ncinirator

Mods move this thread if posted in wrong area, please.

Tonight I went to the Shell gas station, located at 3185 Crain Highway, Waldorf MD, to buy fuel.

Radley uses Shell premium, I started driving the car with it so I figured I would stick with it. I was on E, the fuel light was on and the range was like 25 miles to empty.

I use pump#6, start filling up and clicked the little lever thingy so that it was dispensing fuel at the slowest setting. I then leaned into my car to adjust the all season mats I have in the back. I could hear the fuel filling up in the tank.

I could hear the fuel rising to the top of the fill neck so I got out and reached for the pump handle at which time the tank over filled and the safety failed on the cut off. Gas spewed out onto my clothes and ALL over the rear quarter panel of my new TL .. I drove straight to the car wash, the one with the pressure washer wand...All I had was enought change for 2 mins of use. So I rinsed down the qaurter panel but when I run my finger accross I get this sludge sutff on my finger.

My buddy said it was petroleum and that later tomorow I should wash the car with soap and water then wax it. I sent out a e-mail to Shell.

I figure on taking it to a detail shop and sending Shell the bill. Any suggestions on what I should do with the paint and stuff?

csmeance

Use some citrius degreaser or mineral sprits to get that residue off, then wash. Next clay the area to make sure its gone. After than polish to get any scratches out and wax. I would post in the wash and wax section as there will be much more help.

Hi speed

iTrader: (3)

Oh my god, by no means should you put mineral spirts or paint thinner on you car. Just wash the car and re wax the area. This happens to people all the time and just strips the wax form the surface. You will do more damage with degreasers and paint thiners than the gas did. Also those high pressure sprayers at the coin wash places are very hard on the paint. Clay bar the car before waxing it but the most important job is waxing the surface.

darksom1

Do what Hi-speed said for the car, but in no way should you be after Shell about the bill! I know it sux, but there are signs posted, or should be, that you can't leave the pump unattended while pumping gas. Just saving you the time and trouble dawg!

06 Acura TL

yea man, coming from a family who owns a lot of stations, i've seen people ask to get reinburst for their outfits. the answer to all customers requst is, "sign states do not leave your car unattended" i would deff compound that quarter, buff and a nice coat of glaze, hell might as well do the entire car. goo luck bro

Jesstzn

Gas nor mineral spirits will hurt the paint ... some thinners and reducers will.

All you need to do is stop panicing ... slow down and wash your car and rewax the area. No need to clay. If you rubbed it all down with paper or rags you might have marred the area and a polishing out by somone who knows what they are doing might be in order.

The residue your getting is the gas lifting off the dirt, brake dust and road grime.

People panic when they do this and wipe the car down with the available paper towels thus grinding the crud on the fender into the paint marring the hell out of it.

Unless you know what your doing stay away from compound as you'll create more trouble than your solving.

The area ring you see on some cars from this isn't paint damage .. the gas dissolves the deposits on the paint surface floating them to the outer area and when the gas evaporates it deposits the stuff in a ring. Removal may take a good cleaner wax or a polish.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

u shouldn't have anything to worry about... a little bit of gas will always run or drop off the cap and run down the side of your car... just wash it thouroughly with soap... and then wax the area... u will be fine...

JDM5lugHatch

It's happened to me a few times as well. I usually grab some napkins and dip it in the windshield water bucket to wipe it down until I can get a chance to better wash and wax the are. The gas strips any way it may have on it right off.

Jesstzn

Your better off to carry a bottle of QD spray and a few M/F towels with you ... like I posted above even if your car is clean the towels will mar the paint. The QD and M/F are also good for taking off bird crap soon as it hits to prevent marring.

Best thing to do id just leave it alone and wash it at home and rewax. Your not going to save the wax that was on it anyway .. its instantly gone.

JDM5lugHatch

Not true. I used to detail cars on the side and I have never f'ed up my paint by wetting the napkins at the filling stations to clean off spilled fuel. If they are dry you will as I do agree with that. I also agree that you should wash and wax it as soon as possible but then again I already said that.

