6 SYMPTOMS OF BAD GAS IN YOUR CAR -

In this article, we’ll be talking about the symptoms of bad gas in a car.

To be honest, in most countries, this problem is rare since there are international standards for the quality of fuel.

But there are some exceptions.

So when and if you pour bad gas it’s good to know about these symptoms as they are very similar to more serious car problems.

Besides this article, you can watch videos on our YouTube channel where you can see more tips and advice about car repair, driving, and else.

SYMPTOMS OF BAD GAS IN YOUR CAR

1. LACK OF ENGINE POWER

This is probably the first symptom you’ll notice immediately after pouring bad gas.

The moment you start accelerating, you’ll notice a much weaker and sluggish engine response.

A good comparison would be that It feels like you’re dragging a big trailer behind you or like driving when the car is fully loaded.

2. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS

Soon after this, there’s a good chance that the check engine will come up on the dashboard.

Bad gas will cause a serious disturbance in the air/fuel mixture which will upset numerous sensors, in most cases the first one will be the lambda sensor.

This then causes the check engine light to come up.

For more information on the check engine light problem, click here.

3. INCREASED FUEL CONSUMPTION

You may also notice a big increase in fuel consumption since the gas quality is low.

A rough estimate of the increase would be about 30 percent or more.

In most cases you’ll see the fuel gauge needle falling down to empty at a very fast rate.

If you want to learn how to calculate the fuel consumption in your car, click here.

4. KNOCKING SOUND FROM THE ENGINE

The next symptom is a quiet knocking sound coming from the engine. It sounds like metal knocking against other metal.

When the gas is of really bad quality, this knocking sound will be much louder, it sounds like when the valves are damaged or not set properly.

5. ENGINE MISFIRE AND THE ENGINE WORKS ROUGH

One more serious symptom of bad gas is engine misfire.

The misfire can be barely noticeable and appears intermittently while in more serious cases when the gas is really bad, can sound like a very loud bang.

The bang sound usually appears when there are traces of water in the gas.

Besides this, the engine may sound like one cylinder isn’t working, it may have a rough idle and will overall work roughly and may tend to cut off completely.

6. HEAVY CRANKING OR NO ENGINE START AT ALL

The final symptom of bad gas is heavy cranking, much like when there’s a fuel pump or spark plug problem for instance.

When cranking, you’ll hear the engine wanting to start but there’s only cranking.

It may take a couple of long cranks to start the engine eventually

If the gas is of really poor quality, the car may not start at all.

CONCLUSION

If you encounter this problem here’s the best thing you can do: get rid of the bad gas as soon as possible.

You may need a manual pump or else to get the gas out of the tank, it may take some time, but even this is better than driving around with gas of bad quality.

Even if you have to call a mechanic or tow service do so.

If you continue to drive, you may damage the engine.

This means causing damage to the fuel intake system, for instance, you may damage the starter from long cranking and more.

All in all, you might be in for some big problems and expenses but again, if you recognize a bad gas problem on time, you will avoid this.