Pilgrymm
18159
309
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Went to wander the local Goodwill and when we came outside they were siphoning my tank, right in the handicapped spot in front. I yelled and they grabbed their can and ran. Can't find my gas cap anywhere so I'm guessing they took it or threw it. They got about a quarter tank from what I can tell, 2-3 gallons. Fuck. #gasoline #pissed_off
VodkaReindeer
Who knew that your car uses the fuel that has evaporated in the tank!
eastend666
Someone once told me her BMW tag was stolen off her car, when it was parked behind a big-box store. For me, the take away was always park in the most visible location possible.
skibitybebop
"My teacher says every time a missing gas cap is found, an angel gets its wings"
"Your teacher's full of snot!!"
Time4Peace
Okay one, that sucks and I'm sorry it happened.
Two, yeah, either find a locking thing for your gas cover or just have a small canister in your trunk that's at least half full of gas so if this happens again, you won't be 100% stuck in god only knows where with no gas and having to go out of your way to find a way to get some.
...still massively sucks, though.
andmysoundslaiddownbytheUnderGround
Do a round of the local gas station lost and founds. People drive off without their gas cap all the time. Maybe you'll luck into your make and model.
WhiskyBravo
not a bad idea
evilspock
If you have a car old enough to have a removable gas cap - they sell locking gas caps. Or at least they used to. I had to get one for my old nova back in the 80's.
melandevile2000
My gas tank locks when my car is locked. Pretty embarrassing how I found that out.
TheShamkat
why was the cap not locked? Did they break the lock?
Pilgrymm
No lock.
TheShamkat
Not fun. We have mandatory locks . Maybe you can attach one.
toogoodtomiss
Locking gas cap, it is time for.
RooGryphon
Gun. Get one. You will need it in the very near future. Welcome to trumps America
Pilgrymm
I have a half dozen. Don't carry though as Cali hates it.
ufoara
did they break the lock on the fuel door?
Pilgrymm
There isn't one. I'm gonna buy a locking cap. The fuel door itself just opens when you bump it.
ufoara
Sucks that some asshole made off with your stuff and then makes the rest of the time with that vehicle a hassle of fumbling keys.
gablestout
Awhile back (like 10-15 years ago), got into my truck (which we don't drive often...) which had just been filled up that week, and suddenly I'm on empty.
Let's just say...30 gallons later...
Pilgrymm
That's a massive oof from me dawg. Even back then that's like what, 100 bucks?
LizLittle
Your gas cap? That's just unnecessarily rude.
ispendtomuchtimehere
gotdammit
gronzilla
gott?
ispendtomuchtimehere
yisssss..gottit
TheWhiteBarry
Time to switch. Never seen anyone trying to steal my electrons.
WhiskyBravo
Sure, but also Fuck Tesla and Musk
TheWhiteBarry
Fuck Musk. Tesla is awesome. I will die on this hill. Objectively good outcomes for humanity cannot be dismissed just because he's attached.
NotThePoint
No gas or catalytic converter to steal from an EV. Just sayin'.
gablestout
What an unhelpful thing to say. Just sayin'.
Pilgrymm
I can't afford a EV. My car is a 20 year old Honda worth maybe 3 grand on a good day. I'm disabled and have no income so no way to finance anything.
HarryDresdenIsMySpiritAnimal
Username checks out.
Huor
It really is the 1970s all fucking over again
Detacheddavid
Aaah, the 70s, when one pesky oil producer country decided to cut the oil flow and show the world how ugly things can turn. Lucky us, we learned from that.
adventureswithadhd
Better than me. Just had my car stolen two days ago. Assholes.
Pilgrymm
Ahh hell, sorry to hear that. Why do people gotta be so shitty?
adventureswithadhd
A question I ask myself every fuckin day!
Targe0
I'd go for a walk around the area.
They likely tossed the cap not far from you after they ran off.
WhiskyBravo
That's a good idea as even cheap caps are like $10+
Targe0
It's common for thieves to dump stuff only within a few blocks.
If you ever get your wallet stolen off you.
You can likely find it within a few blocks with the cash and cards taken but everything else dumped.
Which can help recover some things.
Pilgrymm
I looked, didn't see anything. Can't really move very fast as I had spine surgery a couple months ago and so I couldn't look under the nearby vehicles either. Want to replace it with a locking cap anyway.
Targe0
Smart move.
Best to plan ahead so it's harder to happen again.
GrimleyGraves
Wait till it hits $10 a gallon.
Pilgrymm
It's already around 7 here. I found it for 5 last week but only if you buy a car wash, so I got a car wash.
OptimusPom
I just got a used ebike for cheap'ish in preparation for me to ride it and realize I haven't used my legs for the past 20 years.
RocMage
Begun, the gas wars have.
yamsonyamsonyams
My wifes new car has a push-pop open gas cap - can be opened easily from the outside, no inside switch required
I wasn’t a fan of it but I thought “when was the last time anyone syphoned gas?”