Am I the only person whom hates Microfiber towels? I would never use them anywhere other than the interior of my car. They trap in particles no matter how careful I am with them and or how many times I wash them. Had 1 too many bad experiences with them. I will stick with good old terry towels.

ncinirator

Thanks for the info. It was more than run off from the cap. It was a guiser. I did not leave the pump unattended. I was next to it, reaching for it to stop it. Had I been holding the pump this still would have happened becuase the automatic stop was not working, maybe not as much gas would have gotten on the car.

I'll wash and rewax the area at work today. I'll use what ever wax I have left from my car care days to get by until the next good detail I can do. As far as the pressure washer, I rinsed the car off with what was comming out of the nozzle with out squeezing the handle. I used the pressure in the compartment where the fuel cap is.

Thanks again for the posts, I'll admit to a little panic as I have only had the car for about 3 weeks now.

lusid

Jesstzn details car's too, I'd take his word over yours. But thats me personally.

JDM5lugHatch

Jesstzn

You either had cheap towels .. poorly cared for towels ... M/F towels have specific purposes depending on the towel .. Plush ones ( 16 x 16 etc ) are for wax/sealant removal the Big Blues and WW are for drying .. the cheap WalMArt withe/bule ones for interior/door edge cleaning.

If your marring your cars with M/F towels then its a cheap towel or your car wasn't cleaned in the washing/drying process.

Anyway ... the RP got his info .

JDM5lugHatch

Nope good MF towels. Bought them off autopia. Either way not a fan of them. I take excellent care of everything I own so that's not the problem. Also know how to wash my cars properly and thoroughly without doing any damage to the paint as well.

and you're right he did.....

ililillilillilil

I avoid getting gas on my car but it happens
and I've used mineral spirits on my paint for clening
it never caused a problem.
but is gas really bad for the paint?

JDM5lugHatch

Yep, it strips wax. If it is a regular occurance and the owner doesn't take care of the paint ie. waxing then it will eventually eat it's way through the clear coat. Ever notice on older cars there may only be 1 really dull spot on the car and that is usually at the gas tank area. It was like that on a civic hatch I bought. Paint was so so throughout and really needed some TLC but the rear quarter just below the gas cap the paint was all faded and rough where the clear had been completely eaten away by spilled gas and a non caring previous owner.

01tl4tl

Gas eats wax

The SHELL station indeed owes you a detail job reimburement

the SAFETY shutoff is a fill level limit- that HAS to be working on every auto gas pump in the nation, or the station is in deep shite with the State Air Resources Board over that matter- report the station to the State l- pumps are inspected and certified and you found a loser- advise the authorities now~~~~

Imagine the elderly lady who has the same experience and is soaked in gas with a nozzle still spraying wildly and panic sets in- just as you pull your TL into the station and get soaked in fuel

ncinirator

+1

xen-cuts

I usually light the excess on fire to burn it off.

Seriously, dood, just be gentle with your marginal acura paint job. You will be fine! Work on that and not on bothering Shell...

ncinirator

Shell replied today, they are going to be the mediator between myself and the station involved. They want to know how much the detailing service is going to cost and the cost of my shoes....Heres the kicker, they also asked if I knew it was a safety hazard to walk away from the pump while pumping.

I clearly told them I was next to the pump, reaching for it when it happened AND that if I was standing directly in front of the pump, instead of off to the side, I would have gotten sprayed in the face, then they would be communicating with my law firm, Dewey-Cheathem and Howe. I should ask them if they know its a safety hazard to have pumps in operation with faulty or broken shut off's.

01tl4tl

BOTHER SHELL !!!!!

DUDE we are talking about the shut off safety mechanism THEY are required to make sure is working
If its not working- thats bad- ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE
There is NO requirement you stay at the nozzle while fueling
you are CAUTIONED- always touch the bare metal side of the fuel pump BEFORE
you touch the nozzle
Even notice every pump is bare aluminum siding?- allows you to gound any static to its system- lest YOU be the ground wire
When you get in and out of the car and walk around washing windows- you create static charge on yourself- even better if wearing nylon jacket or nylon pants
Ever get a spark to your finger when you close the door?

