Can running out of gas ruin your engine?

Question

i have a new 2008 honda accord, and i recently realized i ran out of gas, and well..can this ruin my engine? since its fairly new and all..

Answer 1

not at all, not the best for the fuel pump, could cause check engine lamp to come on and store some false codes which will reset themselves.

Answer 2

It might ruin your day, but not your car.

Answer 3

Yep your engine will blow up if you run out of gas... JUST KIDDING, the only thing it will do is suck up gunk from the bottom of the empty tank. And gunk = bad for carb/fuel injectors

Answer 4

running your tank dry isnt good for the pump, gas is what keeps the pump cool and it also will suck dirt from the bottom of the tank and clog up the gas filter and the injectors.

Answer 5

No,

It just ruins your chance of getting to your next destination on time!

Answer 6

NO running out of engine can ruin your gas

Answer 7

No I don't believe so. But using low quality gas may harm your engine. Using an octane boost may improve performance and removing excess water from the gas tank may improve gas mileage.

Answer 8

It's unlikely that it would ruin your engine.  This is actually more true for newer vehicles than older.

Over time, gunk can build up in the gas tank.  Think dirt, pollen, and other particulate matter.  Normally, that's taken care of by the filter.  But when you run out of gas, it can cause some of this stuff (which would normally be suspended in the gasoline that's in your tank) to get sucked through the filter.  That can eventually cause problems like clogged fuel injectors.

So as a general rule you don't want to run out of gas, but if it happens once in a great while you should be all right.  Personally, when I run out of gas I add fuel injector cleaner the next time I fill my tank, just to be sure.

Answer 9

well if you have an older car (which you don't, yet) gas tank builds up a layer of c**p after a lot of times filling it up and if you continually run out of gas or let your car get all the way to empty before filling up you may be sucking some of that c**p into your engine. which is not good.

Answer 10

Running out of fuel won't ruin your engine; however, running out of fuel will allow the fuel pump (immersed in the fuel tank) to run dry - this can damage the fuel pump. Moral of the story is, fill up when you need to to avoid the damage.