Couple of weeks later tbe straight closed down and gas spiked
Hooray
somethingstupidandclever
This is insane considering most cars have had anti-siphoning systems since the 80s. Found this out during a fuel crisis in NC when i tried to siphon gas out of my own 1990s f150, then my toyota rav4 and my partners newer honda fit. Got all my neighbors to try on a range of cars and years and no one could get a hose down there.
jayman0123
The best anti-siphoning tech I've ever seen on a car was on a 1972 Chevy. Unless you knew where the gas tank was you couldn't find it. I just told all the kids that it ran on solar power... in the early 2000s
somethingstupidandclever
Was it under the license plate? My dad had some clonker Cadillacs back in the 90s that were awesome and very inexpensive. A few hundred for the nicest one.
jayman0123
OoWah
Volpe42
They've already been going since the 70s. We don't have ration lines yet.
lightfoot2
How the hell did they do it? Cars have anti siphon things.
Good thing my 87 Porsche 944S has a locking gas cap.
Pilgrymm
Mine is a 20 year old Honda. I'll take a look, not seeing a lot of info online other than something about forcing a hose can damage the anti-siphon mesh. So if there's something damaged I'll have to replace that also. I just filled my tank and now it's down to 3/4, so if I used 75 miles worth of gas going to Walmart my car is effed.
lightfoot2
I am curious. Doubt the mesh would be a big problem, see how it goes. Just weird.
Evenmoreuselessname
Last time there was a big gas price bump like this, they installed locking caps on all the vehicles at my work. Someone came around and punched holes in the bottoms of the tanks and drained the gas out that way. Many $k in replacing all those tanks.
wadatahmydamie
This comes across like you took an opportunity to tell people you drive an old Porsche
lightfoot2
I drive two of them as my "daily driver". 86 928S is currently down for a master cylinder replacement. I just remember the mid 1980's is when locking gas caps came back for awhile.
They're not worth anything really, but are easy to spot in any parking lot. I'm too poor for new cars.
wadatahmydamie
No judgment, just observation
lightfoot2
*nod* gotcha
UnitConversionBot
3 gallons ≈ 11 liters or 2.5 imperial gallons
gablestout
[pats bot on head]
xcrit
how many adult bladders is that?
SyntheticReindeer
Around 25?
smashpro1
I thought America used the imperial system, but we somehow got gallons wrong?!
Detacheddavid
Nope. There's the British Imperial system; but the US uses the US Customary System.
Pilgrymm
Thanks
MeatyMouthfeel
Be aware that your Check Engine Light may come on if you don't have a gas cap on. Once you've replaced the cap, the CEL won't turn off immediately, but should go off soon. Just a heads up...
anaberration
Good point! My car threw a code, broke out the code reader. Googled the code and read check your gas cap. Sure enough cap was loose.
Pilgrymm
Yeah it's on. Funny thing is, I just watched the Better Call Saul episode where Mike Erhmantraut finds a tracker in his gas cap.
Draygen
Hey, that episode helped me out. My gas cap had "somehow exploded" while my wife had my truck, completely on its own, but I remembered from that episode that they'll basically pop back together, and was able to un-explode my cap. Dumb random tidbit completely unrelated to what he was doing, but that IS technically where I learned the information.
Pilgrymm
VolcanoHerder
That sucks.... but at least now you have the opportunity to buy a new one that locks (just trying to find a silver lining for you here where there really isn't one)
Nathanyel
d...do American cars not have gas caps that are locked? Older cars here had actual key holes, I think modern cars have to unlock them via a button in reach of the driver seat.
R100GSPD
I'd much rather someone siphon my gas than drill a hole in my tank
TheOldSchoolisBack
Some require a button inside, some don’t.
Mustang992
Nothing a screwdriver probably couldnt take care of in a couple of seconds.
VolcanoHerder
Some do some don't. Mine have always had the little button near the driver's seat, even my 91 Camry iirc. But plenty of vehicles don't, including most of the vehicles I drive for work. It might be an American car brand thing since the Chevys and Dodges don't have it.... but the jeeps do... Idk.
pgdave
I've never seen one that locked
uzetaab
I think you are misunderstanding. The fuel cap itself doesn't lock on modern cars, but it is behind a door that can only be opened by using a lever or switch inside the vehicle. This effectively locks access to the fuel tank.
VolcanoHerder
Depends on the vehicle, plenty of them are just "walk up and open the little metal flap thingy using the provided groove for your finger and unscrew the cap".
HelpfulCorn
Huh I've never owned or put gas in a car that didn't have a remote release
pgdave
No - mine always have just popped open, either you pull it open or you kinda push on it and it clicks and pops open.
Pilgrymm
Yeah I'm looking now. Probably have to go to autozone, don't feel like dealing with online crap that may not fit.
BananaForScaIe
Try Canadian Tire.
VolcanoHerder
Good call. Still sucks that you have to deal with it at all though.
Pilgrymm
I want to find them and steal their gas now. I got a couple 5 gallon cans, should go all John wick on them. Jk lol
ShutUpImWorking
take my pencil
Jamesstin
Make sure you keep a spare cause you will not get that cap open without fucking some shit up
Jamesstin
Spare key
Spiderhammulaney
Also driving without the cap or with a badly fitting one will likely make your car throw an evap sensor code which will turn on the check engine light. It will go away with proper fitting cap and can also be reset with a scan tool that most parts stores will loan you
MadamPuddifoot
That light came on for me when the plastic piece that holds the lid onto the car snapped. So now not only can I drop my gas cap, but I also have a constant check engine light on.