Bad Injectors

Do you work for Costco?

I wasn’t singling anyone out. I never even said it must be fuel in regards to OPs dilemma. I’m just commenting on my personal work experience with the fuel industry and poking some doubt into your false idea that Costco is protecting you from bad fuel. They are not. Your best bet, and it’s never a safe bet as nothing ever is, is to go to a major gas station that has recently been built, or recently replaced its tanks.

What I will say about Costco, is that they are an extremely frugal and cost conscious operation. There is big incentives for local managers to cut costs and perform. That is the primary goal of the company, as it markets itself as a low cost option.

 

Problem is if you need to do all 6 in the future that's another $6000. Vehicles today are ridiculous in parts and repair costs. That's why I prefer reliability of Toyota generally overall.

 

Is there any evidence to support your theory?

I think the reasoning behind Costco mixing the additives at the delivery site is to ensure their customers get the highest quality gas rather than trusting an out of sight external third party.

 

No. I cannot download my memories yet, so you just gotta think it through for yourself. Maybe this thread is the evidence?? Possibly.

 

I dont know why anyone would be shocked that a corporation would cut costs at your expense.

 

Do cosco fan boys not have their own forum?....asking for a friend...

 

That would be highly unusual that all 6 go out even with bad gas. For whatever reason, in my experience, the same ones will keep going out.

@stun gun seems to have heavy diesel mechanical experience and could probably confirm.

 

When it leaves the terminal, and gets truck directly to the local stations, are additional additives being added at the station?

I’d guess not, as the known quantities in the underground storage facilities can not be entered as accurately as within a terminal facility, amongst other reason this seems unlikely.

Are you suggesting this is what happens? That Costco adds additional additives at local stations?

 

I think not. I'm open minded enough to believe anything anyone says as long as they back it up with evidence. I have no reason to disbelieve Costco about their gas or their corporate philosophy. To think that Costco store managers go out of their way to screw over their customers is totally against their corporate philosophy and is beyond sane reasoning since it's based on feelings.

 

https://www.costcoauto.com/automotive_articles/fuel_economy/top_tier_gas_nozip.aspx

it says here they do:

"As the number of Costco gas stations grew, the challenge was to find an efficient way to mix the gasoline and the additives to meet Costco’s high standards. Tim says Costco decided the best system would be to blend the additives at Costco gas stations during the fuel delivery. This way, he explains, Costco could have complete control over both the process and the quality aspects of the fuel."

"To accomplish this, Costco worked with industry experts to design and implement a unique on-site additive system. “The quality of our attendants, and the pride they take in the reputation of both Costco and its fuel business, convinced us that we could reliably execute such a plan,” says Jeff."

 

I stand corrected.

Thank you for supporting it with the source. That’s great. End of my attempt to throw Costco under the bus here.

 

Well.... this isn't the first time it has happened. I really doubted it last time, but I guess it can happen:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/all-fuel-injectors-bad.586373/

 

That is very very strange.

 

Yes, a very strange story.

 

E85 is 85% ethanol bud..

 

I never made any such claim. All I said, which is the truth, is you have a greater chance of random gas blending, which you do. I believe (just my opinion) is the whole reason Costco does this gig is so they can buy the cheapest lowest grade gasoline on the market, which is gasoline with no additives, then add a bucket of stuff to it and call it Top Teir.

Think about it......why not just buy Top Teir gasoline from the refinery and sell that? They don’t because they want the option to buy the dirt cheap stuff at a discount, and get different fuel producers competing with each other to drive the cost down as much as possible. Costco’s only goal is to secure your business through low prices. That’s it. Buying non-additive gas from refineries and then adding a bucket at the station fulfills that goal.

No amount of corporate Mumbo-jumbo written by clever marketers can disguise the fact. They do not care about your car, but they do care about getting you parked beside their pumps.

 

After finding and reading that article, that comes straight from the horses mouth, I agree with you.

It reads like double speak.

"Trust us we know whats best for you."

 

https://www.toptiergas.com/toptier_detergent_gasoline/

Furthermore, going to read up on what top tier is you get this:



"Unwashed gums are an indication of the detergency level in gasoline. In the United States regulation was passed in the late 1990s requiring a minimum level of detergency in gasoline. Following the introduction of this regulation, vehicle manufacturers experienced a significant increase in reported vehicle performance issues, leading to the introduction of the TOP TIER™ Detergent Gasoline program. The standard, developed and supported by automakers is based on engine performance."

So being top tier just means that you put a certain amount of additives in your gasoline.

 

All I have is anecdotal info, but I've driver over 350k miles in the last 15 years, spread over 3 different vehicles, and a lot of the fuel was purchased at costco. I understand corporate obsession with profits, and don't give them a pass in this case. But I'd also like to note that corporate and store level profits are going to be damaged when 100s of people that bought gas at a specific costco are coming back and reporting injector problems.

Could this one costco have screwed up (accidentally, or on purpose), or have a bad tank? Sure.
Would that mean that every one of them is doing the same thing? Maybe, but the lack of complaints would seem to disagree.
I have no idea what testing is done to verify fuel advertised as Top Tier is tested and verified, but like most other quality testing, I'd bet on it being inadequate at best.

 

And I’m not doubting that the Costco attendant adds the required bucket of soap to their cheap-ass open-market additive-free bottom-budget fuel, most of the time. I’m sure they do.