rocknrobn26 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 My wife was riding w/ my cuz and her "Empty Light" came on whilist they were on the tollway. She pulled into an Oasis and got 5-6 gallons of gas. They drove a few minutes and the car sputtered and died. They had it towed to her mechanic and the next day the mechanic (~$600 later) said it was because she fueled up w/ E85 fuel. She has a 2004 PT Cruiser w/ ~42K miles. Everything I could google said it's not a thing you'd want to do, but a few gallons shouldn't hurt. I thought she may have just gotten some sludge from the bottom of the tank being that it was so low. Is that possible? Did she get ripped off? Tbimm? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Who knows how long my wife was using the cheap gas in her ride before I threw a fit and she never experienced any problems. That being said, she may have just gotten lucky. I know nothing about cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Who knows how long my wife was using the cheap gas in her ride before I threw a fit and she never experienced any problems. That being said, she may have just gotten lucky. I know nothing about cars. The Oasis station was a Mobil and she told me she always buys major brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 The Oasis station was a Mobil and she told me she always buys major brands. I just know the owner's manual calls for the high octane and she wasn't using it and there were no problems. We use Shell mostly but I was talking octane, not brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 My guess here is that the fuel pump was replaced. Price sounds about right for that repair. As far as it being due to using the flex fuel??? I could see where that could be a problem if your vehicle is not a flex fuel vehicle. I have very little experience with the E85 fuel as that is not something we use here in La. Down here we run either a 10 or 20% blend. We also still have some stations that offer a 100% gasoline option. With that being said I have not had reason to learn a lot about the flex fuel do's and don'ts. I know there is a huddler who is in the trade up in your neck of the woods. He may be better educated in this area than I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 My guess here is that the fuel pump was replaced. Price sounds about right for that repair. As far as it being due to using the flex fuel??? I could see where that could be a problem if your vehicle is not a flex fuel vehicle. I have very little experience with the E85 fuel as that is not something we use here in La. Down here we run either a 10 or 20% blend. We also still have some stations that offer a 100% gasoline option. With that being said I have not had reason to learn a lot about the flex fuel do's and don'ts. I know there is a huddler who is in the trade up in your neck of the woods. He may be better educated in this area than I am. She didn't look at the itemized bill, except to see spark plugs. I'll find out more later. ALL gas in Ill is 10%. We gotta support the farmers. Thanks,T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge007 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Tom-Ask your question on Google. They might have your answer. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 My guess here is that the fuel pump was replaced. Price sounds about right for that repair. As far as it being due to using the flex fuel??? I could see where that could be a problem if your vehicle is not a flex fuel vehicle. I have very little experience with the E85 fuel as that is not something we use here in La. Down here we run either a 10 or 20% blend. We also still have some stations that offer a 100% gasoline option. With that being said I have not had reason to learn a lot about the flex fuel do's and don'ts. I know there is a huddler who is in the trade up in your neck of the woods. He may be better educated in this area than I am. My Dad lives in BFE TX now and he said he is now using the 100% gasoline option and gets about 20% better fuel mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Tom-Ask your question on Google. They might have your answer. Good luck. Tried that last night and the googs were mixed. Talked to my automotive buddy Big Al a few minutes ago and he said it's very plausible, as w/ the tank being very low theE85 acted more as a cleaner that is removing scale and what not that probably clogged everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 She didn't look at the itemized bill, except to see spark plugs. Your wife paid a $600 bill without looking at it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulzale Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I know the big reason E85 can't be used in any car is that it is highly corrosive to rubber components and that is the main reason it shouldn't be used in non-E85 vehicles. I thought a one time use wouldn't hurt, but I don't know about it knocking the scale and other contaminants off the inside of the tank, it does sound plausible. Also, as far as octane goes, use the lowest possible you can without your car running rough or knocking. Most use higher octanes for creating more power. The computer will usually adjust accordingly. I would also expect to get better gas mileage from 100% gasoline vs and blend of ethanol. The ethanol power output is about 20% less than gasoline and any savings at the pump is usually eaten up in less mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Your wife paid a $600 bill without looking at it? I prolly wasn't clear, but it was my cuz's car. Yeah...I thought the same thing, but she really trusts this guy. I know the big reason E85 can't be used in any car is that it is highly corrosive to rubber components and that is the main reason it shouldn't be used in non-E85 vehicles. I thought a one time use wouldn't hurt, but I don't know about it knocking the scale and other contaminants off the inside of the tank, it does sound plausible. Also, as far as octane goes, use the lowest possible you can without your car running rough or knocking. Most use higher octanes for creating more power. The computer will usually adjust accordingly. I would also expect to get better gas mileage from 100% gasoline vs and blend of ethanol. The ethanol power output is about 20% less than gasoline and any savings at the pump is usually eaten up in less mpg. We can't buy 100% gasoline in IL. Is 100% gasoline that much more expensive? Can you make up for it in MPG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 We can't buy 100% gasoline in IL. Is 100% gasoline that much more expensive? Can you make up for it in MPG? Well, in TX 100% gas is cheaper than the other BS gas and as mentioned, you get about 20% better gas mileage. So short answer, no and yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddahj Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I've heard that E85 has been known to cause problems with the fuel system...damaging fuel pumps, injectors, ect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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