Lesson learned on this one. When you pull up to the pumps there is a set of instruction on how to pump gas into your car. The first rule is to turn off the engine.
Well I was on a short lunch awhile back and gas had come down and was in a hurry to get back to work. I pulled up and jumped out and swiped the CC and was pumping away. The pump stopped and then I put the gas cap back on and closed the door. No I did not want a car wash and yes I wanted a receipt.
Ok drove off and parked the car at work and at the end of my shift got in and the check engine light was on. So I got out and made sure the cap was on good and recycled the starting of the car for a few days and light was still on. On the third day I stopped by my mechanic and he put on the OBD2 and a evap code came up. He said well that could be anywhere. All I was thinking about is that this could be expensive. Then the tech said, " have you filled your tank with the car running recently? I look at him and said yes, at the last fill up 3 days ago. He said that is not a good idea and that is probably what set off the check engine light. Well it has been over a month and a few more fill ups with out the car running and no check engine light. PS (he did erase the code for free)
Just thought I would put this out there for people like me that are in a hurry and have a brain fart and leave the car running while filling the tank. Since the car was running the evap sensor probably picked up the fumes from filling.

 

I did a similar thing, but it did not trip a code.
I was driving home late at night on the highway and got some gas. I turned off my engine and did all the right stuff, but . . .
I did not put the gas cap back on and drove all the way home about 60 miles and pulled into the garage and saw my stupid mistake.
I was surprised it hadn't tripped a code and posted my mistake on this forum back in 07.
I never understood why it didn't cause any problems
Glad yours was easily corrected

 

Good info. UC01. Thanks.

More rules, albeit a tad off the original topic.

1)Do not get back in your vehicle once you start pumping [static charge hazard];
2)Touch any metal body part of the vehicle before you remove the gas cap [static charge hazard];
3)Do not turn on, initiate, or or take a cell phone while pumping (step far away from all other filling vehicles if you think your call is important, which it is not) [electronic spark hazard]; and,
4) DO NOT SMOKE anywhere at the gas station!

You think #4 would be a no brainer? I personally do not give a rats azz what people do, but when I am at the gas pump fueling I would like to live to drive away and live another day. If you have ever seen a station after a pump fire, or been at one when some idiot started one, you know what I am talking about. Been there.

 

Also if a fire does occur never pull the hose out, just find and hit the emergency shut off button. You see this on the news all the time people start a fire and then react by removing the hose and bam, instant flamethrower.

 

LOL #3 was trashed by mythbusters... just saying. But the rest are quite valid, specially in warmer climates.

 

Oh, to clarify, myth busters make mistakes all the time, those guys kinda suck at their jobs, but this one was done very well.

 

I got a message the other day that just said, check gas cap, not on properly ( i think that's pretty much what it said )

so i checked and i think it was ok, but i took it off and put it back on, message never came back

 

Is it too much to ask that peeps wait 2 minutes and just concentrate on WTH they are doing with flammable liquid?

From Cell Phones and Gas Station Fires
"Some say reports of cell phones starting gasoline fires are just an urban myth. They may be right.

Firefighters originally blamed a May 2004 gas pump fire in New Paltz, N.Y., on a cell phone -- the first such case.

However, after talking to witnesses, Patrick Koch, New Paltz's assistant fire chief, ruled out the cell phone as a possible cause but said, "It is unknown what started the fire."

Koch said it is believed that if a cell phone were to ignite a fire it would only occur when the cell phone is answered. The man at the pump, Mathew Erhorn, originally said the flash of fire occurred when he answered his phone.

However, witnesses came forward later and said Erhorn had been on the phone prior to the accident, Koch said.

The fire was immediately suffocated by the station's emergency fire suppression system and Erhorn suffered only minor burns.

At the time, Koch said left little doubt the cell phone was to blame.

"I'm positive a cell phone can ignite. That's why motorists are told 'don't use their cell phones when they're pumping gas.' Really, it's deadly," he said then.

Now?

"If they can't start a fire, why are there 'do not use cell phone' signs on the pump?" he said. "No one could explain it to me then and no one can explain it to me now," Koch told ConsumerAffairs.Com,

In another much-noted May 2004 fire, three oil well workers in Gregg County, Texas, were seriously injured when flames surrounded them soon after a cell phone rang. The accident occurred after one of the workers went to answer the phone which was resting on the tailgate of a truck.

Gregg County fire marshal, Chad Walls, said he hasn't ruled out the cell phone because he has no idea what ignited the fumes.

"It could have been the static shock created when he touched the truck," Walls said.

"MythBusters," a Discovery Channel show, recently broadcast an episode on whether a cell phone could ignite a fire at the gas pump. The show, like Koch, found it unlikely.

"While there has never been a confirmed incident of a refueling fire caused by using a cell phone during refueling, it's best to give your full attention to the fueling process and minimize distractions like cell phones can cause," said Prentiss Searles, spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute.

Koch did say that under "million to one" conditions, a cell phone could ignite a fire. "You have to create the scene just right. You have to have the right humidity. You have to have the right temperature. You have to have the right air pressure."

Koch doesn't see the cell phone as large a threat as static electricity.

Koch and other fire officials suggest that before touching the handle of a pump, consumers should discharge themselves on a piece of metal such as the car door or handle. He also warned that in fall through spring people carry more static because of climates and sweaters and other winter clothing."

 

Come on Doc, I was hoping for one of your great photo's and your photoshop skills