hiat

Would bad gas cause the check engine light to come on?
My car has been spuddering when idle and a couple times stauled on me yesterday while in idle. This was after I had filled up at the same station a couple times this past week. Check engine light came on this morning.

KrayzieFox

Go to AutoZone and have them read the CEL codes. They do it for free, and that will tell you why the light is on. Once you get those, report back and we should hopefully be able to tell you with more certainty what's going on.

I wouldn't think gas would cause the light to come on, but I suppose it could if it's causing a misfire or something of the sort .. so I guess it's possible.

_Kansei_

I've had bad gas cause a misfire CEL before.. no fun! It has only happened to me with winter blend gas too.. ugh

Now I know to avoid most gas stations in Rochester.. only Hess is safe (there is no BP or Shell here :'( )

hiat

Fricking BP gas. I knew I shouldn't have filled up there twice in a row. Not sure if that's the cause, but I am assuming. Yeah - going to Auto Zone after work. Will post the code here later this afternoon to see if any of you can help. Thanks much !!!!

KrayzieFox

BP normally has really good gas. Maybe it's that particular pump that's having problems .. but BP is about all I ever trust anymore.

hiat

I've actually heard the opposite and frequently. I've always heard they had really bad gasoline. Now that I think about it, the pumps were running really slow last week, which means they were low on gas in the fuel tanks underground. Wonder if that could affect the quality of the gas? hmmm.

KrayzieFox

Just think of it this way .. if the tanks were low then you were getting the gasoline stored at the bottom. And when the gasoline sits there for a while, all the dirt and other impurities are gonna sink and build up at the bottom of the tank. So it may not be that the gasoline itself was crap, but rather that you just got the dirt from the bottom instead.

_Kansei_

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:

QuikTrip
Chevron
Conoco
Phillips
76
Shell
Entec Stations
MFA Oil Company
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Chevron-Canada
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Company
Shell-Canada
Texaco
Petro-Canada
Sunoco-Canada


sucks for me, because there isn't a single one of any of those anywhere in and around Rochester

eggynatey

Maybe it's an 02 sensor. How many miles are on your car? Have you ever changed the 02 sensor?

hiat

Auto Zone could not even bring up a code when they hooked up the CEL device. They said my computer was probably being fried. I know that is not the case. So as I was leaving the parking lot, the CEL went off. I've had no problems since (knock on wood) so I am thinking it was the infected gasoline from the bottom of the tank giving me grief as KrazyieFox implied. Going to fill up with plus gas for the next week and also gonna do a tune-up and oil change tomorrow. Have about 80,000 miles on it right now. Don't think it could be my O2 sensor. It only spuddered and stalled while in idle. It's fine while driving.

_Kansei_

If the light was on and they couldn't read the code, they are MORONS. I went to Advance Auto Parts a week or two after my check engine light stopped lighting up and they were still able to pull the code (MAF voltage high).

If it's sputtering and stalling when idle, it could very well be that your EGR valve is stuck. Have you ever cleaned the EGR?

hiat

Never cleaned the EGR Valve. Good point though. I will check on that while doing my tune-up. What would you recommend cleaning it with? It would probably only be carbon deposits on it that would need to be cleaned off right?

_Kansei_

People use brake cleaner on it, but be warned: I first cleaned mine at 66k miles, and now I have to clean it every oil change. Luckily, after the first time it's really easy. If you don't know where the valve is, it's right under the intake manifold near the throttle body. There are two 12mm bolts attaching it (not enough access to use a deep socket, but a normal socket should work as long as the head on your ratchet isn't massive), and there is a metal gasket between it and the intake manifold.

KrayzieFox

^^ A good how-to for you to write up at your next oil change Kansei. I know they got one on the other forum but it wouldn't be bad to have another.

_Kansei_

after finals are over

I want to make a 3rd gen maintenance guide that covers things like that, with links to how-tos for all the maintenance items as well as difficulty ratings and how often you'll need to perform them. Hell I could toss in an estimated costs savings vs having the stealership do the work too