this is on the 5th gen forum but they arent answering the questions...they are just getting into opinion.....IS IT A FACT THAT TAKING OFF THE GAS CAP WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING WILL TRIP A SES CODE OR EVAP VENT CONTROL VALVE CODE?

 

I do this all the time. It does nothing. Technically you can explode but sometimes its too cold and pumps are too slow.

I haven't exploded yet so I'd say its not bad.

 

nah i dont think its bad for the car, i dont see how it could be. but yeah there is that rumor that u could blow the place up but i dono if its tru. i work at a gas station and my customers leave their cars running all the time, i havent blown up yet in the three years i been workin there. only thing i notice that is bad about leaving ur car on while fueling is that people sometimes forget that the car is still fueling and leave while its still pumping, lol.

 

i think in order to trip the check engine light, it has to be off for an extended amount of time. however, i am pretty sure most, if not all, gas stations have signs requiring you turn the engine off before pumping. i turn it off everytime personally...

 

It's it a law to shut off your engine while refueling?
Other than that, I won't think it would do much mechanically.

 

Its just a bad idea. Just keep the engine off.

 

I'm not sure on max's but on other cars if you refuel while running you can trip a EVAP Code. That's why Ford started to put a " Fuel Cap Off " Light on the dash.

 

yes some cars mostly GMs and Fords will trip a CEL or SEL code for EVAP leak or something.....jsut a pain in the ***.....shut off the car

 

I hear it can cause vapor lock... But I may be wrong.

 

Don't be stupid, just turn off the damn car. You might be endagering your, or even worse, other peoples' lives for your laziness.

 

The worst is when people smoke while fueling.

 

Uhm...maybe I missed something, but how is this endangering lives? I've heard of cigs lighting up vapors; static electricity from re-entering the car...sure, but leaving it running? How does this make any sense?

 

i work at a gas station, nothing but trouble with people smoking/leaving car running. I dont really see how keeping the car running will cause the car to blow up or create a fire but if you cant stand outside for 5 mins in the cold you need to check your self. Plus the smoking, ive made kids leave that would give me problems. I have walked outside and hit cigs out of punks hands before, i also take jujistu and wouldnt tell everyone to do this but i take no gut from those swine.

 

Personally I always leave the car on, normally I get gas first thing and the gas station is pretty near my house, so I leave it on so the car warms up (cause the highway on ramp is right next to the gas station.) I've had my max three years and have never turned it off while fueling, haven't exploded yet.

 

Didnt Mythbusters prove that this was just a Myth. im 98% positive it will never hurt your car

 

I think that episode of Mythbusters covered the cell phone, smoking and static. I don't believe I've ever heard this particular myth before...probably because it makes less sense than the cell phone one.

 

hurt my car...most likely not...however could it trip a CEL? I keep getting the evap canister code at infrequent mileage sometimes over 1000miles before i reset and thats way over the 3 sucessful trips for emissions control. People are telling me its because I leave the cap off while I refuel...and it de-pressurises the system and trips the EVAP code..im calling BS..but if someone can give me some hard evidence and not thier opinion it would be most helpful.

Please dont suggest any other advice for replacing the canister and valve I know all about it all too well...do your best guys to give me the science behind it and thanks for replying to my post!

 

Just to be on the safe side, I always shut the car off. I'm not sure of the history behind it but it had to be something serious.

 

i dont think it will hurt the car but they say with the car running you can cause static electricity which can ignite the fuel. plus if the fire commisioner happens to see this its a 1,000 fine, now that hurts.

 

That's pretty damn funny. I'm in Georgia right now and we have some rednecks who think they can do anything they want. Like drive in the left lane doing 15mph.

There have been instances where people have gone back into their car and when they came out, let out a static electricity spark igniting the fuel vapor around the nozzle.

Then they panic, and this is where the real problem begins. Instead of pushing the emergency stop, they pull the nozzle out of the car and ignited fuel goes EVERYWHERE.

I just had to reply because that line reminded me of the scene from Napolean Dynamite.

 

That makes a ton of sense. When refueling aircraft, you have to ground the plane to the fuel truck, then ground the truck to a metal hook embedded to the pavement to prevent a static spark.

 

Gasoline. Volaticity by volume equals 100%. It is highly explosive down to - 40 degrees. Vapors are heavier than air and can travel considerable distances to a source of ignition. What you will see then is something that looks cool but is very bad. Flashback! A "WOOSH" kinda thing. It's so fast you won't know what hit you. We call them crispy cridders. No doubt the conditions have to be right. POTENTIALLY explosive vapor mixtures can form at the right tempreature and a few other things have to fall in line for there to be a flash back from gasoline but the thing is...it can happen. So take it from your ol' pal Fireman Ron. Turn your MAxima off at the pump. They don't put signs up to be mean, there is a true hazard. And also that smokey stuff that comes out of your tail pipe stinks.

