Sugar water put into our gas tank
Posted by cactsk@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 100 comments
That’s the post.
Someone put sugar water in our gas tank and now the mechanic is attempting to save my engine.
I don’t really know anybody here in TX other than my coworkers and fiance, so I can’t say I was targeted for one thing or the other. Keep to myself, no noise in the apartment, park the car in the lines… so always be wary of strangers :/
Spare_Ad_9657@reddit
I had a series of nails in my tire over several months. I thought I was somehow driving through a construction area or something. I changed my route, but kept getting a random nail in my tire every couple of weeks. Then I got nails in two tires at once. I decided to start parking at work in a place where I knew a camera was located. The nails stopped. I was not aware of any disagreements with any coworkers, but based on that, I had to assume it was someone at my work.
SpannerInTheWorx@reddit
Depending on where you were at, there was someone caught around Plano area salting roads with nails, at one point.
Spare_Ad_9657@reddit
I was in East Plano area and this was pre-Covid. I wouldn’t rule that out as a possibility, but my friends at work didn’t have any issues although they were in the same area. But like I mentioned, I wasn’t aware of any issues with co-workers, so it is still a bit of a mystery to me. But very strange that when I moved to the camera area, I had no more tire problems after about 6 months of nails every 2-3 weeks. 🤷🏼♀️
cornbreadsdirtysheet@reddit
I heard that dishonest tire shops do that from time to time to increase business. Who knows.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
That’s insane :(
Zhombe@reddit
Sugar doesn’t destroy engines. At worst the sock in the gas tank may get clogged. Sugar doesn’t disolve in gasoline and just stays on the bottom of the tank. If it runs you’re fine until the pump stops. If it ever does.
Myth busters tested this years ago. It’s a BS myth that it kills your engine.
Send it. At worst add some fuel cleaner to help with any water / condensation. Royal Purple Max Clean should be cheap and local.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Our car stopped running and a sticky substance made its way to our pistons. Whatever it was has sugar like crumbs but has completely fried my fuel system. Need it entirely placed now.
Zhombe@reddit
Sounds more like sealant or some kind of coolant contaminant. Like I said. Sugar isn’t soluble in gasoline. Water would flow to the top of the tank and sugar drop to the bottom.
Blitzerkreig1603@reddit
Water weighs more than gasoline by nearly 2lbs per gallon, water would be at the bottom, not the top…
Zhombe@reddit
You’re right, along with the ethanol it mixes with and separates out with. Bottom of the tank.
ihatesr20@reddit
DUDE same thing, I didnt even think about it. But I'm fairly certain its a neighbor or kids. But yeah dude i've spent more money on tires and time and energy patching tires this year than any previous year. Its always the rears too, which is strange.b
Cracktheclue@reddit
Any roofers out near you?
ihatesr20@reddit
Now that you mention it, new-ish neighbor across the alley MIGHT be a roofer. I'm not too sure though. They don't speak english and I could just be a racist 🤷🏽♂️
Mission_Word_4023@reddit
Unless someone mixed several gallons of sugar and water, then slowly funneled that into your car in an uncovered apartment parking space, this is literally not possible. Find a new mechanic.
inkydeeps@reddit
Sugar in the gas tank is mostly an urban myth. Do you really trust this mechanic? Did you see it get poured in or are you just guessing at this being the cause of your engine failure?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
He showed me the water mixed with gas in a bottle, they flushed the gas tank completely and when the car got towed yesterday I remember the tire being shiny with something. Well, looked at it today and there’s crumbly syrupy stuff inside the gas cap, on the side of the car, and on the tire. It ran through my fuel lines enough to have stuck my pistons together
MisterSumone@reddit
Sugar won't do that.
Look up the mythbusters episode on sugar in a gas tank.
Whoever did this used something else.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
I’ve been seeing that sugar alone wouldn’t do it, so honestly either they dissolved the sugar in water or put soda in my tank because it’s a very schlack like substance on the vehicle
justonemom14@reddit
shellac
glooble_wooble@reddit
Big Black
Juan_Connery@reddit
Bug shells
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
Immediately what I thought. In no way is this sugar.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Water will waterlog the fuel pump so your car stalls.
DFWdawg@reddit
DEF is sticky
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Does it have a gritty residue? Because you can see sugar like crumbs
DFWdawg@reddit
When it dries it’s like a donut glaze…
cactsk@reddit (OP)
The part near the gas cap looks like a donut glaze but that could have also been the mechanic wiping it down
cactsk@reddit (OP)
You and me either… but it’s smeared on the outside of my gas cap, dripping down to the tire and the tire has this shiny looking glaze over it, not like a donut though.
IHaveABigNetwork@reddit
Sounds like DEF.