Whats that? Call for Mr Franklin- your kite is ready!!

evantec

In some states concerned about air-quality (New Jersey, New York, probably California), the gas hoses have a 2nd wider hose around them to capture vapors. They have had these for easily the past 15 years. If you don't have a good seal from the hose the the tank, the gas simply won't pump. Similarly, when the gas tank is full (or when the vapor kicks-back and the sensor thinks it is full), it stops pumping.

When you get accustomed to these kind of pumps and you go to another area WITHOUT them (like Florida, upstate NY, etc), you can get the same kind of surprise you had, where the gas does NOT stop pumping when the tank is full.

That doesn't sound like it happened to you, because it looks like you are from MD and so was the gas station. But I had an experience like that once in northern VA, and wound up trashing a pair of sneakers that smelled like 93 octane.

I also had an experience locally where a gas station owner let his kid pump the gas into my old car, and it spilled all over. This was pre-Acura, but I was still unhappy. Luckily it wasn't too much and after a night of airing-out, it was OK.

But since then, I've learned 2 things:
1- Watch out for pumps without the vapor hoses.
2- Don't let kids pump gas.

I realize that there is probably a child somewhere on the boards who will take offense at (2) and who might pump competently. (It's not like this is a common problem - child-labor laws tend to discourage it anyway.)

In all fairness I've also had service-station attendants who do a bad job too (NJ is full-service only).

And finally, I know of people so incompetent that they have driven away from the gas station with the hose still in the car. (Besides the obvious question, it makes you wonder how much they paid if they weren't done pumping!)

Hopefully the water got the damage undone and the fuel just evaporated. Then it's just a matter of possibly restoring a coating of wax, clear-coat and-or paint, depending on the depth of the damage (if any). Sometimes you can make a minor problem worse by fixing it.

New Car TL-S

you're lucky most people i see at the pumps are still smoking and talking on their cell. imagine the lawsuit Dewey-Cheathem and Howe could pursue if they ignited because they didn't heed the "caution".

hmmm, be careful of your next hot coffee...just in case the lid is on facing the other way and you can't read the warning upside down.

my first negative post, and I'm sorry, but suck it up...no one was hurt and your car will be fine. yes the mechanism failed and they will fix that thanks to you...so i guess you did good through all this? again sorry for the neg.

evantec

I'm a little surprise anyone is still using Shell gasoline, after the problem they had a few years ago. I know of some people whose cars were damaged by fuel problems. It sounds like the gasoline damaged their fuel gauges, among other things.

More details are here, or elsewhere:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com...ettlement.html

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

or the gas cap hanging on a string and flinging around as they drive away. i saw that last week.

Jesstzn

Now we are talking extreems .. my point being that an occasional spill has zero effect ... and it doesn't .. most peoples ractions to it are worse than the event itself.

Come on .. I didn't fall off the turnip truck last nite .. I have been detailing cars for over 40 years .. seen it all .. fixed most.

JDM5lugHatch

I could care less if you have been detailing 10 mins to 60 years. The simple fact is gasoline left on a vehicles paint finish without being cleaned up is going to have more of a negative effect than if it had.

I know mine was an "extreme" case yet it is more common around here on older cars than you may think. I never said that it would happen over night. Gasoline will in fact eat through your layer of wax protection the longer it sits on there. That and repeated neglect by non-caring owners is what leads to these type of "extreme" cases. However, most of the people involved in online car forums care more about their cars than the average every day commuter. Hence the reason a situation like the "extreme" would pretty much be irrelevent to a great deal of the online car community.

My

01tl4tl

ANY fuel nozzle with a locking mechanism that allows it to be ON without the operator, aka "deadman switch" holding it open,

MUST have an automatic shutoff system in place and working

has nothing to do with the vapor recovery hose- seperate issue

Dont get me started on fueling safety- I worked with airplane gas and things that go BOOM if you make a mistake
I am installing a ground strap for the TL -pics when done- dont ask- there was a thread last winter about it

ncinirator

Funny you mention the hot coffee thing, dunkin doughnuts sent me cuopons for free coffee for six months after a drive thru teller tried to hard boil my balls by trying to hand me a coffee cup with the lid half way put on. When she handed me the cup the pressure from her squeezing it causing the lid to pop off and she spilled every bit of onto mr. happy

With that said, I dont expect any type of superior service from someone making $5.00 an hour, I dont get how folks at McDonalds go off when their order is not right, but damn how much common sense does one need to put a lid on a pipping cup of java before handing it off?

