I have never turned my vehicle off while pumping gas in my life and have yet to have an issue. Especially coming from a Northern state where it gets pretty cold you see a lot of people doing the same thing. What is the potential risk or is it all just a myth?
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“everytime I load my gun I look down the barrel, and I haven’t been shot yet. Is this dangerous or just a myth that you’d get shot?”
Sorry if this seems a little rude, but why even risk it? Your engine creates an electrical charge along with just producing heat from friction, and that can ignite the fuel with the right air mixture. The cars around you are far enough away that it’s not as much a risk for you, but your own car is directly connected to your gas tank, and is open while you’re fueling.
This is one of those events in risk management that is low-probability, high-damage potential. This means that although the chance of it occurring is low, the potential damage is catastrophic.
One of the risks is a spark igniting fuel vapors in or around the car. Although pump-to-car connections are relatively secure, they aren’t sealed, so some vapor will be produced outside of the vehicle. The vast majority of times, there won’t be a spark. But if there is, you’ll probably need a good eugoogolizer.
In aviation, it is usually forbidden to gravity refuel aircraft on deck while the engines are running. Pressure refueling is considered acceptable if the pump and aircraft receptacle are designed for it as the more secure connection minimizes vapor build up. Even helicopters which are monsters of static electricity can pressure refuel with engines and rotor spinning.
Even ignoring the whole gas station aspect for a minute, idling your fuel injected gasoline engine unnecessarily is bad for:
Your fuel injected gasoline engine.
Your health.
Your bank account.
The environment.
Factoring in the gas station, yes, you could start a fire. There’s also a risk of your car deciding to leave without you (gearshift gets bumped, parking pawl fails, what have you); not very likely, but even less likely if the engine is off.
Regardless, as others have said, I’ve never seen anyone leave their engine running while gassing up, even at negative temperatures plus windchill. I’ve also never seen any of those same people freeze to death. Just follow the law and wear a coat, idk
1. It’s just not your car, there could be several cars all running simultaneously while fueling. That certainly introduces completely unnecessary risk of fire.
2. Cars do not like running while the gas tank is open, it fucks with the pressure sensors
3. A car idling is a car at risk of moving because some idiot forgot to apply the parking break. A runaway car at a gas station is not a good situation at all.
4. Did you think of theft? If you were fueling your car up while running I could very, very, very easily steal you car without even trying
All of the responses saying that fueling a car while it is running is stupid are correct IMO. That said, it is significantly less stupid and dangerous than it was years ago due to modern fuel pumps and gas tank openings which are designed to recapture as much gasoline vapor as possible (for, I’m pretty sure, environmental protection reasons). Very little gasoline vapor is released today compared to when I was young (when you would ALWAYS smell gasoline when you were refueling).
In europe and asia I have never ever saw a single person pumping gas with the engine on …
Couple of other things not necessarily mentioned.
If your car is not running and it were to come out of park (automatic) and into anything but neutral, the running engine practically guarantees that you are going to rip the hose, which will spill lots of gasoline.
Also, the rule have to be there for everyone. You mentioned that other cars next to your in several of your replies. Imagine you pulled into a gas station and forgot which side of the car the gas door is located on, but no biggie because the pump has a really long hose (like CostCo), and you are filling up your car and a hot rod enthusiast pulls up next to you at the pump so their hood is relatively close to where you are standing, and they have their car running and the driver is pumping gas, and the passenger opens the hood to check the oil. Would you be more or less likely to wish their engine were shut off? Would it make you feel safer if they rev up the engine several times because they thought they hard someting?
Same thing with an engine backfiring (on the car in front of you), is it common? No. But can it happen if the car is running? Also no.
Same thing with a motorcycle with exposed and hot exhaust pipes.
Car are so much safer than they used to be. The risks are much smaller, but the risks are still there.
Cars generate sparks. Those sparks are normally constrained safely inside the engine cylinders, but if you have faulty plug wires they can arc outside the engine.
Pumping with the car off reduces the risk of fire by some unknown amount. Maybe a low amount that you don’t need to worry about and maybe not. After all, everything is 100% safe until it isn’t.
While the potential risk is very small, you likely won’t be around for a 2nd chance if you ever have an issue.
Basically, the consequences of failure are so high (likely fatal) that being way overly cautious makes sense. It’s simply not worth the risk.
It’s just common sense you know. “I have yet to have an issue” are like famous last words because if you do get an issue, it’s gonna be the big one, let alone possibly the last one.
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