Woman Drives Honda Civic. Then She Realizes It Runs On A Little-Known Type Of Gas: ‘Never Seen Anything Like This Before’

A woman drives a Honda Civic that runs on natural gas. She is in the middle of demonstrating how she fills it up at a Clean Energy gas pump when a police officer intervenes.

TikTok creator Summer (@summerwinterfallorspring) posted the video, which has amassed 1.5 million views in five days.

The video starts off with Summer recording the introduction of the TikTok. In the background, viewers can hear someone making conversation with her. She explains that her vehicle runs on natural gas, and she was in the process of showing her audience what it looks like to fuel it up.

“I was making a TikTok today to show my CNG Honda Civic, and the cop getting gas near me offered to help me record the video,” she writes in the on-screen text.

Why Does This Honda Owner Get Gas At Clean Energy?

The police officer takes control of the camera and frees up Summer to show viewers the cylindrical gas pump and how it plugs into the Civic’s gas tank. From there, she says, “All you do here is ‘lift handle to fuel.’”

However, she does warn both the police officer and her audience that the sound will be pretty loud. It doesn’t disappoint.

The video cuts back to Summer in selfie mode. She reveals that her police officer cameraman had to return to his full-time job. She takes the nozzle out of the vehicle and returns it to the pump. The display shows she purchased the equivalent of 3.466 gallons of gasoline at a total cost of $19.06.

“And Honda, if you’re watching this, I’m your biggest fan,” she says. “I love Honda cars, but I hate this car. I would love for you to sponsor me, helpful Honda, to get a new car, because this is a hassle.”

What is such a hassle about owning a CNG Honda Civic? “I can’t just go to the gas station like a normal person,” she says. “I can’t go on a road trip. I can’t leave Southern California with this car because I have to use this gas, and I’m really looking to get a new car.”

How Exactly Does This Honda Civic Run On Natural Gas?

According to the American National Standards Institute, CNG stands for compressed natural gas vehicle. The cars run on pressurized methane that gets pumped into vehicles at compressed natural gas fueling stations, like Summer showed in her video. 

Car and Driver notes that Honda introduced the Honda Civic GX in 2007 as a cleaner energy alternative to a traditional gas vehicle. The only issue was that it was more expensive than the original vehicle, and its driving was limited to just a few states where owners could reliably purchase the CNG. The automaker revived the concept in 2012, but it still remains an anomaly in the commercial market.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there were 700 public CNG fueling stations in the country as of 2023. In the comments section of the video, one person wrote, “There’s at least two [stations] where I live in Oklahoma, one in my small town and one in the next over. With it being that cheap, I’d buy one of these.”

Summer replied, “No, I wouldn’t get it. Imagine having only two gas stations total that you can go to? What if it’s out of service or turned off? It’s stressful.”

Another person pointed out what they viewed as a decent fuel price, but Summer cautioned that she fills up multiple times per week.

Motor1 contacted Summer via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Honda and Clean Energy via press email for comment. We will update this story if any party responds.