I’m seeing more and more people filling up their vehicles without shutting them off first.
My dad was a chemical engineer and instructed me to always shut off an internal combustion engine while fueling.
He said the risk is very small, but flame ignition outside the vehicle can happen while fueling.
He also suggested not using hand held electrical devices when at a gas station.

He worked for CalTex , then Bahrain State Oil, then Dutch Shell. He knew the statistics on fires at fueling stations. He said the statistics were significantly higher in female drivers….more likely to keep the car running and using hand held electrical devices while pumping.

Never ever leave it running

Shutting off vehichle is more a 3rd world thing

Here in the USA I always leave my car running

When I am in third world countries they make me shut off engine and they have gas attendants.

tell it to race car drivers

My motor ran 24/7 in my 20's.

Always... Why burn fuel while adding fuel... Plus I've got a 48 gallon tank and it takes a while... Dan

I never turn off the engine while gassing up. Likewise, my head is on a swivel watching what is going on around me, even in my neck of the woods which is relatively benign crime wise.

As a former fuels specialist, we were taught to always turn off engines when refueling.

Yes. We’ve all seen fires in the pits when the race cars are being refueled. It happens.

I always turn my off, just like my dad told me in 1960.

Yet airplanes are re-fueled in flight.

The O2 level in the atmosphere at high altitude minimizes the risk to almost zero.

usually turn my engine off unless it's really cold and I jump[ back in vehicle to stay warm while it's filling up....some convenience store pumps are really slow...
am told to be very careful if you stop to get gas at a convenience store in Atlanta area...lot of people being robbed or car jacked....suspect this is true in most of our large cities especially at night....

Always off

Not comparable in any way, and yes, there have been re fueling disasters.

I never kill it. I stick the spout in, lock it up and go inside if I'm going inside. The vehicle stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

always shut mine off

Was not unusual to fuel helos hot. Just be sure to ground em off and you were good to go.

I usually turn my engine off just because it takes so long. If I am doing a splash and go I will leave it running.

Diesel fuel don't have the risks of gasoline.

Always off.

Sometimes I leave it on, maybe 50% of the time, especially if it is cold and Mrs RayBob is inside. Been doing it for 50 years this way. I do however put out my cig.

JET-A in the helos.

A diesel helicopter would suck hard

To answer the actual original post topic question, I would not.
I turn the engine off, I don't mess with my phone, I don't smoke a cigar, etc.
At most, I throw away car trash and clean my windows, always paying attention to the fuel meter.

...------

Jet A is kerosene, similar to diesel

Always off. I`ve never put a drop of gas or diesel in anything while running.

I turn mine off and pocket the keys until I am leaving. Why risk some feral animal jumping in your vehicle and driving off.

Off!

and it gives us the chance to ask our carjackers name while they demand keys they won't get.

left the truck running in colorado when it would get bad cold, otherwise never leave it with keys in it or running.

I'm guilty of not always turning my engine off.

I turn it off and put the keys on the hood just daring them to try and steal it.

If it is very hot or cold and I am staying with the vehicle I leave it running most of the time, I am also guilty of leaving the vehicle while it is filling, the nozzle shut off has never failed me........yet lol.

Buddy worked the night shift at a gas station in college.

Said a girl drove off with the pump in and ripped it completely off from the hose.
She U turned in a panic, but he saw how inebriated and attractive she was from the beginning so had a close eye on the situation and immediately shut off the pump and told her to keep driving away straight home and to not worry about it.

I am in the fleet fueling business. I'll be blunt.

You're an IDIOT if you leave a gasoline car running while fueling. Diesel not so much, but look up the difference between combustible and flammable. Gasoline vapor is heavier than air, it sinks and then covers the ground, and becomes a bomb.

Ever since I started driving I've shut it off and I always will.

Gasoline is explosive. Pour some on a pile of brush, then light a match. You don't have to be close. Diesel, Kerosone, JP4 jet fuel, charcoal lighter fluid much less volatile. So yeah, I shut my engine off while refueling and I use Diesel to start fires burning brush and leaves in my back yard.

I do remember riding with my Grandpa a few times when I was a kid, and he would be smoking a camel while pumping some gas into his old pickup.

Don’t the dispensers have vapor pumps to reduce amount of vapors escaping to the atmosphere? This might prevent vapors from gathering near the vehicle.

Also, sometimes, especially when the girlfriend is in the truck, I fart while pumping gas, maybe the vapors accumulate around the vehicle and increase ignition probability. I should hold those in going forward.

Interesting, was he fueling up the car while it was running ? I drive a diesel so at least I am not a full blown IDIOT lol.

In my car, yes. In my diesel trucks, no.

The only time I've taken a "chance" and left it running was when my battery was dead and turning off the truck would have meant getting a jump. Otherwise, always off.

Any of you idiots that pumps gas with the vehicle running ever get blown up? I havent.

No. Cell phones have to stay like 50 feet away from pumps too

Not yet, wait, what?

