Signs That You Have Bad Fuel
Fuel is an important component in any vehicle. Without it, you won’t be able to run your car, except when it’s electric. The fuel is used by the engine and if it is in any way contaminated or bad, it can ruin your fuel injectors, your fuel pump, and even your engine. Thus ruining your car at unexpected times and having the need for a towing service.
Bad fuel could either be contaminated with other substances, such as water or it can also simply go bad when the vehicle hasn’t been used for a long time. Either way, there are signs that will tell you if your car had bad fuel in it.
Whether you had the fuel in your car standing for a long time or you just received bad fuel from a gas station, the only remedy is to drain the fuel and replace it with a fresh one. Sometimes, if the bad fuel level is low, it would also be okay to simply dilute it with high octane fresh fuel. Either way, before you figure out that you need to do that, here are the signs to watch out for.
Acceleration Problems
Try accelerating. Does your car respond immediately or is there a delay in the acceleration? If you think your engine is hesitating to accelerate, then there could be a problem with your fuel. Sometimes, your car takes a few seconds more than usual to respond. Alternatively, your car might not accelerate at all. The faster your speed is, the more you’d notice this sign.
Unusual Changes In Speed
Aside from not being able to accelerate efficiently, having bad fuel could also lead to unusual changes in speed while you are driving. Your speed can change drastically whether you are stepping on the gas pedal or not. That would be dangerous as you can’t have full control of the vehicle speed as you would have with fresh, pure, and clean fuel.
Fuel Filter Damage
Check your fuel filter and see that it is still intact and in good condition. The fuel filter will help prevent any dirt or debris to get into your gas tank. Those can contaminate your fuel and cause the uneven burning of fuel. That could be the reason why your engine could be performing erratically.
The Engine Stops Running
While driving, you might notice that your engine will suddenly stop running. This happens with bad fuel because the demand placed on the engine is not met due to the lack of good fuel. Instead of the fuel, the contaminants also get used and the combustion process affected. The output power is reduced so the engine could stop running.
Engine Doesn’t Start
When the engine fails to start, sometimes we blame it on the battery or the spark plug. If you’ve ruled out the other causes, it is possible that the failed engine start is due to excess water or contaminant on the fuel.
