People have innovative and novel ideas when it comes to sabotaging a car. While some approaches involve defacing and bashing up a car, some prefer subtle and hidden solutions.
The most common vandalism we’ve seen is adding impurities to the fuel tank. This is will either be sugar, salt, water, or the wrong fuel type. While urban legends religiously stand by these vandalism procedures, some of them are not as harmful as you’ve been led to believe.
What Happens if There’s Sugar in Your Gas Tank?
If someone pours sugar down your gas tank, it will be an inconvenience that you might not detect right away.
What the Legend Expects
The proponents of this vandalism procedure argue that the sugar will dissolve in your gas tank and make its way into the engine. Once in the engine, it will caramelize and coat the combustion chamber and other internal components ruining your engine permanently.
The Truth About Sugar in the Gas Tank
The truth is different. First of all, sugar doesn’t dissolve in gasoline. Any sugar in your fuel tank will sediment at the very bottom.
Since it is still in solid form, it will not make its way past the fuel filter before the fuel pump. Just because the sugar doesn’t get to your engine doesn’t mean it isn’t an inconvenience.
It Will Ruin Your Fuel Filter
Like any other sediments in your fuel tank, sugar will overwork your fuel filters and clog them if it is in the right volume.
This starves your engine making it lose power or even stall. Apart from just clogging the filter, it could also ruin your fuel pump and the fuel lines.
Eventually, you will have to flush the tank, replace the filter and service your fuel pump to sanitize your fuel delivery system.
Though not as rash as a ruined engine, this is a costly inconvenience that will still set you back a pretty coin.
It Can Clog the Fuel Injectors
If some fine sugar crystals make it past the filters and fuel pump, chances are they will end up clogging the fuel injectors.
Your injectors convert fuel into a very fine mist which is finer than any undissolved sugar. Consequently, the particles will get stuck, clogging the fuel injectors.
How Long Does it Take Sugar to Destroy an Engine?
Even though sugar won’t ruin the engine perse, it will damage other crucial fuel system components like the filters, fuel pumps, and injectors.
There’s no specific timeline on how soon you should start seeing the effect. If it is too much sugar, you should have your filter clogged in under 20 miles of driving.
If it is fine crystal sugar, you will still drive for a couple of hundreds of miles before it eventually makes it to your injectors and blocks them. Chances are you will notice the effects of a clogged filter and fouled pump long before the sugar gets to your injectors.
How Much Sugar in a Gas Tank Will Ruin It?
Any sugar in your gas tank isn’t good news. While your filter can shrug off a spoon or two as it would any other sediments, the more the sugar, the higher the possibility of ruining your tank.
Anything above half a cup will have profound effects that you will notice very soon, forcing you to flush your tank.
What to Do If Someone Puts Sugar in Your Gas Tank?
If you are lucky enough to notice the vandalism before starting your car, avoid turning it on as much as possible. You have better chances of salvaging more fuel system components since the fuel pump won’t try to suck the sugar through until you turn on the car.
- Organize to have the tank removed from the car
- Drain all the fuel from the tank and remove the filter and fuel pump assembly
- If your fuel tank has an absorbent mat before the fuel outlet, remove it too
- Purchase a replacement filter and absorbent mat. Don’t re-use the existing ones
- Reassemble the fully cleaned tank and the new filters and replace them to the car
If you noticed after starting the engine and running it for a while, you should go further and:
- Get a replacement fuel pump.
- Take the time to flush the fuel delivery lines and inspect fuel injectors
- If the fuel injectors seem affected too, replace them
- If your engine uses a carburetor, clean it too
Replacing a fuel pump and flushing the fuel delivery system is intensive. Consider getting a mechanic to help you address the problem if you think you’ve driven around for a while after the incident.
Legal charges for putting sugar in someone’s gas tank
Typically, the legal charges for putting sugar in another person’s gas tank fall under malicious mischief because it is an intentional crime. Malicious mischief is the act of intentionally defacing, damaging, or destroying another person’s property without their consent. Malicious mischief also goes by criminal mischief, vandalism, property damage, or other names depending on the State.
Courts charge this offense as a misdemeanor or felony offense with varying penalties. However, the penalty depends on how the local law classifies the offense and intent behind the act. Although the lawyers can debate whether the charge is a misdemeanor or felony, it is undoubtedly illegal to sugar someone’s gas tank.
Misdemeanor crimes are less serious than felony crimes. A misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment of up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of $1,000.
On the other hand, putting sugar in someone’s car could be a felony crime if the offender endangered the driver’s life, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine between $5,000 to $10,000.
Also, crimes involving property damage will always include restitution, which is the offender paying the property owner for the damage costs.
The punishment will also vary depending on factors such as the cost of the car, cost of the damage, and State, among others. For instance, the judge may impose a term of probation and payment of damages instead of jail time if someone is a first-time offender.
In most states in the USA, sugaring someone’s car is a third-degree criminal mischief offense. RCW 9A.48.090 classifies malicious mischief third-degree as a gross misdemeanor, meaning the maximum penalty is 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Punishment will vary on a case-to-case basis.
In the Province of Ontario, Canada, criminal mischief is punishable by two years in jail if the property value is $5,000 or less. The maximum sentence could be five years in prison if it’s an indictable or serious offense.
Since adding sugar to the gas tank is malicious, you can report it to the authorities or your insurer if your coverage protects you from vandalism. The perpetrator can either be made to settle by the law, or your insurer will settle your claim and find a way to recoup their costs from the vandal.