This does actually ask for a factual answer. I lost my gas cap and since the dealer wasn’t getting more until middle of next week, I ordered one on-line. It will still be a few days until I get it and I read that it’s inadvisable to drive without it. Emissions issues?
How much harm will it do to me or my surroundings to drive the car for a few days? Will it hurt my car?
Is there a recommended method for covering the opening in the meantime? Of course it has the flap covering the hole and the closed door.
I don’t have an answer, but do have a suggestion -
The last time I filled my own car with gas was when we moved to Oregon, the land of full-serve. I must’ve left the gas cap on the pump in CA because at the next station in OR the attendant informed my husband of the situation and fortunately they had a few spares on-hand, one of which fit our Honda and it’s still there!
Yeah, emissions issues. Fuel vapors are getting into the air. Before cars had pollution control, specifically “evaporative emission control” (which hasn’t been that long), lots of fuel vapors went into the air.
As far as your car goes, it shouldn’t be a problem. The tank is below the filler opening, so there shouldn’t be any gas sloshing out. It’s unlikely dirt would work its way into the filler, but you could wrap a piece of aluminum foil over the opening to be sure. Depending on the year of the car, it may set an evaporative emission trouble code and turn on the “Check Engine” light. If so, you can have the light reset (the dealer might do it free on the basis that it only happened because they were out of stock) or it will probably reset itself after 50 or so drive cycles.
:dubious:
Evaporative emission controls can into being with the 1971 MY IIRC.
Check engine lights could not be set by an evaporative issue until OBDII which the very first versions were 1994MY, most cars got them in 1996.
If the OP’s car is pre 1996 it most likely won’t set a check engine light. There were only a couple of cars that met OBDII spec in the 1994-95 MYs.
If the car is pre 1994, drive away, no chance of a check engine light, but you would fail an emissions test. (eyeball inspection part, missing emission part)
You can fold a piece of Aluminum foil a couple times and then form it around the outter thread area to keep water or dirt from going into the gas fill tube, until you get a cap. When I walk in the spring I find gas caps along the road every time, and hub caps. Nobody seems to lose tools anymore, just actual usless stuff.
Just to note, regarding the “Check Engine” warning, from my own experience: it will come on (IME) if your gas cap is left off. It will remain on until the car is shut off and restarted after the cap is replaced.
The strategy for turning the Check Engine light on and off for an intermittent problem with like a missing gas cap varies with car make, year, and model.
Some cars will detect the cap replaced, and shut the light off during the next drive cycle. Others won’t.
One of our safety engineers ( :eek: ) did this with his car for a while. Problem is the rag gets its share of petroleum products in it and, if it catches any sparks, it is in close proximity to the gas tank.
His car burned (although I’m not sure if it was caused by the rag in the tank).
On the plus side you can say you drive a Molotov cocktail.
What I want to know is why more cars don’t have a little plastic keeper on the cap so that it just dangles there after you unscrew it, and you won’t leave it on top of the gas pump. Mine does, but I’ve had my share of cars that didn’t. They’re probably getting kickbacks from the aftermarket gascap cartel or something.
On many cars, I’ve found, the little door that covers the gascap has a slot or pocket or something in it that you can put the cap into while you’re filling your car. I don’t remember how I found this out, and very few people seem to notice it, but if your car has one and you get in the habit of putting the cap in that when you fill your car, at least the cap is harder to forget when it’s attached to your car.
Check at a few assorted gas stations. Whether or not you lost it at their station, they don’t care. They all have a box behind the counter filled with gas caps, gloves and other assorted crap people leave behind. When I lost my cap (and watched it get run over and broken on Western Avenue after it flew off my roof turning out of a gas station) I found one that fit at the second other gas station I tried.
Heh. It’s mud season here so perhaps I should worry about dirt. I think the new cap is waiting on my stoop though, and the Check Engine light hasn’t come on. Yet.