Tom and Ray: I recently saw an article on a website claiming that car owners should pump their gas in the morning, when it’s cool out, instead of in the afternoon, when it’s hot.
The alleged reasoning is that gasoline expands at higher temperatures and contracts at lower temperatures, allowing more “dense” gas to be pumped when it’s cold.
I personally think this is nonsense, since a car’s gas tank also will expand and contract, and because gas stored in an underground 500-gallon tank probably doesn’t warm by more than a few degrees. So, what is the truth to this? — Richard
Ray: Well, the expansion story is true, Richard. When gas pumps are calibrated, they’re set to measure a gallon of gasoline that’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tom: But when gasoline gets hotter than that, it expands. So you get less than a gallon’s worth of energy for every gallon you pump.
How much less? Well, the most recent study we’ve seen found that the average temperature of gasoline sold in the United States is almost 65 degrees F. That means the average Joe is paying an extra 3 cents a gallon.
Ray: With the value of the phantom gasoline sold adding up to more than $2 billion a year now, the pressure on the gas stations will probably continue to heat up. Now, if they’d agree to put that 3 cents a gallon toward clean bathrooms, maybe a compromise could be worked out here.
Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna XLE with 28,000 miles. Last month while camping with our family of five, the big automatic sliding door on the right side of the car stopped working. We manually shut the door and did not open it again until we got home. Once home, my 5-year-old pushed the button to open that door, and the door fell off the car. Yep. Fell off the side of the car. It was hanging by part of one of the upper hinges. We tied it to the car and took it in to the dealer for repair. We paid for the repair and were happy to have our car back in working order again — until last week, when the other door did the exact same thing.
So I called Toyota to see if there had been some sort of recall or problem with Toyota minivans that we should be aware of, and told them our tale. The guy at the customer-service line told me that he had heard of other minivans with similar problems, but no, there was no recall, just a “TSB” regarding door-hinge problems. We took the car back to the dealer, and he told us that Toyota will pay for the parts for the second door, but he wants us to pay for the labor, which is expensive! — Kate
Tom: Well, I’d suggest you write to a couple of newspaper columnists and see if you can get them to print your letter, Kate.
Ray: Yeah. I can’t imagine that Toyota would want to squander its worldwide reputation for quality over a couple of under-designed door hinges. I mean, do you think Toyota wants the word out that its doors are falling off after 28,000 miles?
Tom: They’ll probably be so embarrassed that they’ll come to you and ask if they can please fix it, at no charge, right away.
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