 

And take it from me: Coast up to the pump with the engine off, and push it a safe distance away when you're done filling! A running engine could POTENTIALLY ignite the vapors!

 

When you open your tank you lose pressure. If I had a beater I would let it run but since this is my max I always turn it off just because.

 

I guess people are used to leaving their cars on, or are they that lazy? just because someone might see a deisel vehicle do it, doesn't mean a gas vehicle should, of course with deisel you can drop a cigarette in it and it won't ignite, I turn my car off, I also wear seat belts too, I dunno maybe I'm actually try to be SAFE.

 

you can drop a cigarete in gas and it wont ignite either,the fumes are what ignite not the fuel itself.
the reason for shutting off your motor is back in the day when cars first came out the fuel tank was in the front of the car between the motor and windshield,not a good place,those cars had points which make a spark and no plug caps like today.needless to say it was very dangerous to fill a car back then todays cars niether have the tank in front or points,i have two nissans fill em up while they are running,unless the kids are in the car.might drive off.

 

check out this even cell phones can trigger an explosion while pumping gas.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar...y/aa062399.htm

 

all of this is reminding me of a scene from the movie zoolander where they have a gasoline fight then decide to smoke cigarettes right after. hilarious

 

well you could catch on fire. if you have cloth seats, and you get out of your car, you create a static charge. when you begin refueling this discharge could possible ignite the gasoline. especially in the winter, wait in their cars when the car is refueling because it's too cold. but in any case, its extremely rare that igniting would happen anyway

 

You will see a service engine soon light soon,my brother never shut off the car and he got the service light on

 

I always shut it off, if not for me is for my family...
I just don't want to take the risk and see if i blow up or not...

 

Try it with your wife in the car and see what happens. Then she'll tell you how stupid it is and how stupid you are. And then she will tell you dad and he will tell you how stupid you are. It,s a snow ball thing. The next thing you know it's out of hand and everyone thinks your just plan stupid. It's a no brainer!

 

static ellectricity is more dangerous than leaving your car running
i would agree once the fire gets going your fubared. i have been in a flash fire(not from filling up my car) believe me it sucks, happens almost faster than you can shut your eyes.

 

What I don't understand is what's the danger of talking on a cell phone while fueling.

 

supposedly while talking on a cell phone, fuel vapors may build up around you and your gas tank as you are fueling your car (running or not). and as any electrical device, some may have a short, or even a small spark when you press a button that could lead to an explosion of all the fuel vapors around you... if you ask me, i think that is a thing of the past. anyone who knows anything about electrical circuit boards knows that today they are all coated and the buttons are sealed to prevent sparks/shorts.

as for the running car myth... i think shutting off your car is a requirement in some states due to the fact that their inspection standards do not require you to upgrade your fuel delivery system, because the old system did not have fuel feedback prevention. instead of putting a sign that says "vehicles made before 1980 shut engine off" they put one saying "shut engine off". i leave mine running when it is cold outside so i can jump back inside... when it is warm or i am going inside the station i turn the car off. fueling your car with the engine running does not cause explosions, unless sufficient amount of fuel vapor builds up around your engine where things like alternator and compressors may create a large enough spark to ignite the vapor. there is nothing in your fuel tank that will cause the explosion. fuel goes through a lot of valves, a pump, a filter, and injectors in order for the spark to reach the fuel vapors created by .... fueling your car???? that makes no sense. and the whole idea about losing pressure in your fuel tank is retarded. if you examine your fuel cap, it is a basic valve so that air may enter the fuel tank. when you open it, you are doing your fuel tank a favor. think about basic fluid dynamics. fuel goes to the engine - space is emptied in the tank - something is needed to refill it. that is why when you unscrew it, air is always sucked in.

the only thing i am really worried about is the static electricity when you touch your car.. but when i open my door, i always touch the metal frame and all static electricity built up from the cloth interior and my sneakers on the carpet is gone.

just dont smoke and refuel, that is pathetic.

 

ummm actuallly just wanted to know about the CEL? but thanks for all the input

 

sorry man, i told you all i know about the pressure in the fuel system. the pump pumps at the same rate whether the cap is off or not. i would call the factory customer relations and ask..

 

http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp

That pretty much sums up the cell phone issue...if the Mythbusters episode didn't settle it in your mind.

As for the static, I think it was that same Mythbusters episode where they scoped out the gas stations to discover why the static electricity thing seemed to happen primarily to young people; their hypothesis was interesting: Older people usually support themselves using the body of the car when exiting, thus discharging any static buildup; younger people usually don't do this.

 

i saw someone get fined for that with the refueling w.engine on

 

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