I have seen jet fuel glowing from static electricity.

as an idiot, what happens when you are filling your vehicle and a smart person pulls in next to you to fill his vehicle? Buckeys has over 100 pumps with cars moving in and out everywhere....Maybe I am not an idiot, you bunch of Karens....lol

who was the idiot that posted video of car not be refuled that blew up?

Yea that dude threw something in and blew up his own car.


Fail of a post

Couldn't tell you the last time I shut anything with four wheels on it off to refuel.

So you call people IDIOTS, then post a random video that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand?

Always turn it off
& if I see someone doing it I will ask them to please turn off car please

I would hate to be the cause of burning down a town

You all need to stop 50 feet short and push your vehicles the rest of the way if you’re pulling next to someone already fueling. Safety first people.

Bruh... If someone walked up to me and told me to shut my truck off while I was fueling, I would laugh in your face and tell you to get bent homie. That is ridiculousness.

That said I usually turn it off just because it takes so long to fuel. Now if its Summer and 107 and my wife is the car, that sum beach keeps running. There is almost no risk at all in doing so.

Again, I am sure you turn off your cell phone when approaching a gas station as well right?

My bigger concern is the people I see smoking while fueling up. Stupid is as stupid does....

I'd guess there is a greater risk of the cat converter or a spark from static igniting fumes than there was from the vehicle ignition. For either to happen it would take a bunch of fumes to be present, like from a spill.

This!

When people offer me unsolicited, unwarranted advice I do one of the following:
1. Smile and say nothing
2. Smile and say “yes ma’am”
3. “If I wanted criticism, I would have stayed home with my wife and mother in law in town.”

Usually turn off but not always.

that would be fun

interesting article seems to say more likely to start a fire when you enter or exit your car while fueling then if you leave it running, from static electricity then any of the reasons given for a running vehicle causing the fire.


https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/blog/driving/refueling-with-engine-running/#

Yes. And WOMEN are much more likely to start a fire while fueling. Guess why?

Static. Woman get back in the car while fueling, creating that environment for a static discharge. Men tend to stand outside the vehicle. No friction on them Wranglers and the car seat to get a good spark going.

i know a person
that happened to
they got away but the car burnt up

I was always told that the evaporative emissions system will detect the open tank while running and cause a check engine light. At least on a typical gasoline engine with full emissions systems operating correctly.

Yep. We used to spray our dirt track cars down with diesel…headers and all…it helps keep the mud off the hot parts.

yep, works great.

this is false, but there are vehicles that will not open the Evaporative vent solenoid while it is running, which will cause the pump to keep shutting off. If you are having trouble filling up, turn the vehicle off and see if it helps.

me too and I have likely seen way more gas station car fires first hand than anyone on this post, lol


firemen are smart until they are not

Texas summers are famous. Why in the Hell would anyone kill the A/C in the summer for a quick stop anywhere? A gas pump fire is the last thing I'm concerned about. I know it happens. Voluntary tax paying morons win lottos as well.

i turn mine off but i have left it running a time or two. i see desiel guys leave theirs on a lot.

Always off.

I turn it off unless I'm worried it might not restart, like when I started it with jumper cables 10 minutes ago. Once when I was traveling in -40 degree whether, I drove 800 miles without ever turning it off.

always engine off and no talking on cell while fueling

This

If it was really a big issue you would think it would be against the law to leave a vehicle running while fueling up, I would say you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than blowing up a gas station because vehicle was running, I have no statistical evidence to back up my claim, common sense would lead me to believe that if it were a legitimate concern the law would be in effect. When it is 110 out yall can explain to my wife why I shut the engine off and went inside the store to cool off while pumping gas lol.

Motor running, bass thumping, 40's flowing, stogie burning

Some of y’all acting like 5 minutes in summer heat in the shade while filling up is gonna kill ya. I promise one of those things sparks off and it will be a lot hotter.

I usually leave mine on while fueling- never an issue. I do make sure I set tanks in the ground and not fuel in the bed.

So you are saying fire is hot?

Ditto.

I don’t even smoke but when I’m gassing up, my vehicle is always running and I light one up by the pump!

I wonder how those fuel transport trucks deliver fuel without the engine running Just having a little fun, I do agree that it does make sense to shut the engine off while fueling, in other words, do as I say not as I do.

Gasoline and diesel are different animals. Gasoline vehicles, I always shut them off. If my kids are in the truck, I always shut it off. If I'm driving my diesel truck alone and it's cold or super hot, I'll leave it run.

Engine off, stay outside the vehicle until it's done pumping and time to leave. No matter the weather outside.

Well, 99% of the time I have to go inside to pee so I always shut the engine off, LOL.

Yep!

Cell phone in my hand at SAM's, scan the barcode on the pump for my discount and to pay for the gas. Then put the phone back in my pocket.
My how times have changed.

I throw caution to the wind.

Is it ok to talk on the phone while pumping if you use bluetooth earbuds?

No.

When pumping gas, head on a swivel at all times.
Bluetooth earbud talking is just weird.

What about smoking electronic cigarettes?

I smoke real cigs at the gas pump just to freak people out. I haven't blew up yet. Old wives tale