Bad gasoline?

[The Pirate]

Stopped for gas and filled up (from slightly less than a 1/4 tank) today.  Five or so miles down the road, I notice that my CEL is on.  The car exhibited no other issues.  Acceleration, drivability, etc. were all okay.  So, I figured it was because the gas cap wasn't on (my buddy filled the car while I ran inside to get some things) tightly.  Drove to our destination and parked, and I removed and properly tightened the gas cap.  After a few hours, we had back home.  CEL is still on, car still drives like normal.  So when I get home, I figure I'll disconnect the battery, reconnect it, and see what happens.  I do that, then go inside to get ready for work.  Come out, start the car and drive to work.  No CEL.  Exciting.

Well, this is where the problem starts.  The car sputters anywhere between 1K and 3K rpm, with anything more than leisurely throttle application.  It typically happens once, then stops (i.e. misses quickly at 2K rpm in 1st gear, misses quickly at 3K rpm in second, etc.).  It's sort of sluggish in general, as well.  No CEL.

Bad gasoline?  I'm going to get some dry gas to add tomorrow, to see if that fixes the problem.  I'm trying to avoid draining the tank and all that jazz (school starts tomorrow, and I really don't have the time or money for a car repair like this right now).  Any thoughts?  Topping off with high test (from a different station) and adding injector cleaner?

I obviously don't want to risk further damage to the engine, so if draining the tank and all that is the way to go, then I'll figure out how to make it happen. 

I've actually never had bad gasoline before (if it is indeed that, but I think it is), so I'm not totally sure what the best course of action is here.

Thanks for the thoughts, guys.

[SVT_Power]

I've never heard of a case of bad gasoline other than it sitting for years.

I mean it's not hard getting all the fuel out. Just make sure fuel lines are going into some container so you can put the fuel back in if needed?

[The Pirate]

I've never heard of a case of bad gasoline other than it sitting for years.

I mean it's not hard getting all the fuel out. Just make sure fuel lines are going into some container so you can put the fuel back in if needed?

No, bad gas is certainly possible.  Not common, but it exists.  Refinery cheaped out on additives, leaking holding tank allowing water at the station, etc.

I know how to get the fuel out.  I live in an apt., so I really have no way to remove and store (or dispose of) 15 gallons of gasoline.  Unfortunately, this is a job I'd likely have to pay someone to perform.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The CEL came on with no drivability issues, which means a problem may have developed, but it was able to compensate for it. When you disconnected the battery and restarted, the ECU should have been in open loop, running a base program with no adjustments for sensor input, but it was unable to run properly in this mode. So, yeah, bad gas could be the problem, but it could just as easily be a coincidence.

[The Pirate]

The CEL came on with no drivability issues, which means a problem may have developed, but it was able to compensate for it. When you disconnected the battery and restarted, the ECU should have been in open loop, running a base program with no adjustments for sensor input, but it was unable to run properly in this mode. So, yeah, bad gas could be the problem, but it could just as easily be a coincidence.

So I shouldn't have disconnected the battery?  Do I just need to drive the car for a while for the ECU to "readjust" from the base program? 

Like I said, the sputtering is odd.  It seems to happen just once in each gear, all at revs below 3K.

[Eye of the Tiger]

How long did you drive it with the sputtering problem?

[The Pirate]

How long did you drive it with the sputtering problem?

To work, then back from work.  Roughly thirteen miles, total.

[Eye of the Tiger]

 You may need to run it some more to see if it can relearn how to run right, and see if the CEL comes back. 

If you can go somewhere and to read any stored OBD codes, that may help. Places like Auto Zone will tell you the codes for free, but maybe not what they mean. You can google them, or post them here.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Did it seem to run any better on the way home than on the work? If it didn't seem to get any better, it might not be learning shit.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Oh, and just take another look under the hood to make sure you dont see any loose connections, hoses, or anything that could have happened when you disconnected the battery.

