they put in 87, but who knows. The station has 87, 89 and 92. My receipt says regular and the price per gallon corresponded their 87 gas.
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03-23-2008, 04:29 PM
#8
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It's conjecture, but since the car will "run" (albeit badly) on gasoline with a much lower octane rating than 87, I would guess the station's fuel tanks have water in them. Water is heavier than gas, and your pickup is at the bottom, so that would explain why the engine stopped.
The absolute last place I'd have look at the problem is the gas station. For water in the lines, the tank should be drained (pull the line before the pump), and the fuel lines should be flushed (both send and return lines). Doing this at home would require having someplace to dispose of 16 gallons of poor quality fuel.
The bad thing about water is the fuel injectors use gasoline as a lubricant. Having the car die quickly may have been a blessing.
The absolute last place I'd have look at the problem is the gas station. For water in the lines, the tank should be drained (pull the line before the pump), and the fuel lines should be flushed (both send and return lines). Doing this at home would require having someplace to dispose of 16 gallons of poor quality fuel.
The bad thing about water is the fuel injectors use gasoline as a lubricant. Having the car die quickly may have been a blessing.
03-23-2008, 05:12 PM
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2001 E320 RWD - Brilliant Silver/Ash: 100,000+
Something similar happened to me once, but not in my MB. I filled my tank with Chevron, it started, ran for less than 10 seconds and died. I had not even left the gas station lot by then. I had it towed to a dealer (still under the new car warranty) and they discovered I had about 8 gallons of water in the tank. Like Marcus said, it could easily be water in the gas but not as much as I had. That car's fuel pump drew from the bottom of the tank too.
03-23-2008, 05:28 PM
#10
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Have
you checked the charging system and the battery?Sounds like that may be the problem.Your knock sensors would tell the ecu to adjust the timing for the low octane fuel.
ohlord
call mb roadside assist they will come out and test the battery and alternator for free and install a battery at cost no labor if needed.
ohlord
call mb roadside assist they will come out and test the battery and alternator for free and install a battery at cost no labor if needed.
03-23-2008, 06:31 PM
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(not saying this smart a-ss) Do you know what diesel smells like? Take a whiff of the gas opening.
Perhaps diesel pumped in?
Regular wouldn't cause her to die.
Unless it was loaded with water or something.
edit*** There's still full service stations out there???
Perhaps diesel pumped in?
Regular wouldn't cause her to die.
Unless it was loaded with water or something.
edit*** There's still full service stations out there???
03-23-2008, 06:43 PM
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All of New Jersey is full service stations only its a law.
Sorry about the car getting regular gas...I'm sure you'll work it out, keep us posted.
03-23-2008, 06:49 PM
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03-23-2008, 07:03 PM
#14
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Are you sure he didn't put diesel in it? I know it's unlikely since the diesel nozzles are usually larger diameter and don't usually fit into a gasoline receptical. Any regular gasoline you can buy in the US should not cause your car to shut down, especially after only 2 miles, unless you have your car tuned for 100+ race fuel, even then it should still run on 87.
Did he leave the cap off? I have heard of that causing problems, appearently it is quite frequent with Audis.
How low was you tank when you re-fueled? If you were down to nothing you could have upset some particals of crap that can accumulate at the bottom of the tank and sucked them into the fuel line and clogged a filter, but this is the most unlikely scenerio.
Did he leave the cap off? I have heard of that causing problems, appearently it is quite frequent with Audis.
How low was you tank when you re-fueled? If you were down to nothing you could have upset some particals of crap that can accumulate at the bottom of the tank and sucked them into the fuel line and clogged a filter, but this is the most unlikely scenerio.
Last edited by jrcart; 03-23-2008 at 07:06 PM.
03-23-2008, 07:22 PM
#15
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Are you sure he didn't put diesel in it? I know it's unlikely since the diesel nozzles are usually larger diameter and don't usually fit into a gasoline receptical. Any regular gasoline you can buy in the US should not cause your car to shut down, especially after only 2 miles, unless you have your car tuned for 100+ race fuel, even then it should still run on 87.
Did he leave the cap off? I have heard of that causing problems, appearently it is quite frequent with Audis.
How low was you tank when you re-fueled? If you were down to nothing you could have upset some particals of crap that can accumulate at the bottom of the tank and sucked them into the fuel line and clogged a filter, but this is the most unlikely scenerio.
Did he leave the cap off? I have heard of that causing problems, appearently it is quite frequent with Audis.
How low was you tank when you re-fueled? If you were down to nothing you could have upset some particals of crap that can accumulate at the bottom of the tank and sucked them into the fuel line and clogged a filter, but this is the most unlikely scenerio.
The tank was LOW when I filled it. It was on the last black line, which is why I went to this particular place (closest). I usually prefer to pump my own gas, and I rarely let it get this low, if ever.
