jhenty

My car had felt like it wasnt firing on all cylinders for the whole day so i put in some injector cleaner and drove around trying to get it through the system. Well anyways, i was driving when suddenly the rpms would not rise about 1000 and i couldnt accelerate. The battery light and the check engine light came on, i lost power stearing and pulled over. Im not sure if its the bad gas thats been going around near me or if there is an electrical problem because of the warmth after the last three days of sub zero temps. Anyone have a clue whats going on with it? thanks in advance

lexusk8

Unfortunately this seems to be a recurring problem for the GS owners too, especially with the sudden weather changes

Bad gas could be one of, if not the only one, problem with your ES. I kinda ran into the same situation with my '01 ES. Got out to my car after a 15-min lunch at a seafood joint. I turned the key, but the RPMs stayed at 0. Power steering froze up, and got CEL and battery warning lights popping up too. After about 30-45 min of trying to get my car started, it finally did it and I was on my way. At the next fill-up, I went to the more expensive Mobil station and afterwards never had problems starting up my car every time.

Keep in mind that the problem could also be a number of other things like a bad fuel pump, bad idle air controller, or a dirty throttle body. I'm assuming your battery is A-OK, so anything electrical can be ruled out.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

The battery light and check engine light came on because your rpm's dropped below a point where the alternator could support the load. So rule out electrical in that sense.

I would bet that the zero temps made the moisture in the top of the gas tank freeze, then when it warmed up it became more waterlike and mixed with the gas. (just a guess).

run a botle of gas treatment through it and see if that helps. (provided you can get it started enough to let it run through the system). They make lot's of products for drying water out of gas.

matt805

I have had the same problem in my current daily driver 2 or 3 times, and both just so happened after I filled the tank halfway with Mobil brand gas.
So I stopped going to Mobil until once I was forced to, and yup....it happened again.
I dont work for Chevron, but all the mechanics I know recommend Chevron gas, and I would rather run out of gas in a Mobil parking lot and walk to a Chevron, than use their gas.
Just my opinion
Also, check your distributor cap / rotors / plugs / wires

xsohaib

I always used to use chevron in my car, however after I moved to boston, there is no chevron here so I started to use Mobil, and since then I have had hard start problems. I think the gas might be the culprit. What other brands are good, I mean what do you think about Gulf?

Thanks
Sohaib

matt805

Couldnt tell ya, we dont have Gulf stations around my area.
If I couldnt fill up in Chevron, I would go to a 76 station.
Not sure if you have those in Boston,
But I'm glad you got your car started man, I knew it wasnt the battery !

lexusk8

I generally make certain of NOT going to those super cheap gas stations like Hess, Global, Citgo, etc.

Mobil, Exxon, Sunoco and (sometimes) Gulf are my top choices

steviej

iTrader: (1)

before you condem an entire gas company for a hard start problem please know that all the gas stations in an area usually get all their gas from the same tank farm. For example, south of Boston all gas comes out of one or three farms in Quincy and Braintree. The difference between brands is what each tanker driver adds to the tank. Each brand has their own special additive (detergent) that goes in to make them different.

It may not be that Mobil gas is your problem, it may be the station you usually fill up at. The individual station may have the leaky tank in the ground, this is where the water gets into the mix.

If you are in Boston (South Shore) there is a Chevron at Exit 16 (Rt. 18 North) off of Rt. 3 in Weymouth.
I been using Mobil/Exxon (got to love that SpeedPass) since 1998 and have never had a problem.


steviej

xsohaib

I live in Acton. Steviej I understand completely what you mean, I guess I shall stay away from the particular gas station I fill up my from, it is the cheapest mobil I could find. However I always use the 92/93 octane gas. I shall try another gas station then. Say, I think there are quite a few people from boston here, why not arrange a meet? Lexusk8, when looking for gas mobil is also my top choice. When I am in Alaska or Texas I always use Chevron though.
Matt I am sooooooooooooo glad I have been able to start my car too. My brother's Hyundai started up fine and it is older than my Lexus and ad been sitting longer than the lexus, he was starting to make fun of my car

Thanks
Sohaib

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

check the regional forums to arrange a meet or chat with locals.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

as OLT said, watch the regional forums, as a NE/MA/CT/NY spring meet is already in the early planning stages.

steviej

jhenty

turns out it needed a new coil and ignition wires, so unfortunately theres $450 out of my pocket and another cracked windshield but insurance covers that completely.

mmarshall

No matter what brand of gas you use.... (and I agree 100% with lexusk8 about staying away from cut-rate brands)......try, if possible, not to gas up at a station during or shortly after the tanker truck is re-filling thre tanks. Why?......Simple. The tanker trucks use high-pressure hoses th fill the tanks. This high-pressure flow stirs up all of the water, crud, and impurities in the bottom of the tank. Then , what do you do if you don't give them time to settle back down?.........pump them right into YOUR tank. Then, they can screw up the fuel pump, fuel lines, fuel filter, and injectors. This can sometimes be cleaned up with a simple treatment like BG44K fuel system cleaner, but serious clogs involve taking fuel system pieces off to manually clean them.....which can be expensive.
I also agree with the Chevron recommendation .......I use it most of the time myself. Mobil used to have the best detergent package, years ago, but since Exxon bought them out you really don't know if it is the same stuff anymore.

dkenned1

Did anyone catch the Modern Marvels on Discovery they did about gasoline?

Turns out that if say mobil puts in 100 gallons of gas in the pipeline here in Texas, and its destined for new jersey, they can pump out 100 gallons out of the pipeline at their midpoint station (where they fill up the tankers to go to the stations) the same day. They stated that just because Exxon put in a barrel today means the probably are getting Mobile's or BP's barrel out the end at the destination.

They went on to say that the only difference between the brands of gasoline is the additives they put in at their midpoint stations -- I.E. Techroline etc etc. And that the companies would like to have you believe there is a huge difference in gas but that after it leaves the refinery at whatever octane its all the same.

Also interesting was the fact that they have over 45 different gasolines in both winter and summer formulations for different areas of the country etc. They also ship diesel in the same pipeline and instead of using a divider, (a pig), the gas and diesel intermix. So what happens at the delivery point is a computer tells them when the intermixed region of petroleum is coming and its drained and sold to people who can use intermixed gas and diesel. This is the same way they ship premium, silver and regular gas also.