AdMain2249@reddit
Dissolving it in water first is evil. Dry sugar won’t dissolve in gas and will just clog fuel filter. Dossolving it in water allows it to be picked up by the fuel system and into engine, the water will do worse than sugar though.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Yep. When our car stopped running the tow man said it seemed like fuel wasn’t getting to the fuel pump - and it wasn’t. Sugar water/syrup was :/
I wish I could attach images but you can see the dry residue is very glazy and gritty like a spilled sugar liquid.
stickburner79@reddit
Please attach images. I think the community would appreciate this.
firebreathingmonkey7@reddit
seems loke you mightve had a case os mistaken identity through car. someone had an issue with someone who drives a car just like yours and maybe lives in the area
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Considering kids IDK have climbed on my car before like they knew who it belonged to… this is a potential :/
Easytripsy@reddit
Does the complex have a camera? I suspect that you might need to move from this place. I’d be freaking out if kids were climbing on my car.
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
This is wild. Kids climb on your car and you suspect sugar has repeatedly been poured into your gas tank? I’d be looking around for voodoo dolls at this point!
ChicagoRay312@reddit
Where was your car parked? That might help with the puzzle.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
At my apartment complex. A few months ago someone had all 4 of their tires stolen off their vehicle in the middle of the night. :/
ChicagoRay312@reddit
Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why somebody would target your vehicle specifically for this sort of thing. Do you have assigned parking there?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
The only assigned parking are garages or carports, and this was neither of those. I do have a neighbor who likes to park in roughly the same parking spots that I use when they’re available, but they aren’t reserved spots. I also can’t imagine that would be worth sugar water in the gas tank :/ but I could be wrong.
ChicagoRay312@reddit
OK, so you were picking up what I was throwing down. You’d be surprised how vicious people can be about parking spots. Don’t take this as you did something wrong by the way. I’m just trying to help you solve the riddle. If you think about it, whoever did it was risking being caught so they more than likely had a motive rather than just a random act like that.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
We’ve never spoken before, we don’t speak the same language. The only interactions we have had are them parking over a line once I left so they could have 2 parking spots. I tidied up litter that got in front of my door the other day from them, but again no talking occurs between us.
I half wonder if whoever did this thinks my car is someone else because children in the complex have also climbed over my car, who I also don’t know.
fordprobegt@reddit
Indians
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Original-Freedom-670@reddit
I'm Leary of a mechanic that's trying to save the engine from sugar water. You can add a half bottle of alcohol and it breaks up the water.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
They are no longer trying to save it. My car has refused to start after the attempts that they have made :(
Complete-Pudding-799@reddit
This is really quite Texas. Sorry. I've lived here for 8 years and still boggled my mind how petty, spiteful and criminal people can be for no reason! Is it the heat?
Gurlie_J_Girl@reddit
How is one accessing your gas tank?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
By opening the flap. My car doesn’t have an internal opening mechanism. It has an external pull open tab.
Gurlie_J_Girl@reddit
Understood. Perhaps looking for a locking gas cap could provide you some reassurance in the future.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Time to invest in the Tesla 4 angle cameras for my very not Tesla car lol
aream06@reddit
If you had a Tesla you wouldn’t have this issue :)
Jive_Turk@reddit
Yes but you would be driving a Swasticar.
aream06@reddit
So you would rather own a Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, or Volkswagen which is owned by a company that was actually started by the Nazis instead of an American made car company started by two people born in California(Elon is not a founder of Tesla, he is just the person who “saved it”) but hey your free to drive whatever vehicle you want
Jive_Turk@reddit
WHOOOOOOSH!!!!!
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
You’re*
cactsk@reddit (OP)
oh, and the lack of gas tank of course lol
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
😂👍
rikkmode@reddit
That sux... what area in dallas?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
UPDATE: Spoke with mechanic and whatever the person who did this put in my tank has ruined my fuel system and motor. I need all new parts and a new motor. Quoting me 8-9k as it currently stands.
Protect your vehicles :(
drewforty@reddit
Could it have been targeted because of the car type itself or a sticker on it?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
The only stickers on the car are locations we have been, nothing political or controversial :/
PercentageDear6064@reddit
Our 2022 Kia was torn apart by morons trying to steal it, twice in three weeks. Almost 5000.00 in damages after insurance. We keep to ourselves, live a quiet life and bother no one. These morons caused all this damage in our own parking lot while we slept. I hope your mechanic is able to fix your vehicle. Our mechanic, of 12 yrs, performed a miracle on ours. My husband and I take shifts, overnight, Friday and Saturday nights and on holidays. Security doesn't do much and we can't, financially, take another hit.
