Hi, I just wanted to get some feedback.

Last nite I was driving out of the Costco gas station after filling up when my car suddenly became hard to start. Then when I get rolling, after letting off the accelerator my car just dies. Had to restart the motor again and it became hard to start. When I did get her running she felt like she was running to rich. Like I was flooding the engine with too much gas and eventually would die again after letting off the gas. Well my car died 5-6 times before I was able to pull into a parking lot and call for roadside. She's currently at the dealer and they are looking into it even though I couldn't reproduce it this morning. In any case, anyone have this prob? This is a new 2003 TL-S with 1725miles when it got to the dealer on tow truck.

update: Dealer thinks its cuz the car was too full of gas. Costco pumps in my area pump really slow and fills up the tank to the brim. Still a strange explaination but its the only one they have. Going to pick up the car in the evening.

2nd Update: Went to the dealer and they told me that while fueling do not top off and don't use Costco gas. I normally give it one extra pump before taking the nozzle out. Apparently the extra fuel got into the vapor recovery system for the car and messed up all the sensors causing miss fire and engine flooding. So they are going to replace the parts affected in the vapor system but parts are on back order for about 3 days (I guess a lot of ppl might have this prob than they thought would). At least I got a TL-P loaner car but I miss my Type-S

 

I'm not so sure if I buy that line from the mechanic. Does it run o.k. now? If it runs the same there may be something wrong with the crank/cam angle sensor. I'm not sure if our cars have one of these things or not but when it went bad on my Talon it did pretty much what yours is doing. Fortunatly it was something I could fix myself.

 

I use Costco gas almost exclusively in all three of my cars, and I've never had that problem. I know MANY MANY of my friends who also use it with no problems. Note that the actual source of Costco gas varies by location, and is based on who they have a deal with, among the local suppliers. There really is no such thing as "Costco" brand gasoline.

Raw fuel in the vapor recovery system can be a problem. Does your mechanic KNOW there was fuel in the vapor system, or is this the best "out of my ass" explanation he could give you? I'm betting on the latter.

Topping off is not only bad for your car, but can be bad for the environment, too. The likelihood of a small spillage is pretty high when trying to sqeeze in every last drop. Why bother, for what typically amounts to <5 miles of additional driving on that tank.

Todd