Turn off your car when at the gas pump, or else it will explode. Apart from not putting diesel in your petrol car, this is the first lesson you learn when you get behind the wheel. Although brief, the lesson strikes fear into the hearts of almost every young driver, ensuring that all cars at the gas station must be turned off. But how true is it really? Is filling gasoline or diesel with the car running a danger or a myth?
Fill in petrol or diesel with the car running! Danger or myth?
You should never leave your car running when you’re filling up on gas, so let’s start by clarifying that. When your vehicle is running, it produces heat and electricity, which are the last things you want to come into contact with gasoline, which is highly flammable. Although gas pumps use a clever way to close the pump handles, they are still covered in particles that can easily ignite.
It’s not a surefire recipe for disaster, but all it takes is for those vapors to come into contact with your catalytic converter, which produces heat. Likewise, any electrical fault, such as a faulty spark plug, can easily create a spark and ignite gasoline vapors. Therefore, unless you know the exact condition of each part of your car – which is highly unlikely – you should always turn off the vehicle before refueling.
Other things to avoid when filling up with gasoline
Although turning off your car is undoubtedly the first thing you should do before filling up with gas, there are many other things you shouldn’t do at the gas pump to avoid an explosion.
Do not repeatedly enter and exit your vehicle. Just like leaving your car running, this builds up static electricity. In the worst case scenario, electricity can jump from your hand to the gas pump, causing a spark and igniting the gasoline. In a study, the Petroleum Equipment Institute found that the build-up of static electricity when re-entering a vehicle caused almost 50% of gas station fires. So, although everyone knows to turn off the car before refueling, getting in and out of the vehicle can be equally – if not more – dangerous. To avoid this, touch a metal surface before picking up the pump. This will discharge any remaining static electricity.
Turning off all charging accessories also ensures that your car does not produce electricity while refueling. This can be easily overlooked, but even with the vehicle turned off, some accessories – particularly those with frayed wires – continue to store energy within them. Although it is very unlikely to cause significant problems, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
