Anyone buy gas a Sam's Club this week.

[tpop1]

My wife filled the empty tank at Sam's Club Tuesday (reg. unleaded) drove the car home and next day it would not start.

Had Hyundi service come and get it and the driver said it smelled like bad gas. Waiting to hear from service dept. to confirm that's the issue, but thought I'd ask here.

Thanks,

[humbug486]

Been using Sam's gas since they opened, no problems. I've never heard of "bad gas" ?????

[tpop1]

Been using Sam's gas since they opened, no problems. I've never heard of "bad gas" ?????

Was just asking a question....I'm also have used Sam's gas for the year I've been here with no problem.

Tow truck driver got car started and said it had the smell of "turpintine" ....which is what he said bad gas smells like?

There have been cases where wrong product has been put into wrong tank and gas companies having to replace engines.

[NJblue]

I believe my wife filled up there within the past 4 days and has not had a problem. I've heard of gas going bad when water or other substances get mixed with it, but I doubt that this would change how it smells. Could it be an issue of trying to point the finger in another direction from where the real problem lies?

[The Great Fumar]

I buy all my turpentine there and have noticed lately that it smells like gas !!!

Who knew !

[BogeyBoy]

Filled up both of our vehicles on different days this week at Sam's. No problems so far, one has gone a couple of hundred miles, the other only about 25 miles.

I got a bad tank of gas at WalMart about 4 years ago - they probably get the same gas as Sam's.

If the underground tank is real low (like just before the truck comes to fill the tanks) it could be the "junk" at the bottom of the tank.

But then again, maybe your car had some issue unrelated to the fuel.

[fraurauch]

We filled up on Tuesday at Sam's and while we were there, the gas tanker pulled in to refill the tanks. The previous poster may have something there. We haven't had any problems.

[Rag Bagger]

Actually when a tanker fills the underground station tanks it stirs up sediment and can clog the works up. Anytime I see a tanker unloading I do not gas up.

Having said that, number one that wouldn't change the smell of the fuel and second the tanks at Sams are so new it is unlikely they have a sediment issue.

Did you smell the turpentine odor? That's very diferent than gas.

[batman911]

All motor vehicles are equipt with in line fuel filters that would stop any solid contaminants from reaching the engine. Best to wait for the mechanic to diagnose the problem before jumping to conclusions.

[Mintjulep]

I filled up there twice within the last week. Last Thursday before a trip, and again yesterday morning (Wed.).
No problems.

[LARRYR]

Having been in the petroleum business for a number of years, I can tell you that there are a number of reasons why car problems develop after "gassing up". First, there could be sediment in the gas caused by low station tank levels or receiving a delivery while you are fueling up. A fuel filter may not help. Second there could be water or another non-gas substance mixed with the gas which could be caused by low station tank levels (water problem) or somebody messing with the car. Third and most likely in this case is that diesel fuel was mixed with the gas. This is noooooo gooooooddd for cars. This happens quite a bit when the tanker delivering the gas delivered diesel on his previous delivery and did not clean out the truck compartments before taking on the gasoline for delivery. The station (Sam's) should be contacted about the problem and asked if there was a problem with the gas on that day. By the way, we fill up at Sam's alot and have had no problems to date. Most reputable stations would take care of a problem that they caused. Hope this info helps.

[tpop1]

Having been in the petroleum business for a number of years, I can tell you that there are a number of reasons why car problems develop after "gassing up". Hope this info helps.

As always asking a question on TOTV gets back so much info.

Larry, this helps immensly, Thanks!

Fraurauch - the wife filled up at high noon. About what tiime did you see the tanker.

Fumar - your smelling of turpentine 'splains alot!!:wave:

I am waiting to hear for my Hyundi Dealer to tell me if its the gas before I call Sam's club. Never had one issue with this car before so I'm suspisious.

I'll let you all know tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!!!

[DickY]

I just bought gas there yesterday before noon and drove to Cedar Key today with no problems.

[Rag Bagger]

All motor vehicles are equipt with in line fuel filters that would stop any solid contaminants from reaching the engine. Best to wait for the mechanic to diagnose the problem before jumping to conclusions.

You are right. The filter fouls and no gas or insufficient gas can get through. The engine will not run smooth if at all.

[tpop1]

Here's the latest on my gas problem.

For those of you who never heard of such a thing as bad gas:

Hyundi Service Dept. indicates that the Gas was bad .....40-50% ethanol vs. 10% that it should be.

$500 to pump it out and clean out the system.:(

Sam's Club manager indicates he's heard of no one else having a problem, but for us to come in and put in a claim. chilout

[cashman]

Filled up yesterday at Sam's. No problem yet. New caddy doing fine!!:shrug:

[mrdills]

I have been putting gas in my 2 cars since Sam's been open with no problems, you might have a problem with your car.

[Pturner]

I buy all my turpentine there and have noticed lately that it smells like gas !!!

Who knew !

