‘How Bad Is This?:' Woman Opens Up Her Gas Tank. Then She Sees What Her Son Stuck Inside. Is it Fixable?
It can happen in an instant. You're taking care of a child, and one moment they're playing peacefully, and the next they've cut their sibling's hair, taken a sudden fall, or shattered one of your coveted knick-knacks.
Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.
back
Sign up
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use
.
In a viral video with more than 1.1 million views, mom Leigha Barth (
@watersmagic
) shared the not-so-great surprise her son left in her car.
In the TikTok, Barth appears to be at a gas station about to pump when she notices something weird in the fuel hole.
When she takes a closer look, Barth notices something strange that isn't usually there—a small stick stealthily inserted by her son when she wasn't looking.
'Welp…any advice?? My son put sticks in my gas tank. I did NOT get all of it out,' she says in the text overlay.
In the caption, she asks mechanics, 'How bad is this?'
What Should She Do?
Getting something in your gas tank is definitely concerning, but this isn't necessarily a worst-case scenario.
The severity depends on several factors: the size of the debris, how far it's traveled into the system, and whether your car has been driven since it happened, according to
several car forums
.
Trending Now
'Just Beware:' Woman Buys A 2025 Nissan Rogue. She Says This One Feature Can Be Risky If You Don't Pay Attention
'I'm So Sorry For Wasting Y'all's Time:' Woman Notices a 'Burning' Smell in Her New Car. The Mechanic Says Something Unexpected
Most modern fuel systems have built-in protections. There's typically a fuel pickup screen at the bottom of the tank that's designed to catch debris before it can reach the fuel pump. The fuel filler neck also has some natural barriers that prevent larger objects from reaching the actual tank.
What you should do:
Don't start or drive the car until you've addressed the issue:
Try to remove what you can see using long tweezers, needle-nose pliers, or similar tools; and
Get professional help if you can't remove all the debris or if any has fallen deeper into the tank.
If organic material like wood breaks down in gasoline, it could create smaller particles that might clog filters or damage fuel system components. In worst-case scenarios where debris reaches the fuel pump or injectors, repair costs can range from hundreds to over a thousand dollars.
Many people have dealt with kids, or perhaps a
jilted ex
, putting various objects in gas tanks.
Often the debris can be removed without major expense if caught quickly. The key is acting fast and not driving the vehicle until the problem is resolved.
A professional mechanic can assess whether the tank needs to be dropped and cleaned or if simpler removal methods will work.
DIY or Take It to a Mechanic?
People who reacted to Barth's post had conflicting suggestions about what she should do. Some were more serious than others.
'Get rid of the kid for sure,' a top commenter joked.
'Shrink the kid and make him fish it out. Call Rick Moranis or Wonka ASAP,' another added.
A commenter who identified themself as a mechanic reassured Barth that it might not require professional assistance.
'Get what you can out, any of it that makes it to the tank isn't going to hurt anything. The pump will be fine. The filters wont clog up from that, the pump won't be affected, you can drive it where ever you need to go,' they wrote.
'I would even let my wife drive with the kids if this was our car is how little of an issue it is as long as you get enough out of the filler neck to allow gas to pump in normally. Get one of the skinny grab thingys from Harbor Freight or somewhere similar to get down in there and get any visible pieces out.'
More From Motor1
'Completely Misses the Point:' Germany Slams the EU's Gas Car Rental Ban Idea
'So Do Not Forget It:' Lamborghini Owner Says This Is How Much Gas Caps Are. So Why Isn't It Attached to the Car?
