The Gas Station Habit Mechanics Warn Could Wreck Your Car

I'll admit it, this is something I've been guilty of as long as I've been driving. But in my defense, it started with my parents who also always filled the gas tank as full as it could go.

This apparently is a habit that can wreak havoc with your vehicle. But who knew? Not me, that's for sure.

Go ahead and google it, I dare you.

Overfilling your gas tank can cause a whole bunch of bad things to happen. From fouling your spark plugs to trouble starting your vehicle, to needing expensive repairs on your fuel evaporative system (EVAP), and of course, the scary "check engine light" might just come on and really ruin your day!

Autotrader.com advises us to let the gas pump do the work for us. When it clicks off, don't continue pumping gas. The additional gas could cause a bunch of the problems previously mentioned.

One of the most expensive is needing to replace your EVAP system. This prevents gas fumes from escaping into the atmosphere and while it's really good at filtering the fumes, it can't handle liquid gas that might get into it and could fail. That could mean up to a $500 repair, according to Repair Pal.

So obviously in the case of filling your gas tank - less is more. This is going to be a hard test for me. It makes me wonder if this bad habit caused some past car issues.

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I have to fill up the gas tank today and I'll be listening for that first click, but I'll definitely skip the second!

Source: Autotrader and Repairpal.com