r/whatisit • u/One_Gift480 • 15h ago
Solved! Does this look like someone stole / siphoned gas from us?
I had the car washed just a few days prior to this. After this picture, I went to the gas station, and there was a little bit of liquid (gas?) on top of the capless gas "cap" when I opened the fuel door. I don't know what else it could be.
1.2k
u/NoPenalty2737 15h ago
When you went to the car wash, some water got behind the gas door and washed out some combination of water, gas and dirt as you drove.
450
u/One_Gift480 14h ago
You're right, this is exactly what happened. That inner gas cap area is a dirt trap too.
85
u/NuklearFerret 14h ago
Also, gas wouldn’t have stayed liquid long enough to still be wet at all, unless it was insanely cold.
23
u/chrispy_pv 7h ago
Ok unrelated... was scrolling through different subreddit and recognized your picture. You commented on my crown post 😂 small world (wide web)
16
15
u/Zombieking2357 14h ago
Good idea to get a locking one though.
7
u/Capable_Event720 14h ago
Doesn't the flap lock automatically with the car doors?
7
u/beeju-d 13h ago
I accidentally clicked your profile and got jump scared by the pubg pic tht popped up lol, I was like hold up where the fuck am I?
3
u/Capable_Event720 13h ago
Pretty much the same reaction when I encountered that in-game. I guess someone must have glitched with the skin when the player got killed while climbing through the window.
I don't know how it's done in PUBG, but back in the days, when you modeled a skin with a skirt (or an elaborate hairdo, or overly long ponytails), you modeled additional bones which are attached to the skeleton and keep the skirt in shape. The things we see might be an attachment point for some clothing item (which, thanks to the glitch, didn't get rendered).
2
7
u/NoInevitable9810 14h ago
You can’t siphon gas from a modern car.
13
u/FraxxPilot003 14h ago
Thats what a gas siphoner targeting modern cars would say… i know ur gatekeeping buddy.
3
u/SheikYobooti 8h ago
My gas was recently siphoned or stolen in a rental. Pulled in to the hotel with 1/4 tank of gas. Sat for a few days. Went to leave and car wouldn’t start. It was below E. Had a car full of teens and 10 mi from nearest gas station. It sucked.
Supposedly it’s difficult to steal modern cars today too, but those are defeated all the time.
2
2
u/chief_beef_the_third 47m ago
You definitely can, just need the right hose.
The gas filler neck has a simple metal screen to block hoses from reaching down into the gas tank, however, the holes in the screen are fairly large. It looks like a bathtub drain but with bigger holes.
If you get a firm narrow hose, like the ones refrigerators use for coolant, you can snake it past the screen and you're good to go.
0
u/Drakjira 10h ago
My cordless drill and catch can beg to differ my guy...
3
u/NoInevitable9810 9h ago
That is not siphoning, you’re talking about drilling the tank. Completely different
3
2
u/Sugary-cupcake 4h ago
OP I don't know if you'll read this, but I gotta say it's oddly satisfying to read a genuinely curious post, a simple and concise answer in the comments, and then a nice respectful acknowledgement by OP and none of it devolved into name calling or sarcasm. 😆 It's just nice to see the process work as intended I guess.
1
1
u/AttilaTheStig 7h ago
It almost impossible to siphon gas (via the filler neck) from a modern car because there is often a mesh screen that prevents such a thing in the filler neck its self.
1
1
u/UncleBenji 13h ago
Actually you’re 100% wrong but as someone who owns a suburban I can tell you why. There’s an anti-siphon flap in the fill neck.
They either spilled gas on the vehicle and tried to wipe it up (clearly wipe marks) or they were trying to put in a fuel system cleaner without using a funnel. You need a long neck like a fuel pump or a funnel to get past the second flap. That’s why our SUVs have a funnel in the tool area with the spare tire jack.
110
u/Marlowe_Eldridge 15h ago
Did you have less gas without driving?
85
u/teflon_soap 15h ago
Holy shit I found Sherlock Holmes’s anon reddit account!!!!
7
3
u/One_Gift480 15h ago
Honestly I didn't notice, because I'm constantly driving three kids around to sports and school. My adhd doesn't like to pay attention to the gas until the warning light comes on.
4
u/Tiptoedtulips666 15h ago
You might want to what consider getting your tank filled when you're at a quarter of a tank, and don't go below that.. Otherwise, you're looking in a very expensive repair for a new fuel pump, which lives, by the way, in your gas tank.