'If He Acts Like That From Rejection in Public…:' Female Motorcyclist Gets Hit on by Man at a Gas Station. Then She Rejects Him
'Disaster for Me:' Hyundai's Sports Car Boss Mourns The Loss of Gas Hot Hatches
Share this Story
X
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NASCAR still mulling championship format for 2026 and/or beyond
NASCAR is still going through the process of deciding its championship for the foreseeable future, but much to the chagrin of some fans, NBC Sports will still have a oversized say-so in what direction the sport goes. A playoff committee has been assembled, and has met multiple times this year, and is comprised of drivers, Hall of Fame inductees, broadcasters, officials, media members and broadcast executives. It's been a polarizing topic over the past week with every indication pointing towards NASCAR retaining a playoff format of some kind instead of reverting back to a season long points format. NASCAR's managing director of racing communications, Mike Forde, detailed on Wednesday's episode of his officially sanctioned 'Hauler Talk' podcast about the state of those conversations. 'We're going to have a discussion with our broadcast partners at NBC,' Forde said. 'NBC does have a seat at the table and they have a member of their team [on the playoff committee]. … There are other people at NBC who have a huge voice. Obviously, they are spending a lot of money to broadcast NASCAR. They do have a large seat at the table, so we'll be talking to them and getting their opinions on that. I feel like people have kind of scoffed at that move and have been incredulous that NBC does have such a huge voice — that feels strange to me. I feel like that is a pretty obvious thing that we need to do. They have a big voice because they write the biggest check. 'But once we come upon a menu of options, we do plan to have a fan council survey that goes out to get the fans' point of view. I know Mark Martin has put an X poll out there, Jeff Gluck has put an X poll out there, so we are also going to take a survey of our fans — that's part of our plan anyway.' Forde said a change won't be made from the status quo unless NASCAR feels very strongly that it is the right thing to do. 'TBD on really when the next step is and if we have enough time to get changes in place for 2026,' Forde said. 'I think that's something we'll work towards but making that happen as we're getting closer to the middle of August to talk to NBC and have a full-blown meeting and the aftermath of what that will be –may be a little bit tricky — but I wouldn't completely rule out 2026 changes, either. … There are really lots of opinions, so I think it's just boiling it down to the top four, getting with NBC, then getting back to the committee and then getting with NASCAR leadership to say here's what it is. 'Now, can we do that in time and feel good about it for 2026? What it comes down to is we don't want to feel like we are pushing through a change that we're going to have to change again. We want to feel really, really good about. If that can happen for 2026, great. If not, I think we're comfortable waiting for 2027.' The current format is a 16-driver, three round elimination gauntlet that is eventually decided by a one-race best-finisher-take-all finale between a final four. The format heavily rewards winning through advancing into the tournament but also advancing from round-to-round. Before this format, NASCAR used a 10 (and later 12) driver, 10-race points battle after the regular season in which the participants were the drivers highest in championship points re-seeded based on their regular season running order. Prior to that was the season long points battle which emphasized average finish over the course of the whole year.
CNN
9 minutes ago
- CNN
Tesla ordered by Florida jury to pay $329 million in Autopilot crash
FacebookTweetLink A Florida jury on Friday found Tesla liable in the 2019 fatal crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, and ordered Elon Musk's automaker to pay $329 million to the family of a deceased woman and an injured survivor. Jurors in Miami federal court ordered Tesla to pay $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages to the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon and to her former boyfriend Dillon Angulo. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the trial was the first involving the wrongful death of a third party resulting from Autopilot. The plaintiffs had sought $345 million. Tesla has faced many similar lawsuits over its vehicles' self-driving capabilities, but they have been resolved or dismissed without getting to trial. A judge rejected Tesla's efforts to dismiss the case earlier in the summer, and experts said this may encourage other litigants against the EV maker. 'I think it's a big deal,' said Alex Lemann, a professor at Marquette University Law School, who said this may make future settlements more expensive for Tesla. 'This is the first time that Tesla has been hit with a judgment in one of the many, many fatalities that have happened as a result of its auto-pilot technology.' Friday's verdict could impede efforts by Musk, the world's richest person, to convince investors that Tesla can become a leader in so-called autonomous driving for private vehicles as well as robotaxis it plans to start producing next year. Shares fell 1.8% on Friday. Tesla plans to appeal, according to published reports. The Austin, Texas-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to several requests for comment. The trial concerned an April 25, 2019, incident where George McGee drove his 2019 Model S at about 62 mph through an intersection into the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing beside it on a shoulder. McGee had reached down to pick up a cellphone he dropped on his car's floorboard and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign and stop light before hitting the victims' SUV. 'We have a driver who was acting less than perfectly, and yet the jury still found Tesla contributed to the crash,' said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University engineering professor and expert in autonomous technology. 'The only way the jury could have possibly ruled against Tesla was by finding a defect with the Autopilot software. That's a big deal.' Benavides Leon was allegedly thrown 75 feet to her death, while Angulo suffered serious injuries. 'Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled-access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere, alongside Elon Musk telling the world Autopilot drove better than humans,' Brett Schreiber, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. 'Today's verdict represents justice for Naibel's tragic death and Dillon's lifelong injuries,' he added. Last month, Tesla posted its biggest quarterly sales decline in more than a decade, and profit fell short of Wall Street forecasts.
Wall Street Journal
9 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Jury Says Tesla Must Pay $243 Million Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
A Florida jury found Tesla TSLA -1.82%decrease; red down pointing triangle was partly to blame over a fatal 2019 collision involving a vehicle equipped with the company's driver-assistance software, awarding the plaintiffs nearly $329 million in damages. It marks the first time a jury has awarded damages in a lawsuit related to Tesla's driver-assistance features and a major setback for Elon Musk's electric-vehicle company. The jury concluded the automaker failed to provide sufficient warnings or instructions for its Autopilot feature in the 2019 Tesla Model S involved in the accident, making the car unreasonably dangerous.