NoriNatsu@reddit
thats so scary, i just got a 2025. was it one those "kia boys" kind of thefts? or just idiots?
Carey251@reddit
Are you implying the Kia boys are separate from the idiot demographic? lol
NoriNatsu@reddit
more like the spongebob meme, These aren't just regular idiots, these are advanced idiots. haha
PercentageDear6064@reddit
Thanks for making me smile
PercentageDear6064@reddit
That is exactly what it was. Kinda hard to get to work after the Kia morons ruin your car
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
Your first Kia attack? These kids were gesturing with faces?! What the hell is going on over there?! 😂
mccaigbro69@reddit
I have had a tractor I use to reclaim water in parking garages have Gatorade dumped in the gas tank on two occasions over the last five years.
Could have been competition, but more likely just some random moron. Jackasses are everywhere.
Hope it works out for you without much more of a headache.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
I just don’t understand the purpose 🫠 how hard is it to be nice?
MethanyJones@reddit
It's pretty rare in DFW.
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
While the rest of us are reading like “no, I’ve never had someone pour anything into my vehicle. And I’m not even that nice.”
fakefaircatch@reddit
You're either up for promotion at work or your fiance has an ex.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Haha, we both just moved across the country together! Too new for either of these things.
Furrealyo@reddit
What kind of plates do you have on your car…?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
TX plates lol - I’m a resident here now.
MethanyJones@reddit
Did you park it in the same spot where you had out of state plates? The deranged hatred for California is real, also a really good filter for people you meet. Just tell them where you moved from and they'll immediately self-identify.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
My plates have been TX for a few months now - at least 4 :) Not from Cali originally - Georgia plates when we moved here.
MethanyJones@reddit
Ah ok. That's probably not it then
FriendlySeekerSarah@reddit
😂 “there goes that theory”
Furrealyo@reddit
Ok nvm then.
MikeyThaKid@reddit
That sounds about right. I’m very sorry this happened to you. It’s very dangerous and unsafe here in DFW. My car has been attempted burgled 3 times in my first year. It would be nice to not have moved here.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
I just don’t see the point. What they did made my car not drivable. So they couldn’t even steal it if they wanted to. Hopefully after insurance, I don’t have to pay too much for this repair, and the mechanic is saying that he’s doing everything he can where I don’t have to get a brand new engine.
Like I failed to understand the mentality of randomly sabotaging some random person‘s car. I don’t have any enemies out here. I only talk to my coworkers and my fiancé. What benefit does somebody get from rendering my car in operable?
Nofame4me@reddit
If something confusing and stupid happens… The answer is usually,,, kids…. Good luck
cactsk@reddit (OP)
This is very generous thought process. Since I can’t prove anything otherwise this may be the safer mental route for me.
PercentageDear6064@reddit
On our first Kia attack, they found the kids that did the damage. Ages 14 and 16 and they were making faces and gestures at the camera. Nothing has happened to them or their parents, legally. A 14 yr old and 16 yr old out at 2 am? Ridiculous
PercentageDear6064@reddit
They think it's funny to destroy our property. Dallas Police do nothing, so they have no fear.
PorcelainDalmatian@reddit
What does it taste like?
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Empty wallet lol
random_house-2644@reddit
😭
No-Rule-5631@reddit
Hopefully when and if you do get the cameras whoever damaged your car will be caught on camera. Try keeping a log of the people who come into view of it. It may not really serve a purpose now but if anything else happens to your car you will have some leads to share with management/law enforcement. I would also file a police report and let management know. Good luck, I’m sorry you’ve had to experience this.
pamalamTX@reddit
All this could be solved by having a camera or two.
Get a nice quad dash cam and learn how to install it yourself on the youtubies. You can set it up so that it records even if the car is off.
It's a nice thing to have, and mine has already paid for itself.
Then, as a backup, set up a cam towards your car, hopefully from inside your apt or something. Good luck and im sorry for the damage to your car.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
This confirmation from the mechanic has finally gotten me to convince my partner. He said I was letting fear take over but after it’s been confirmed we were vandalized, I am definitely en route to purchase new cameras. Once I find out how much this damage will cost me of course…
Chazzybobo@reddit
Buy a new battery if yours is more than 2 years old, and get one that runs 24/7. Some allow you hardwire so you can keep it running, but it lightly draws from your battery.
pamalamTX@reddit
Go to Walmart and see if they have Rove.
MaverickTTT@reddit
Did they also slash the deputy’s tires so they won’t get very far when they finally get the word that there’s been a hold-up?
ForzaFenix@reddit
Great song!
onetradeaday@reddit
Have you thought about buying a gas cap with a lock? Sorry this happened to you.
cactsk@reddit (OP)
Literally the first purchase once I get the car back. Or any car for that matter.