WEBVTT - Is It Safe to Drive Without a Gas Cap?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Bogle bomb here. If you drive a

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<v Speaker 1>late model car, chances are your gas cap is connected

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<v Speaker 1>to your car by a little rubber tether. That's so

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<v Speaker 1>that if you happen to forget to replace it after

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<v Speaker 1>you fill up, an indicator on your dashboard will let

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<v Speaker 1>you know. Or even if your car doesn't have that

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<v Speaker 1>indicator light, at least you won't lose the gas cap.

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<v Speaker 1>But what if your car doesn't have any of this

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<v Speaker 1>technology and you drive down the road with a gas

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<v Speaker 1>cap off without ever realizing your error. Losing your gas

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<v Speaker 1>cap is a minor annoyance, sure, but you paid for

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<v Speaker 1>that gas and you want it to stay where it

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<v Speaker 1>belongs in the gas tank. Furthermore, ceiling off the fuel

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<v Speaker 1>tank with the gas cap helps your fuel system maintain

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<v Speaker 1>proper pressure, which in turn helps your car operates smoothly.

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<v Speaker 1>So can driving without one cause damage to your car? Well?

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<v Speaker 1>Probably not, but it can cause some minor issues. You

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<v Speaker 1>might lose a little gas, but more likely due to

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<v Speaker 1>evaporation than to actual spillage. Because the filler neck helps

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<v Speaker 1>prevent slashing. Any kind of gas loss harms the environment.

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<v Speaker 1>And costs you extra money, which is not ideal, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's not an immediate catastrophe. You might see a drop

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<v Speaker 1>in your fuel economy numbers, though. Also it's possible that

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<v Speaker 1>debris or moisture could get into the gas tank, which

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<v Speaker 1>also is not ideal, but probably will not be catastrophic

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<v Speaker 1>either since it should be caught by the fuel filter.

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<v Speaker 1>And finally, if you live in a state with emissions inspections,

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<v Speaker 1>your car would not pass the inspection until you replaced

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<v Speaker 1>the gas cap, but there's absolutely no reason you should

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<v Speaker 1>drive without a gas cap long enough for that to

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<v Speaker 1>become an issue. The bottom line is that the consequences

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<v Speaker 1>of driving without a gas cap are insignificant, and the

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<v Speaker 1>solution is simple. Gas caps are easy and inexpensive to replace.

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<v Speaker 1>You can purchase a replacement at a local auto parts

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<v Speaker 1>store or an online retailer, and you can determine which

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<v Speaker 1>cap you need in your cars owners manual the parts

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<v Speaker 1>department for your car dealership could help too, And there's

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<v Speaker 1>another technological failsafe to help prevent too much damage from

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<v Speaker 1>being done. Assuming that your car has a check engine light,

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<v Speaker 1>because most cars on the road today do, you'll likely

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<v Speaker 1>see it illuminate just a few minutes after you leave

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<v Speaker 1>the gas station should you drive off without your fuel cap.

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<v Speaker 1>Some modern cars even have a specific fuel cap light.

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<v Speaker 1>If this happens, performance may temporarily be an issue. Some

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<v Speaker 1>cars are programmed to operate in a limp mode when

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<v Speaker 1>the check engine light is on, which allows you to

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<v Speaker 1>continue driving at limited speed until you can stop safely

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<v Speaker 1>to assess and correct the problem, but it should switch

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<v Speaker 1>back into normal mode as soon as you replace your cap.

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<v Speaker 1>In some rare cases, the light may stay on even

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<v Speaker 1>after you replace your gas cap, but don't worry. You

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<v Speaker 1>may need to drive for a while before your car's

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<v Speaker 1>computer senses that everything is okay and the light resets,

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<v Speaker 1>But if need be, your friendly neighbor head mechanic will

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<v Speaker 1>be happy to check it out for you. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Cheri's three Witt and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For one listen lots of other curious topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I

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