Gas Caps

You wouldn’t normally think about it, but a missing or leaky gas cap can contribute to air pollution and waste gas.

According to the U.S. Car Care Council, 17 percent of vehicle gas caps are either damaged or missing, allowing 147 million gallons of gasoline to evaporate every year. At $3.50/gallon, that would amount to a loss of $514,500,000 annually. That’s a lot of money.

The fuel system in your car is considered a sealed system. When your gas cap is missing or not functioning properly, your vehicle’s computer system will detect a leak and set off the check engine light. This is not necessarily detrimental to your car, but it is however, detrimental to our environment. That is not to say that it will not eventually harm your vehicle. When your cap is missing, harmful fumes are emitted from your gas tank which pollutes our air. Meanwhile, small particles of dirt are entering into your fuel system, clogging up your fuel filter which will eventually put stress on your fuel pump and send it to an early grave.

Check your gas cap. You should hear a hiss when you loosen the gas cap. That means that it's fitting well and properly sealing the tank.  A functioning gas cap eliminates fumes and evaporation from escaping the gas tank and polluting the air. It also help get you better mileage and save money. Make sense? Yeah, we think so, too.