This Car Just Won't Start. Then The Mechanic Working On It Discovers The Embarrassing Reason Why: 'Take Their Keys'

A service technician was baffled by a customer’s vehicle woes because the answer to their grievances was staring them right in the face on the car’s dashboard. The mechanic, who posts under the handle @suppmydude1, documented the unbelievable client request in a viral video.

They lead with the punchline: The dashboard clearly shows that the vehicle has no gas in its tank. Following this, the tech shows the service order, which highlights how the driver is baffled by their car’s inability to start. “Customer states: died while driving, dies after starting. You don’t have any gas,” the auto worker says off-camera.

Folks who replied to the video weren’t sympathetic to the driver at all. “Take their keys and license,” one penned.

Someone else speculated as to the intellectual capabilities of the commuter. “Customer thinks E is for electric,” they wrote.

Whereas someone else quipped that this was the easiest service call of the mechanic’s career: “That’ll be $165. By the way, you need gas that’s all.”

Someone else wondered how the conversation must’ve gone down when the tech finally broke the news to the driver. “How did you break the news to her?” they asked.

What Happens When You Drive A Car On Empty?

Attempting to run your car when there’s no fuel in the tank can be detrimental to several key components. Consequently, don’t do it. According to Progressive Insurance’s Life Lanes, drivers can cause damage to a car’s “fuel pump, engine, and catalytic converter.” This can all amount to costly repair bills that are far greater than tossing $20 or so of fuel into your tank.

First: fuel pump harm. These parts are manufactured to run with a minimum threshold of gasoline/diesel in them.

When that threshold is passed, the pump then begins to draw in inordinate amounts of air with fuel. This means that this component won’t be cooled properly. Over time, this heat disparity can damage the component, leading to an incorrectly working fuel pump and potential outright fuel pump failure.

What’s more is that fuel pumps are equipped with fuel filters. These are designed to keep any flotsam and jetsam in your tank out of the fuel pump itself. But, when there’s less gasoline in your car, these filters are then working double time to extract gasoline from the tank, through the pump, and into your car’s engine. As Life Lanes writes, this “increases the odds of overworking the fuel pump.” Additionally, all of that concentrated debris settling on the bottom of the tank has a greater chance of gunking up your filter when you’re driving on empty.

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Engine Damage As A Result Of Driving With No Fuel

One of the last things you’d want to replace on a car is its engine. Not only can these parts cost thousands of dollars depending on the vehicle’s make and model, but replacing them is labor-intensive, which will only further compound whatever customers are spending on them. 

By not keeping an adequate amount of gasoline in your vehicle, you could be causing your engine’s cylinders to misfire. This misfiring is a consequence of too much air traveling into the engine. This occurs when there’s not enough gasoline in a car, as the fuel pump is drawing too much air. Persistent knocking/misfiring, especially at high speeds, could ultimately damage an engine, especially if it’s a recurring phenomenon. This air/fuel ratio imbalance also occurs in vehicles that have regular gasoline put in them when they’re rated for higher octane fuels.

Catalytic Converter Problems

These components are critical for regulating a car’s emissions as they disintegrate exhaust chemicals. Once the catalytic converter does its work, these chemicals are converted into water and carbon dioxide. You can thank the metals inside these converters that do this heavy lifting. As a result, these pieces are highly sought-after prizes for thieves, who orchestrate crime rings to extricate them from vehicles.

But these metals aren’t meant to interact directly with what Life Lanes calls “pure fuel.” Engine misfirings can cause more of this pure fuel to return to the catalytic converter. This, in turn, causes overheating. While this is unlikely to fully blow out your catalytic converter because you’re running low on gasoline anyway, it could still be damaged over a long period of time.

In order to ensure your fuel pump’s always functioning properly, AAA, and others, advise never letting your car’s fuel level dip below a quarter tank. This way, you’re ensuring the air-fuel mixture is never out of whack and potentially saving yourself from an embarrassing conversation with your mechanic.

Motor1 has reached out to @suppmydude1 via TikTok direct message for further comment. We will update this story if he responds.