2002 chevy tahoe sputtered and shut down after getting gas in south carolina n a few minutes later started right up
This could be a few things. One is bad quality gas but since it started up again that may not be the cause. The other may be the fuel filter, fuel pump, or fuel injectors. Any of them would cause the engine to sputter and shut off. Do you normally buy fuel from this station? Was it a little old "Mom & Pop" station? They sometimes have dirt in their fuel. If not does the station you by from have pure gas, no ethanol. It's getting hard to find fuel that isn't at least "E-10" or 10% ethanol (alcohol). GM vehicles made after '97-'98 will run just fine on E-10. One thing about ethanol is it is basically like a solvent. We use alcohol to clean product before going into a paint process. It breaks down the oils and dirt. This can happen in a gas tank with ethanol. Especially if you have never or almost never used E-10 or higher fuel. Are you sure you didn't happen to buy E-85 fuel? Also, do you normally keep your tank at least half full? Sometimes a gas tank, fuel lines, or fuel injectors will have a varnish like build up and the ethanol will break it down and it will clog up the fuel filter, fuel pump, or fuel injectors. Do you know when the last time your fuel filter was changed? Then again it may be the fuel pump may be weak and/or about to fail. It happens and it can be expensive because the pump is inside the gas tank. I found out not to let the fuel level get super low, too. I let that happen one time while on the road and I almost couldn't get it started. One thing you can do to help extend the life of the pump is when you want to start your Tahoe, first turn the key to the run position without starting the engine. You get a lot of warning sounds for a couple of seconds but if you listen really close you probably can just hear the fuel pump pressurize the lines. It only takes a second and once it is pressurized you can't hear the pump. This will help extend the life of the pump as it doesn't have to work as hard for that short period of time during start. Most people will turn the key from OFF to START in one quick turn. Try to get into this habit for a while. It doesn't cost you anything and if it works it will save you some hassle until something actually completely breaks down. My son has an old BMW and he was complaining about having to put 2 fuel pumps in it in 2 years. I told him to try letting the pump charge the system before starting and he hasn't changed the pump in almost 4 years. Now it's part of the cute quirk of having a 32 year old car.
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