I will check the gas cap tomorrow morning when I go to the gas station.
Needless to say, very very worried
PS - I had the car inspected yesterday at the same gas station. Passed no problems. I had a PPI done at Rallye when I bought the car (about 2,000 miles ago) and everything was a-ok.
Last edited by Act of God; 03-23-2008 at 07:37 PM.
03-23-2008, 08:03 PM
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i know i've pumped regular into my car before, and it runs fine. i've also tried the middle one before (super?) and it was ok too. i usually use super but i know the few times i havent the car still ran.
03-23-2008, 09:26 PM
#17
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Ok, I'm home
The car was on empty beforehand. I put in $30 at the station and drove off. Literally less than 2 miles down the road it just died. I thought maybe the transmission slipped into neutral because I felt the car stop pushing forward (I was driving normally). I then saw every dummy light on the car light up and then I had to coast to the side of the road.
5 minutes later I was able to start the car, but "start" might be a better description. I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere, but it was technically running. We flat bedded it back to the station, and I was able to put the car in reverse and barely back into a spot.
I have no CLUE what happened. I left the owner a note to call me ASAP. The guy working there didn't really speak English so he was no help.
It just seems very, very fishy that 2 miles after I put gas in the car dies. It was fine as I was driving TO the gas station.
I think they put in 87, but who knows. The station has 87, 89 and 92. My receipt says regular and the price per gallon corresponded their 87 gas.
The car was on empty beforehand. I put in $30 at the station and drove off. Literally less than 2 miles down the road it just died. I thought maybe the transmission slipped into neutral because I felt the car stop pushing forward (I was driving normally). I then saw every dummy light on the car light up and then I had to coast to the side of the road.
5 minutes later I was able to start the car, but "start" might be a better description. I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere, but it was technically running. We flat bedded it back to the station, and I was able to put the car in reverse and barely back into a spot.
I have no CLUE what happened. I left the owner a note to call me ASAP. The guy working there didn't really speak English so he was no help.
It just seems very, very fishy that 2 miles after I put gas in the car dies. It was fine as I was driving TO the gas station.
I think they put in 87, but who knows. The station has 87, 89 and 92. My receipt says regular and the price per gallon corresponded their 87 gas.
It's a five minute job to replace and the part is about $200. They either filled your tank with water or you have a coincidental failure, very possibly the pedal module.
03-23-2008, 09:53 PM
#18
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A tank of 87 would not do anything like that. In fact, just driving around town you wouldn't even notice that the knock sensors had retarded the timing. It could be that the accelerator pedal module has died. It's a very common problem on this engine at about 60,000 miles. When it fails, the ECU and TCU get conflicting data about pedal position. You start from a stop in fifth gear, and it's zero-to-60 in about 30 minutes.
It's a five minute job to replace and the part is about $200. They either filled your tank with water or you have a coincidental failure, very possibly the pedal module.
It's a five minute job to replace and the part is about $200. They either filled your tank with water or you have a coincidental failure, very possibly the pedal module.
03-23-2008, 11:37 PM
#20
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Could be a MAF. Could still be the pedal module. In any case, +1 on having it flatbedded to the dealer, not the gas station.
03-24-2008, 12:09 AM
#21
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I'm going to go to the station tomorrow and see what the guy says. I'm going to tell him I think there was water in the gas. I called my guy at Mercedes and I'm waiting on him to call me back.
03-24-2008, 02:11 AM
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The car shouldn't have quit running. The car has knock sensors that will prevent detonation by dialing back the timing. At worst it should have felt like it was down on power. Sounds like its time for a visit to the dealer!
03-24-2008, 09:48 AM
#23
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A tank of 87 would not do anything like that. In fact, just driving around town you wouldn't even notice that the knock sensors had retarded the timing. It could be that the accelerator pedal module has died. It's a very common problem on this engine at about 60,000 miles. When it fails, the ECU and TCU get conflicting data about pedal position. You start from a stop in fifth gear, and it's zero-to-60 in about 30 minutes.
It's a five minute job to replace and the part is about $200. They either filled your tank with water or you have a coincidental failure, very possibly the pedal module.
It's a five minute job to replace and the part is about $200. They either filled your tank with water or you have a coincidental failure, very possibly the pedal module.
I beleive you are the winner, and my savior. I had the guy at the station hook it up to the computer and the accelerator pedal sensor came right up. Hopefully this will be an easy fix, I'm going to try to get my mercedes guy to come by (since it is a 5 minute job) instead of having me tow it all the way there.
Updates to continue
03-24-2008, 12:45 PM
#24
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Just talked to my benz mechanic
I just got off the phone with my guy at the dealership. He said that the car should still start if it is only the accelerator pedal module that went bad. He thought it makes no sense that the car won't even start up, because the pedal isn't depressed when you do start the car.
Ugh
Ugh