I see your point about sucking it up, but gas stations make a ton of money, even with the cost of a barrel of oil fluctauting the big oil companies are reporting gains every year. Executives and the like making BILLIONS and they cant have a pump operate correctly? Gimme a break.

Jesstzn

....

TLin05

1st, there's nothing wrong with Shell's gasoline. The only objective criteria on gasoline that I'm aware of is the "top tier" designation, and Shell has that. Here's the current list:
"TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline Retailers

Gasoline retailers must meet the high TOP TIER standards with all grades of gasoline to be approved by the automakers as providing TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline. In addition, all gasoline outlets carrying the brand of the approved retailer must meet the TOP TIER standards.

Additional gasoline retailers are added to the TOP TIER list as they meet the standards. The retailers known to be on the TOP TIER list are shown below.

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:

QuikTrip
Chevron
Conoco
Phillips
76
Shell
Entec Stations
MFA Oil Company
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Chevron-Canada
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Company
Shell-Canada
Texaco
Petro-Canada
Sunoco-Canada"

2nd, I thing the original poster erred by "setting the little lever thingy so that it was dispensing fuel at the slowest setting..." That's why signs on many pumps admonish customers not to "top off." The auto-stop doesn't always work reliably at that setting.

xen-cuts

On a related note, have any of you gotten that Acura warranty on your paint job? They spray some polymer on the car and guarantee your paint and interior for life, but it costs you $700ish. My dealer keeps talking to me about it.

Type-Superman

look on the bright side...at least you've got a full tank of gas.

prob only a couple cents, but if the shut off wasn't working, you could bill shell for the exess gas spilled out.

Jesstzn

Watch this very close .. I doubt they spray it .. more like apply it and its usually a sealant like some good detailers use.

Ask the dealer if a bird craps on your hood and it etches into the clear coat will they repaint the panel? Same if sap etches the paint or acid rain .. etc etc . Also ask if you are obligated to have them put on follow up layers.


Ask him to read the fine print to you telling you whats not covered under it .. Do the words Limited Warranty apear any where?

New Car TL-S

they tried to rope me into that too...they said they require i have them fully detail the car in 3yrs or its void. also tried to get me into a "tire+wheels" warranty. NOPE.

xen-cuts

i feel like the tire/wheel warranty is not terrible. That is also $700. I drove over a piece of vehicle in the road this week and it went THROUGH my rim. I expected that the rim would cost a lot, but turns out my tires also cost a small fortune, too. I think the warranty would have covered this completely.

T Ho

One spill of gas on the paint won't cause permanent damage, particularly since it's relatively new. Wash the area with soap and water, rewax, and it'll be fine.

Detailing? Something I've learned- NO ONE will care about your car like you do. *YOU* can easily take care of this in 20 minutes- is it really worth the hassle otherwise?

If they'll buy you new shoes, and ensure that the pump is looked at, that sounds like an equitable solution. Report it to the state board as a means of ensuring the pump gets handled.

If you decide to play hardball, they could, too. They'll most certainly have the station vids to fully corroborate your story. Are you up for that sort of scrutiny?

FWIW, I've noticed that the safety shut-off can be quite unreliable on the slowest setting, because the backpressure that it senses builds much more slowly. If you were using that, and weren't holding the nozzle in fully, that could partially explain why it didn't shut off.

Lastly, it's getting to be winter. Don't take your hand off the pump nozzle unless you want to test the static electricity that day.

ncinirator

Speaking of warranties- Anyone purchase the extended warranty & then find out the purchased warranty is from a third party. The finance guy talked me into a warranty by telling me that the chip in the navi may fail and if it does after the warranty expires I'm out $$1500.00 to get it fixed. I figured I'm keeping the car for a while so I agreed. A few days later I read the warranty, it is covered by a third party & in the fine print (which I did not read ) it says the literature on the coverages will be mailed out to me within 3 weeks of purchase.

I think I was dooped

Jesstzn

They catch you at a weak moment to get thier cut of the warranty fees and you'll find later that there is so much fine print the salesman didn't tell you about. Its called "Limited Warranty"