I just asked my dad why running the vehicle is a problem when fueling (he is a mechanic by trade, among a few other things) and he said if there is a problem with the shield in the engine, the spark plugs can be a source of ignition of gas fumes. He said it’s not likely to happen, but it can. It’s the same reason you’re not supposed to use cell phones either - a potential source of ignition in the event of a build up a fumes to the LEL.
ETA: I suppose this is the static electricity issue too (with getting in and out of your car).
They also have signs disallowing talking on cell phones even though that legend has been long since proven false. I’d rather then get after people smoking or hold lit cigareetes in their pumping hand.
While I agree that bad spark plug wires can be an ignition source unless you can name me car with the filler neck in the engine room I can’t see where this could be an issue.
Gas fumes are heavier than air. They will flow down to the ground. For the spark plug wires to ignite these fumes the would have to blow forward to the engine room then magically become lighter than air to get up by the spark plug wires and mix with the ambient air in just the right proportion to be able to ignite.
It could happen. Megan Fox might also call me for an evening of wild sex. Both are equally likely IMHO.
I am one of the ones the OP is railing on. I drove a diesel truck for about four years and neither I, nor any of the other drivers turned the engine off while re-fueling. The habit caught with my personal vehicle. In the summer, I keep the AC running and in the winter, I want the heat. The cost of lost fuel is so small it is insignificant. (One of the things I have had to do in the Army is lower to fuel level in vehicles so they can be transported. It can take hours to burn off five gallons of fuel at idle.)
Are my actions unsafe? Probably. Is it a hard habit to break? Yes.
Won’t the vapor recovery system (or whatever it’s called) give you a check-engine-light error code if you run the car with the gas cap off? Or does it take long enough to give the code that filling the car doesn’t take long enough to trigger it? I don’t leave mine running, but have gotten a code from not having put the cap back on properly.
I’m pretty religious about killing the engine, although I can remember a handful of bitter cold mornings every year where I had to refuel before my daily commute to work. The quick hop from my driveway to the corner gas station wasn’t nearly enough to start to warm the arctic pleather inside, so I’d use the 5 minutes it’d take to fuel up to keep the heaters blasting, the defrosters energized and warm the engine up for highway driving. NBD.
Another agreement. If your car engine was warm enough to get you to the gas station, then killing the engine for another five or ten minutes, to fill up and pay, won’t make a lot of difference.
Depends on the system. Some check with the engine running at a specific time after engine start, others check right after the engine is turned off. Some systems inhibit the check if the gas door is unlocked, others don’t.
In your case, no danger. Diesel fuel is not nearly as volatile as gasoline. Whereas a small spark applied to gasoline vapors can cause a raging inferno, diesel fuel generally requires a wick and an extended application of high heat (e.g. a propane torch) to achieve sustained combustion.
i think a big worry is at ‘pay at the pump’ and filling up, then have a memory failure and drive off with the hose. you’re inside the car because it’s cold, you’ve paid, the gas is no longer pumping, the engine is running and you’re set to drive away.
I leave my car running but only if I stop at the first pump.
Seriously though, there are plenty of videos where a static spark causes a fire but is there any where just the act of leaving the car running caused a fire?
How many people have died from fueling a running car?
Anyone have a link that has stats on this?
I’ve been leaving my ignition on while pumping gas since theyn lifted the oil embargo and I was wondering if this is danger that someone theorizes might exist or if there are a bunch of gas station deaths and disfigurements i haven’t been hearing about.
I have a daily work vehicle (1999 GMS Suburban 2500) which, at times, can be a real problem to start. It chews through 2 oversized truck batteries every 6 months.
There are times when to get it started is dicy, and in those times I will leave it running during fuel ups. All the vehicle electronics (tied into a 3kw inverter) run off the engine, so many days the truck starts at 1pm when I head into work and only stops at midnight when I return home.
At the station and at home it is pugged into shore power to keep the batteries alive.
As for fueling, I am not worried about the engine running. I do consider static electricity issues, so as I leave the vehicle I ALWAYS reach out and touch the door AND a nearby exposed metal (either the gas dispenser or structure steel) at the same time to equalize the ground potential between myself, the truck and the ground. I do this every time I exit the vehicle.
As it often takes 35-40 gallons to fill up (tank holds 44) fueling takes awhile.
I had some guy bitch at me once about running the vehicle while fueling. I chose to ignore him.
Side note regarding static discharge: you know how sometimes you are generating a lot of static electricity (it’s really dry, you are wearing a certain parka / shirt combination, whatever) and you are getting shocked harder than normal when you touch the car? I will grab my car key tightly and discharge myself with that. The spark leaps from the key to the car and the electricity is distributed over a larger area of my skin where I grasp the key so I don’t get hurt by the discharge.
If a spark from faulty wiring igniting gas fumes is the reason we should be turning off our engines while refueling shouldn’t we all be hitting the deck everytime a car pulls into the gas station or whenever someone restarts their car to leave?
It all seems silly to me.
OP here. Yes the science behind something actually happening is very sketchy but the point is, is that there is a law. You really aren’t allowed to pick and choose which laws you obey. That would be anarchy and no fun for anyone. Don’t care bout your reasons, obey the freaking law you snowflake you.
