What if you put fuel additive in your gas tank without filling up your tank with gas?

Question

I put a bottle of the fuel additive in my gas tank and then drove to the gas station (About 1 mile or less away). When I got to the gas station, I filled up my tank. But on the way to the gas station, I noticed that my car started hesitating and not accelerating as normal. Then my check enpermanentlycame on! I hope I didn't permanently damage anything.... It does fine after the initial hesitation. Do you think it just needs to run through the tank of gas?

Answer 1

There are many reasons a check engine light comes on.. running low on fuel, loose gas cap.. or as you suggested, a high concentration of hard to burn fuel ( additive) in the tank.. it's not likely though..Best bet is to have the car checked out, and find out the real reason the light is coming on..Additives have their place as part of preventive maintenance on older cars.. but newer cars are highly adaptive/ tolerant (thanks to modern fuel injection and engine management), and usually will not develop a problem until something  is seriously wrong that requires actual repair/ attention..

Answer 2

Fuel additives are a waste of time and money anyway. I expect it is just trying to get past having a large concentration of the junk in the fuel system. If it continues to have problems, get it checked to see what is bringing on the light.  

Answer 3

the two are not related. i will bet that the gas cap is loose, and that is why the light came on. tighten it back up ( listen for three clicks) and it should go off in a day or two.  

Answer 4

I don't worry ABout gas prices since I googled "1940 prices for gas impossible you can too" and watched the YouTube vid that came up

Answer 5

ive always use the stuff since it came out i add it every time i think about it and it dont have to be added to a full tank of gas ..... it will not hurt anything.... if anything your car wasnt running right to began with... so have you change the fuel filter might help also... doesnt hurt anything at all