Water in the gas tank

[Fen911]

On Friday my car turned off on me while driving on the highway. Lucky I got to get off on an exit before it came to a complete stop. Had it towed to a local dealer and they told me that i had a large amount of water in my tank that I must have gotten when I filled up last.(Is that possible since I filled up 5 days ago?)Just to lower the tank to drain the tank and lines, put in new spark plugs (why do they need to change the plugs) $1100Now they said that if the car still doesn't start they'll have to change the fuel pump and all the injectors and that will be around another $800 to $1000. Ran out of there like a bat out of hell and got it towed to my machanic and he is going to drain my tank and lines, flush my injectors, clean my spark plugs (He said theres no need to replace them) for $150 If its true about water in my tank everyone needs to careful. By the way I filled up with BP gas.

[frankoV]

Just to lower the tank to drain the tank and lines, put in new spark plugs (why do they need to change the plugs) $1100Now they said that if the car still doesn't start they'll have to change the fuel pump and all the injectors and that will be around another $800 to $1000. Ran out of there like a bat out of hell

You just began your Olympic training!

[matttail]

If your mechanic can prove that's it's water - maybe save some of what he gets out of the tank you should make the station pay for the work. You can get a lot more damage than $150 from water in the lines, and if it really came from there (not a leak in your car) I'd be willing to bet there's lots of other people yelling at the same station.

[Fen911]

So I had gotten my car fixed after my mechanic drained the gas tank, fuel lines and replaced the spark plugs the car has driven good. Guess what a month later it happened AGAIN!!!! I have noticed that both times it has rained very hard so I think the water is getting in through the gas cap. I think this is true because my gas level was almost empty when it rained and my car didn't start. Is this possible? Has anyone heard of any faulty gas caps on the Versa?

[KimberKenobi]

You'd be the first that I can recall... but there was a 5 month period where I was AWOL, so anything could've happened in that time.

[s14s14s14]

this happened to my uncle turned his kid was filling it up with the hose

[marlin29311]

I agree, there has to be something different than your gas giving your the problems 5 days later - water is more dense than gasoline, and therefore would most likely be getting into your line within the first drive or two when you are using the car - look to see if anything else might be causing this.

[Fen911]

I think it's getting in thru the gas cap but I am waiting to hear from the mechanic

[rwanttaja]

So I had gotten my car fixed after my mechanic drained the gas tank, fuel lines and replaced the spark plugs the car has driven good. Guess what a month later it happened AGAIN!!!! I have noticed that both times it has rained very hard so I think the water is getting in through the gas cap. I think this is true because my gas level was almost empty when it rained and my car didn't start. Is this possible? Has anyone heard of any faulty gas caps on the Versa?

I'm not inclined to blame the gas cap. The gas cap is inside a panel out of the direct path of the rain, and the little inset compartment would have to fill up quite a bit before water could enter the tank through a faulty cap seal.

There's a slightly higher possibility that there's a hole in the gas tank itself. Water could be entering the tank from splashing up from the ground. However, you're not likely to get THAT much water into the tank this way, and you should be smelling gas when you're around the car.

Water will condense in the fuel tank as the relative humidity and temperature changes. This generally doesn't produce *that* much water, but you live in an area with high humidity, it's possible. However, I live in Seattle and none of my cars has ever had a problem with this. You might consider adding an occasional bottle of "Gas Line De-Icer"; this is alcohol that mixes with the water and lets the engine burn it. It's not the right approach for a large amount of water, though.

My vote for where the water is coming from: The gas station. Their gas caps could be leaking. If the tanks are fairly low when you fill up, you might get a pretty big slug of water.

This happened to me about twenty-five years ago...the gas station had underground tanks, and the filler was in a small compartment inset into the ground. The compartment acted like a funnel, and the gas cap had a bad gasket.

My engine quit about twenty minutes after I filled up. It really caught my attention, because it was my airplane's engine that was trying to run on water....

My guess is that either the gas stations you went to had something screwy in their systems, or the truck making deliveries had contaminated fuel. I'd ask around at the local auto repair places to see if there's been a big jump in fuel-contamination repairs lately.

Ron

[Fen911]

I never got to fill the up the car with gas. It ran 260 miles on the tank of gas before it turned off on me. The tank was between empty and 1/4 when I went to fill up and it left me right at the station. I noticed as soon as I turned on the car that something was wrong, it stalled as soon as I took off. The gas station is 1/2 a block from me.

[kc5f]

Same thing could have happened if you lived near me, it looks like!

http://wlos.com/shared/newsroo...shtml

[Fen911]

The thing is I never got to fill up. The car got me to the station and shut off before I pumped any gas in it.

[worcestersix]

Put a piece of tape across your tank door or get a locking gas cap..Someone could also be playing games with your gas tank..Just a thought..

[Fen911]

The mechanic said that water was getting in to the gas canister, that's is something that is on the right rear of the car and it holds the fumes from the gas tank. It has an air hose and the water was getting in through there. Im taking it to the dealer to see what they say.