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Man Takes His Car To Speedway And Puts In $22 Worth Of Gas. Then He Tries To Turn On The Engine: ‘Don’t use E-15’

"That's why your not supposed to..."

Man Takes His Car To Speedway And Puts In $22

Photo by: TikTok

Alexandra Samuels

By: Alexandra Samuels

Jul 5, at 10:00am ET

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A man says his car suddenly stopped working while he was filling up at a gas station, leaving him wondering whether the fuel had something to do with it.

Evander Lopez (@evanderlopez15) shared the experience after his vehicle unexpectedly shut off at a Speedway station in Macedonia, Ohio, despite running normally throughout the day.

“All day, my car has been perfectly fine. I’ve been driving around everywhere,” he says.

Lopez says his gas tank was running low, so he stopped at the Speedway he says he regularly visits.

“In the middle of filling up, my car randomly shut off,” he says.

After spending $22 on gas, Lopez says he couldn’t get the car running again. He filmed himself repeatedly trying to start the engine as it struggled to turn over.

“I don’t know if it’s bad gas or not,” he says. As of this writing, his video has more than 18,200 views.

Can Bad Gas Make A Car Stop Running?

Bad gas can cause a car to run poorly or fail to start, but it is not the only possible explanation if your vehicle dies at the pump.

AAA lists failure to start as a possible symptom of contaminated fuel, especially if water or other contaminants enter the engine. Bad fuel can also cause rough idling, stalling, hesitation, poor acceleration, or a check engine light. So Lopez’s question about the gas is not unreasonable, especially since the problem started while he was filling up.

Still, a no-start after refueling can point to other issues. CarParts.com notes that a faulty EVAP purge valve is a common reason a car may struggle to start after refueling. If the valve sticks open, too much fuel vapor can be pulled into the engine, making the air-fuel mixture too rich and causing a hard start or no-start condition.

A weak battery, a fuel pump issue, a clogged fuel filter, or a failing alternator can also show up at an unlucky time. That means the timing alone does not prove the gas station sold bad fuel.

For drivers who find themselves in this situation, the safest move is to stop trying to force the car to start and document what happened. As Lopez did in his video, note the pump number, take photos or video, and ask the station whether any other customers reported problems.

If the car has to be towed, a mechanic can test the fuel and check the fuel system before anyone assumes the gas was the cause. That matters because the fix for contaminated fuel can be very different from the fix for a failing part.

‘I Bet He Pumped E 15 And That Screwed His Engine’

Lopez’s video quickly turned into a troubleshooting session, with viewers offering competing explanations for why his car suddenly refused to start.

Many zeroed in on one detail.

“Shouldn’t pump gas with your car running anyway?” one commenter asked.

“Your car is not supposed to be running when you fill your gas tank up,” another wrote.

“This is why you turn off the car while fueling up!” a third added.

Others weren’t convinced the gas station was to blame at all.

“It’s not bad gas,” one viewer wrote. “Gas goes out the bottom of the tank. Pumping it in puts it on top of existing gas.”

Several commenters instead suspected a mechanical issue.

“Sounds like the fuel pump,” one person wrote.

“Fuel Pump,” dozens of others echoed.

Another viewer suggested the problem could be something else entirely.

“Purge valve solenoid needs to be replaced,” they wrote. “It’s stuck open.”

Still, some believed contaminated fuel was the culprit.

“Sounds like you got some of that bad gas that ruins your car,” one commenter wrote.

The commenter is likely referring to E15 gas, as several others did. E15 gas refers to gas blended with between 10.5% and 15% ethanol. It has been a hot topic lately, as drivers claim it does not last as long and damages their cars.

While E15 does have reduced fuel efficiency compared to regular gasoline because it has about a third of the energy, there is not enough evidence to conclusively say it damages newer vehicles. However, it is not advised for cars made before 2001.

What do you think?

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“Might have gotten bad gas,” another commenter added. “Especially if there was a tanker truck filling at the gas tanks while you were filling your [car].”

Motor1 reached out to Lopez via TikTok direct message and 7-Eleven, Speedway's parent company, via email We’ll update this story if we hear back.

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