Is there such thing as Bad Gas?
Bad Fuel Causes: Water (Plus Ethanol Discussion)
erniehorton » Recently I was on a trip in my C70 and had to add a partial tank of fuel at an off brand rural service station. The car ran fine for the rest of the trip there. But when I started it the next morning it was missing, sputtering, and not running well at all. I pulled off to the side of the road and put it into neutral then revved the engine a few times. That seemed to solve the problem. That was a week ago and now each time it is cranked the same thing happens. When it is warmed up then turned off and restarted the problem almost disappears but now my “check engine” light is staying on. Any ideas? Maybe a clogged fuel filter?
iselloil » I am a fuel distributor and have several repair shops and or stations.
Most cars have not been affected, because fuel has been run thru the system on a regulars basis. Several older cars, we had to flush the tanks and fuel systems after they stopped running due to tank issues after ethanol was used.
We were told especially in our metal tanks,before the 10% ethanol was brought to the stations, the tanks should be vacced and scrubbed. One station we did not do this and had no issues.
I’m not saying that ethanol screws up all cars and tanks, or anything like that. But water in the blends today is a big issue, especially in underground storage tank that end up taking on any water.
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Last Updated on January 7, 2026