[The Pirate]

Did it seem to run any better on the way home than on the work? If it didn't seem to get any better, it might not be learning shit.

I honestly didn't notice (my mind was elsewhere at the time), though it wasn't any worse.  I'll see what she does tomorrow.

Oh, and just take another look under the hood to make sure you dont see any loose connections, hoses, or anything that could have happened when you disconnected the battery.

Yes, I suppose that's possible. 

[omicron]

The car has a terminal illness. Man up and buy an Oldsmobile 442.

[Raza]

My god, you only live six and a half miles from your job?

[The Pirate]

Okay, drivability issues totally gone.  It did the sputtering thing a few times this morning, but not as pronounced.  Then, totally went away.

But the CEL is back on.  So I can get a code read, I guess.  

[93JC]

My god, you only live six and a half miles from your job?

I live less than five miles from my office. And as far as commutes to the office go, mine's midpack in distance.

[The Pirate]

Oh, I was not aware that this was the "How Long is Your Commute to Work?" thread.  

[Secret Chimp]

It might be an EGR problem. The fill-up probably has nothing to do with it.

[Raza]

Oh, I was not aware that this was the "How Long is Your Commute to Work?" thread.  

Well, I don't really care about your engine issues, nor could I be of any help.  And if I could have been, I still wouldn't have cared enough to be bothered.

[The Pirate]

It might be an EGR problem. The fill-up probably has nothing to do with it.

I thought about that (it is a common issue on 2.0L Proteg?s).  And I haven't totally ruled it out, but EGR issues seem to cause very poor idles and stalling at idle.  My car idles fine and hasn't exhibited zero stalling.

It's supposedly pretty easy to remove and clean the EGR valve on these cars, so that might be a good thing to do anyway.  The silver lining is now that the CEL is back on, I can get a code and go from there.

Thanks for the thought.  And thanks, NACar too.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Okay, drivability issues totally gone.  It did the sputtering thing a few times this morning, but not as pronounced.  Then, totally went away.

But the CEL is back on.  So I can get a code read, I guess. 

If you want the sputtering back, try disconnecting the battery again.

[Rupert]

My god, you only live six and a half miles from your job?

I live about five miles. I bet I just blew your mind.

[J86]

Hehe, my mother lives less than 1.5 miles from the office, on the same road.

[Rupert]

For a while, I lived four blocks from where I worked.

[Raza]

You people suck.

[Byteme]

One time after I filled up I forgot to reinstall the gas cap.  The 2006 Mazda has a little vacuum pump that activates to see if the gas cap is on.  It ran and ran and burned out because I left the cap off.  There were no driveability issues though.  Just something more to check.  You might have got a bit of water in the gasoline; it happens from time to time.

[Byteme]

You people suck.

Are these crys for attention or what?   

[S204STi]

Run this tank nearly completely empty and then refill from a reputable chain such as conoco, shell, sunoco, etc.  Doesn't have to be the costliest fuel, just something better than Jim's Convenience Store, and see if the problem goes away.  If not I'd recommend further diagnosis.  Personally I have seen a few similar issues lately due to excessive alcohol content or poor quality fuel.

[Raza]

Are these crys for attention or what?   

Yeah, duh.   

[giant_mtb]

Bad gas sucks. There's a place near home that is consistently 3-5 cents cheaper per gallon than the big guys. My brother filled up there once and had a similar experience that you're having. Even in gasoline, you get what you pay for.

Was the place you filled up at a cheap-o place or a big chain?

[JWC]

Was the gas cap loose to begin with? 

It takes a few drive cycles for a CEL to go out.  Disconnecting the battery may or may not keep the light off.   Same happened with the Volvo (gas cap) and in spite of knowing that doing so was probably a waste of time, disconnected the battery.  Light came on three miles down the road.  I told the wife to drive it and the MIL went off about a week later.  Hasn't been on since and it passed inspection.