Why is my car hard to start after getting gas?
Filling up the gas tank floods the engine with excess fuel, creating an overly rich condition that causes the car to bog down or refuse to start normally. Drivers have to resort to holding down the gas pedal while cranking to clear the extra fuel before the vehicle will finally fire up and run smoothly.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Giving it a little throttle to clear out the bogging down after startup
- 2Flooring the pedal while cranking to clear the flooded injectors
- 3Checking the fuel pump and spark plugs
- 4Pressing the gas pedal and holding it down for a couple of seconds while starting the car
- 5Replacing the air filter
- 6Replacing the MAP sensor
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Every time I refuel, it does this crap. I’m suspecting an EVAP issue, and she smells like she’s running rich, but it isn’t throwing any codes.”source ↗
“She eventually fires up, but bogs down unless I give it a little throttle. Once I rev it a bit, everything clears up and she runs normally.”source ↗
“It doesn’t happen on every startup—only after I refuel. She eventually fires up if I floor the pedal while cranking, which I clear stops the injectors from injecting more fuel which fixes the overly rich condition.”source ↗
“Every time I fill this god forsaken car with gas, it refuses to start, and the only way it will start is it i hit the gas pedal and just keep it going for a couple seconds.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 73Vehicle cranks after fuel pump replacement but won't start
- 10Car won't start or shift gears after dead battery
- 9Car won't start after replacing ECU and electronics failed
- 5How to safely start a car that has been sitting for years
- 9Why does my car engine cut out after driving for a while?
- 9Why does my car lose power for a second when starting?