Creative Consumer: Scams That Don't Save You Gas

April 21, 2008 — -- The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline could hit an all-time high today, and for months drivers have felt continuous pain at the pump.

"It's crazy, It's out of control," a motorist at a Washington, D.C., gas station told ABC News. "It hurts me in the wallet, in the heart, in the stomach -- everywhere," said another customer as he filled up.

When gas prices go up, so does hype about "gas-saving" products. The Federal Trade Commission warns that these gadgets and additives don't work. If they did, the government and carmakers would have incorporated them into their requirements and designs.

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The Environmental Protection Agency monitors gas-saving claims and tests some of the products. The EPA says it's never found one that provides significant savings.

EPA scientists showed us how they can test fuel consumption by putting a car up on a rack and driving a computerized course. Over the years, they've tested more than a hundred gadgets and additives that claim to save gas.

But the claims -- especially on the Internet -- continue. The most common categories are additives you put in your gas tank, air bleed devices that pump air into your carburetor and magnets that claim to change the molecular structure of gasoline.

ABC News found an online ad that said by attaching a special magnet to your fuel line, you could save up to $20 per tank of gas. The device sold for $90 and claimed to increase gas mileage by 27 percent. Turns out, the FTC had already ordered the company to cease making false claims. But the ads kept popping up. To add insult to injury, this device and others are now sometimes sold as business opportunities that turn out to be pyramid schemes.