1
1
u/PerilousPeppercorn 14h ago
People say this but I’ve never met anyone who actually faced this repair. And I’ve put well over 100k miles on a car without following this advice. I’d love to see an actual citation with some frequency data on this claim.
0
u/_YenSid 14h ago
When the gas pump isn't submerged it works harder and gets hotter, shortening it's life-span. I have no citation for this information other than that's how it works. A fuel pump can last as long as the vehicle does in some cases, or 100k miles (or less) in other cases. Why risk having to replace it prematurely when getting gas at 1/4 tank can prevent that from happening? You have to get gas anyway, why wait until empty?
1
u/lanswyfte 13h ago
Sometimes it's a a matter of money--- can't buy gas without money, and not everyone has credit cards.
And sometimes it's a matter of not knowing that's something that can concern them.
I certainly didn't know that, because I don't understand how a car works, other than you put the key in the ignition, right foot on the brake, and turn the key forward to start the engine, etc. I also know that if the vehicle runs too low on oil, the engine will seize up, and if the radiator gets too low on water, the vehicle will overheat and stop running, possibly not before causing irreparable damage to other important parts.
-1
15h ago
[deleted]
3
2
1
u/One_Gift480 15h ago
Really? Dang it. I didn't know that.
3
u/BullpupPewPew 15h ago
Try to make it a habit to not go below 1/4 tank. In most modern cars, the fuel pump is inside the fuel tank and the fuel is what keeps the fuel pump cool and operating properly.
1
u/lanswyfte 13h ago
How modern is "modern?" Just curious, because both my father and step-father always try to give me car advice (step-dad had his own car repair business for most of my life--- I'll be 58 years old soon!), and that's something neither of them has told me.
2
u/BullpupPewPew 12h ago
Widespread adoption of in tank fuel pumps began in the mid 80s. When we started moving to fuel injection over carburetors.
Will your fuel pump definitely go out sooner if you consistently let your fuel light come on? Honestly probably, but I don’t know of major studies. I do know that the presence of fuel is essential to cool in tank fuel pumps though.
0
15h ago
[deleted]
1
-2
51
u/TrickyTechnician685 15h ago
Gas doesn’t stay a liquid for too long if not contained. I’d be more worried somebody put something foreign into your tank.
1
1
1
96
u/NiceTrySuckaz 15h ago
Honestly of all options as to what someone did there, I'd hope it was siphoning gas.
30
u/Fresh_Salt7087 15h ago
Right. Stealing some gas would be better issue than tank being topped off with sugar, water, diesel etc
8
u/devoduder 15h ago
17
u/Vaff_Superstar 15h ago
How many bananas is he gonna shove in there?
3
u/81amarok 15h ago
More then I was willing to find out. I was already up to like 100 before I seen your reply smh.
4
1
9
3
9
7
u/Professional_Wasabi8 15h ago
If it's a newer car, it's harder than it used to be to siphon gas. I tried to siphon some from my 2013 durango, and i couldn't do it, because there is some sort of anti siphon mechanism inside, preventing anything too big from entering the tank. You can still do it with some finagling, if you have a very thin hose or special pump
3
u/One_Gift480 15h ago
Ok. It's a 2018 so it should have that.
1
u/Ok-Implement4608 3h ago
There's usually a mesh to prevent hoses from being inserted, and there usually one-way valves which main purpose is to stop fuel flow during a roll over, but it also prevents fuel from being siphoned.
8
u/SingularityII 15h ago
The most obvious explanation is that a little gas spilled while pumping.
Did you notice any missing gas?
1
u/One_Gift480 15h ago
No, but I'm not great at paying attention to that. I did fill the gas before the previous car wash though.
9
u/ZLiteStar 15h ago
previous car wash
There's your answer. It's likely just some water and soap that was held in the fuel hose indent that sloshed out while you were driving.
So, probably soapy water, not gasoline.
2
u/One_Gift480 15h ago edited 15h ago
Oh, I think this is probably the answer.
Someone else pointed out that gas wouldn't still be liquid a few days later. So it had to be water on the gas cap. And then likely the crappy soap spray from the car wash. Solved!1
u/AutoModerator 15h ago
Thanks! Post flair has been updated to solved! Nice job people.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/BangkokPadang 15h ago
Yeah, kinda looks like some splashed and then caught on that "hip" of the sidepanel and they tried to wipe it off but it just smeared and then dripped more.
