TAYLORSVILLE — Conversations at the gas pump easily show the frustrations many Utah drivers are feeling right now about gas prices. On Monday, the AAA average for regular gas in Utah reached $3.94 a gallon. That’s nearly $1.20 higher, per gallon, than they were just one month ago.
“It’s kind of brutal to get around right now,” one driver told me while pumping into his pickup truck. “This is the worst I’ve seen in a Midwest state for sure.”
“It’s just getting out of hand — went up tremendously,” another driver said about gas prices.
“They’re ridiculous — they’re too high,” another said.
This sort of frustration can fuel speculation. The KSL Investigators have heard so. So has the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food team that tests gas throughout the state.
“People are going to wonder if they’re getting good gas at places,” Miland Kofford, manager of the UDAF’s Weights and Measures program, said.
Kofford said when drivers suspect they’ve bought bad gas, the lab investigates everything: Octane, ethanol and contaminants. After thousands of tests, he said finding actual bad gas is extremely rare.
“Probably about 99.5% of the times it is a good fuel,” he said.
Watered down gas?
So, is there any chance you could be buying watered down gas at a station looking to stretch its bottom dollar?
Well, Kofford said at every station he’s tested he’s never seen gas that had absolutely zero water in it.
“There’s always going to be some moisture in fuel,” he said.
Utah’s Weights and Measures program director Miland Kofford shows KSL’s Matt Gephardt test results that shows a very small amount of moisture in this gas sample. (Enrique Gonzalez, KSL)
That moisture is not there by design, despite a common suspicion that some stations might water down their product. Kofford insisted that simply does not work.
“And it can’t happen,” he said. “They don’t mix.”
Is an inaccurate pump shorting you?
But could the gas pump be cheating you?
Utah’s Weights and Measures team tests the pumps for their accuracy on a regular basis, too. Kofford said the failure rate is tiny.
“Probably only 0.3% of the pumps in Utah are actually not giving you the right amount,” he said.
If inspectors do find that you’ve been cheated by a pump, they can shut it down and fine the station. Though Kofford said that almost never actually happens. More often inspectors will find pumps that are generous.
“Many times, we go into these complaints or the annual checks, and we find that they’re actually in favor of the customer,” he said of the pumps his team tests.
Is regular gas safe?
Now, where you may be overpaying on gas prices is your choice of fuel grade.
Open your owner’s manual, and it’s likely you’ll see the suggested grade of 87 octane. Most do. On most Utah pumps that’ll the be the mid-grade choice — the middle button. It’s less than the premium but more expensive than 85 octane regular gas.
But Utah’s higher altitudes allow many vehicles to run the 85 octane just fine — even if 87 is recommended. That’s because the air at Utah’s elevations is less dense than the air you’ll find at lower altitudes. For the engine, that means it’s drawing during combustion.
“A lot of those cars are built with a knock sensor that adjust to the different octane,” Kofford said.
Some cars with a turbocharged engine or a high compression engine will require premium at any altitude.
But Kofford said many drivers will be able to run the 85 octane gas without noticing any difference.
“Listen,” he said. “Listen to what your car is telling you. Is it running fine? Does it sputter? Does it have pre-ignition problems?”
You should also make sure that using the lower octane will not void your warranty.
Kofford said for many cars at Utah’s elevations, the 85 octane gas will be fine. (Enrique Gonzalez, KSL)
Many drivers buy the premium grade when their car doesn’t need it. You may assume that premium gas is always better, but Kofford said unless your car is turbocharged or has a high compression engine, you’re not treating your car to anything special by buying the highest octane. Instead, treating the gas station to a bigger profit.
“If your car is igniting at the right time, there really isn’t any advantage to it,” he said.
Filing a complaint
If you do believe you’ve bought a tank of bad gas or the pump has shorted you, you can file a complaint here with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
