At the pump
Shut the engine off and put out any cigarette. Pay with a credit card if you can, since stations often place a hold of $100 or more on a debit account for a few days.
- Open the filler door, which on some cars needs a release lever near the driver's seat, and unscrew the cap if there is one.
- Touch bare metal on the car body to discharge static before you lift the nozzle.
- Select the grade, seat the nozzle fully in the filler neck and squeeze the handle, which latches open on most pumps.
- Stay beside the car while it fills, since sliding back across the seat rebuilds a static charge.
- Let the pump click off by itself, wait two seconds for the drips, and replace the nozzle and the cap. Do not squeeze in more after the click. Topping off can push liquid fuel into the vapor recovery system, which is an expensive repair. Turn the cap until it clicks, because a loose cap is a classic cause of a check-engine light.
Octane
The numbers on the buttons, usually 87, 89 and 91 or 93, measure resistance to engine knock, not power or cleanliness. If the manual or the filler door says premium is required, buy premium. If it says recommended, the engine will run safely on regular with a slight loss of performance. If it says regular, premium is money set on fire. Some mountain states sell 85 octane as regular, and most manufacturers tell you to use 87 anyway.
The wrong fuel
Diesel handles are often green, but the color is not standardized, so read the label. A diesel nozzle is too wide for most gasoline filler necks, while a gasoline nozzle fits a diesel car easily, and that is how most misfueling happens. E85 is for flex-fuel vehicles only, which are marked with a yellow cap or a badge. If you put the wrong fuel in, do not start the engine, not even to move the car. Have it towed and drained, which costs a few hundred dollars instead of a fuel system.
Card skimmers
Thieves fit hidden card readers to pumps. Choose a pump in view of the cashier, tug the card slot and walk away from anything loose or mismatched, and tap to pay where you can.
Note In New Jersey an attendant must pump your gas by law, so stay in the car and say the grade and the amount. Everywhere else, assume you are on your own.