I really can't understand the recent move away from locking doors over the gas cap in cars lately. My mom has a 2023 Chevy and it's just a door that doesn't latch at all with a cap that doesn't lock.
You can get aftermarket gas caps that won't open without a small key (they're probably not robust enough to actually stop anyone but it might be enough to make someone move on to the next car).
3
u/monkeymmboy 14h ago
I’d start by smelling it tbh. Gas evaporates pretty quickly. I’d bet it’ll either smell like piss or sugar. Piss would be preferable in this scenario
2
u/Cranky_Katz 15h ago edited 15h ago
I notice a sort of flare around the top of the cover. Could the cover have been open and the gas cap off? That could have pulled some gas out we while you were driving.
Another possibility, do you top off your tank until you can’t add even a few more drops into the tank. This could cause pressure to build up as the gas gets warmer. That might spray gas out around the gas cap if not tight.
2
2
u/toxdoc1947 15h ago
I'd be less concerned about missing gas than something harmful added to the tank.
2
2
2
u/Iputahexonyoulol 15h ago
How did they get into your car and unlock it though?
2
2
0
1
u/OldBiker6969 15h ago
There's a check ball....they can't siphon
1
1
u/aretooamnot 15h ago
Do you continue to fill your tank after the auto stop happens?
1
u/One_Gift480 15h ago
No, I don't want to make a mess
1
u/aretooamnot 14h ago
Well, I asked, as that was a possible answer to your question. If you had filled, then over filled, and it’s hot out, the fuel will expand and “could” end up dribbling. Unlikely, but logical.
1
1
1
u/Jodileewilliams 14h ago
If your cap shorter has too be released from inside, your ok. Withe car wash or you overflow with gas. Let the hose shut itself off and don't top up.
1
1
u/AnnualAdditional2541 14h ago
That's not gas theft, those drip marks are coming from the seam above the gas door, not the cap itself, so it's just leftover dirty water or wax from the car wash that dripped down as it dried, and the bit of liquid on the cap when you opened it is normal too since capless gas doors trap some fuel vapor and moisture, especially right after filling up. If someone actually siphoned your gas you'd notice your tank way lower than normal, maybe a gas smell, or the flap looking pried open or damaged, not just a stain and a drop of liquid.
1
1
14h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 14h ago
Please don't use that word here.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/UncleBenji 13h ago
Not even close.
Your SO spilled gas and used a paper towel to wipe it off. Dirt then stuck to that moisture. I too have a Suburban (this could be a Tahoe, Yukon, Yukon XL, or Denali) but it’s the same bumper and gas door. Based on that partial wheel shown I’m leaning towards Chevy.
No one is siphoning gas from us. It would be easier just to drill a hole in the gas tank. There’s also an anti-siphon secondary flap in the neck. You cant just fill these from a 5gal gas tank. You need a funnel (should be in with the jack) to open the secondary flap and allow gas into the tank.
You can’t even put fuel system cleaner into the tank without a funnel or it will spill everywhere as shown here.
1
u/pocoloco989 13h ago
BTW all modern cars after like 2000s something have a mesh anti siphon ring in them that leads to the tank via the funnel.
1
u/SAINTnumberFIVE 9h ago
It’s actually very difficult to siphon gas out of most modern cars without a special kit. There’s a ball valve in there that prevents someone shoving a hose down there to siphon.
1
1
1
1
u/Visual_Ad_6196 5h ago
A skilled Gynaecologist can siphon gas from tank by entering through the exhaust pipe.
1
u/Plane_Experience_843 4h ago
Looks more like someone was not paying attention and the auto shut off did not happen, the gas overflowed and a quick wipe with the worst paper towels used (gas station paper towels)
1
u/OdinzSun 2h ago
If you’ve got an air compressor you can usually hit the gas flap and trunk where water collects when you’re washing it. Then dry as usual, most car washes have one too at each of the vacuum stalls
1
u/Glutton4punishment83 11m ago
Clean that area out if you have a gas cap. Looks like drippings from dirt and water just my opinion.
1
0
u/No-Guarantee-6249 15h ago
If they stole gas, how did they get the door open without damaging it?
Most likely your gas cap is leaking.
1
•
u/AutoModerator 15h ago
OP, please reply to the correct answer with "solved!" (include the !). That will change the flair on the post to solved. If you want to put the correct answer at the top of the replies for everybody else, please use our Spotlight feature by tapping/clicking on the three dots and selecting "Spotlight, Pin this comment" in order to highlight it for other members. Thanks for using our friendly Automod!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.