The Scam: Dirty Fuel

If you are not driving a fully electric car, the quality and purity of the fuel you buy for your vehicle is very important. Unfortunately, there is a lot of dirty (bad) fuel as well as fuel of Euro norms in the market. So, what is dirty fuel that can critically affect engine performance? Does using dirty fuel damage the vehicle? How is dirty fuel detected? What should you do when faced with dirty fuel?

 

What is Dirty Fuel?

Some fuel stations may use some tricks to earn more money. One of these tactics is dirty fuel, also known as wet gasoline. As the name suggests, it is one of the common methods used to dilute the fuel and increase the amount of fuel by adding a certain proportion of additives to the fuel. The stations sell their diluted gasoline cheaply in the market, enabling users to turn to this fuel. By mixing solvent-type paint thinning additives such as hexane, heptane, white sprite, benzene, and toluene into the fuel, fraudulent gasoline is obtained.

 

Does Using Dirty Fuel Damage the Vehicle?

Water is an inorganic substance and gasoline is a hydrocarbon substance. These two substances do not mix in the tank due to the difference in concentration. This causes water to settle to the bottom of the fuel tank, causing many major problems in the vehicle over time. Using poor quality gasoline can also cause the engine and carburetor to malfunction. Disintegration and wear may occur on the pistons. If the amount of thinning agent in the fuel is high, an event called vapor plug may occur in your vehicle and slow down your engine. May cause wear of crankshaft bearing. It can damage the fuel pump and clog the injectors. It may cause the valves to wear and melt over time. It reduces the life of your engine. And worst of all, dirty gasoline that will evaporate in the fuel tank can cause automobile fires as it can quickly ignite.

 

How to Detect Dirty Fuel?

There are many ways to detect poor quality fuel. These:

• The engine may stall when you put the gear in neutral or put the vehicle at idle.

 

• The vehicle's traction will be reduced. Especially on uneven roads such as ramps, the vehicle will faint and make an advance knock.

 

• Engine sound will change when you idle your vehicle. Your engine will make an abnormal and loud noise.

 

• When you turn your ignition and turn off the vehicle, the vehicle will not stop immediately, it will continue to run.

 

• Gasoline will run out quickly.

 

 

What Should You Do When You Encounter with Dirty Fuel?

When you suspect that there is dirty fuel in your vehicle, park your vehicle safely and report the situation by calling the service. You should never empty the tank or add fuel to it in the first place. After taking your sample, you need to drain the fuel before you try to run out of dirty fuel in the vehicle.