I expected a smart-a** (pun intended) comment the moment I saw the first post. However, this isn't the one I expected.

:coolsmiley:

[Rag Bagger]

poster ever get his car repaired? What was the problem? Sure would be interesting to know.

[eremite06]

Having been in the petroleum business for a number of years, I can tell you that there are a number of reasons why car problems develop after "gassing up". First, there could be sediment in the gas caused by low station tank levels or receiving a delivery while you are fueling up. A fuel filter may not help. Second there could be water or another non-gas substance mixed with the gas which could be caused by low station tank levels (water problem) or somebody messing with the car. Third and most likely in this case is that diesel fuel was mixed with the gas. This is noooooo gooooooddd for cars. This happens quite a bit when the tanker delivering the gas delivered diesel on his previous delivery and did not clean out the truck compartments before taking on the gasoline for delivery. The station (Sam's) should be contacted about the problem and asked if there was a problem with the gas on that day. By the way, we fill up at Sam's alot and have had no problems to date. Most reputable stations would take care of a problem that they caused. Hope this info helps.

Gas trucks alternate gas and diesel deliveries? I kind of doubt it. How do they get out the oily residue from the diesel?

[tpop1]

poster ever get his car repaired? What was the problem? Sure would be interesting to know.

from yesterday....."Hyundi Service Dept. indicates that the Gas was bad .....40-50% ethanol vs. 10% that it should be.
$500 to pump it out and clean out the system.":(

Picked it up this AM after the servicing and it runs perfect.

Now the discussions with Sam's Club begins.

[pooh]

Here's the latest on my gas problem.

For those of you who never heard of such a thing as bad gas:

Hyundi Service Dept. indicates that the Gas was bad .....40-50% ethanol vs. 10% that it should be.

$500 to pump it out and clean out the system.:(

Sam's Club manager indicates he's heard of no one else having a problem, but for us to come in and put in a claim. chilout


No problems with Sam's Club gasoline. Gassed up one car day before yesterday and the other car today.

I DO understand that "bad" gas can cause problems. We used to frequent a particular Shell gasoline station in CA. Never had any problems. One day we filled the car, drove home, put the car away and thought nothing was wrong. The next day, tried to start the car and no luck. After having it towed to our Toyota dealer, we discovered just how much of a problem we had. The gas was "bad" for whatever reason and it had damaged all the spark plugs, the catalytic convertor, the fuel injectors to name a few of the difficulties. We contacted Shell Oil and they were positive it was not their gasoline. The mechanic showed us some of the gasoline he had removed from the tank. Not the usual color of gasoline. Some was sent to Shell Oil. Then another car showed up at the Toyota dealer with the same problems. After many dollars in repairs and an almost two year wait for reimbursement, we had to get rid of the car. It was never the same. We weren't asking for total compensation for the repairs, the car wasn't new, but we did want some help in defraying the cost of repair. Never did find out if there were more than the two cars damaged, but our perfectly good Cressida never ran the same, even with all the new parts...and that included a few sets of fuel injectors as well as a couple of catalytic convertors.

Hope it's nothing as serious.

[tpop1]

Luckily there should not be any residual issues.

From what I have learned, the problem with ethanol is that it does not have as much enery as gasoline and a high concentration causes harder starting, particularly with a cold engine and causes less gas milaged to be obtained.

Should not have caused damage to car!!!:MOJE_whot:

[Rag Bagger]

NY, Thanks for the update. I wonder how that much ethanol could get in the mix? That's a high concentration. Maybe that former Gas guy can chime in here. How could the ethanol get to be such hich concentration?

NY keep us posted on Sam's comments.

It is true that ethanol will cause a car to get lower MPG because it has a lower BTU rating than gasoline and therfore has less energy capability per gallon. I can see that causing a starting problem.

[LARRYR]

NY, Thanks for the update. I wonder how that much ethanol could get in the mix? That's a high concentration. Maybe that former Gas guy can chime in here. How could the ethanol get to be such hich concentration?

NY keep us posted on Sam's comments.

It is true that ethanol will cause a car to get lower MPG because it has a lower BTU rating than gasoline and therfore has less energy capability per gallon. I can see that causing a starting problem.

As far as I know, there are EPA laws against that kind of concentration of Ethanol in gasoline. I suppose a mistake could be made in mixing at the terminal, but that is a huge mistake. I still think it could be diesel fuel mixed with gasoline which is a more benign mistake. To the poster that doubted that this could happen, truckers do not have separate trucks for diesel and gas deliveries. If you do not flush out the compartments after deliveries the mistake is easy. In the 10 years as a petroleum distributor I encountered bad gas from Diesel contamination more than 30 times at a considerable cost to correct, including replacing the "bad gas" and customer car problems. I encountered contamination from too much ethanol 0 times either at my stations or others that I had contact with. Ethanol is not good for car engines. If you like to keep a car for a long period of time and many miles try and find gasoline with the least amount of ethanol, preferably none.