Plz help were on vacation!!!

2013 ford Explorer ecoboost 2.0 been driving for about 4 hours, stopped to fill up gas. About 1 hour later going up rolling hills the engine starts shuddering, causing the vehicle to jerk. We immediately suspected bad gas. We stopped and bought some heet and filled up with 92 octane gas. Drove for another hour and now experiencing shuddering again and the engine dies. Tried to take to ford dealership but being Saturday evening idk what to do. Now we sometimes get a message saying "low oil pressure" it only does that when the engine dies. We finally got a check engine light as well. PLEASE PLEASE HELP

Not a mechanic but have to ask the obvious question, have you checked the oil dipstick?

Yes we have and its full, just changed oil a couple days before this trip. We have checked the oil dipstick multiple times today. We're still driving any response is greatly appreciated

aaronmiiller said:

Yes we have and its full, just changed oil a couple days before this trip. We have checked the oil dipstick multiple times today. We're still driving any response is greatly appreciated

Click to expand...

Was the oil viscosity the same as what is recommended for your engine?

Affirmative. We're thinking bad gas just wanting reassurance

aaronmiiller said:

Affirmative. We're thinking bad gas just wanting reassurance

Click to expand...

ok. It's out of my realm now. Maybe it will help someone else more experienced to answer. Good luck, brother.

Many thanks for the response. Anyone else have an opinion? Any comments are helpful

what about air intake? did you suck something up off road?

If you have a CEL there will be stored trouble codes. Most larger auto parts stores will scan for them free of charge.
All cars and light trucks built and sold in the United States after January 1, 1996 were required to be OBD II (On-Board Diagnostics) equipped. Write down the trouble code P0 NUMBERS and report back. Anything else is just guessing. GL

OBD-II Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs)
https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2054355&postcount=2

Have you gone through a full tank yet?
I short shudders during startup with a bad tank of gas (became much more noticeable at the last quarter) and completely went away after filling up a full tank of the "good" stuff afterwards.

How about filling up with the highest grade out there sooner than later?

The oil message keeps showing up because the RPMs are dropping too low (or stalls) you don't have an oil problem

Check electrical grounds, battery clamps. Put some more heet in the tank. Check for any obvious things (loose wires, broken parts, etc)

Also I'd get the check engine light checked. Any auto parts store can read them. You can also get a Bluetooth reader and download the "torq" app for your phone, it'll read codes.
But IMO the check engine light is just saying the oil pressure keeps getting low, or is signaling the engine stalled. I've experienced this ALOT with the spark.

Get code read.

Maybe EVAP code.

Well we ran the vehicle almost empty (13 miles to empty) and we had no choice but to stop and fill up, the vehicle would barely run, died several times and barely started backup. We filled it up with gas and poured some seafoam in it. Since then it has been running much better. We ran the tank about half empty and filled up again, since that time it has shuddered very briefly about 3 times. I feel that no doubt we had water in our gas. The problem is almost completely gone.

And as for the check engine light, it disappeared a while back and hasn't showed back up

I'd report the station you got the gas from to see if inspectors can see why the gas was bad. There used to be a gas station in my area that had bad gas all the time andthey sold it cheaper too. Turned out they put water in the gas and got shut down.

I hesitate to ask, but.. did you accidentally fill up with diesel and not gasoline?

chefduane said:

I hesitate to ask, but.. did you accidentally fill up with diesel and not gasoline?

Click to expand...

Diesel pump spout shouldn't fit in fill-pipe of a modern car (?) ...Believe me, I tried once...

anyone?

LukerDooker said:

Diesel pump spout shouldn't fit in fill-pipe of a modern car (?) ...Believe me, I tried once...

anyone?

Click to expand...

Ah. This I did not know. Never had a diesel car.