Get a load of this...

I fill up my gas tank yesterday and a few miles after I do so, I start to notice my car driving differently. It was shaking quite noticably while at idle. Then the check engine light comes on...

Take it in today, the dealership runs a diagnostic, the cylinders are misfiring and then the best part of all..

about an inch of water at the bottom of the gas tank. They took a gas sample and showed it to me. Sure enough, water in the bottle...

"The only way water gets into your gas tank is if you forcibly pour water into it," the mechanic tells me.

I'm still awaiting an "answer" from the gas company where I purchased the gas (premium grade, 93 octane); I was told they will be "conducting tests on the tanks below ground." And naturally, I'm the "only one who has called in a complaint." Yeah, that's why the premium pumps at the station are now taped off and not in service. Funny how that should occur!

Bottom line, the estimate to put my car back to the way it is before the bad gas: roughly $1,796.00.

That figures to $112.25 per gallon of gas. I'm calling Guinness Book of World Records.

 

Ouch! I'd be super pissed off too.

 

Sue the bastards or at the very least report that gas station to the BBB in your area.

 

which gas station? Sam's Club gas?

 

HOLY SHIT!!!

sorry to hear

please tell...which station was this?

 

you might want to get a dated picture of that gas station with the out of service bags on them, save your dated receipt and a dated copy of what the dealership told you.

 

Will your warranty cover it?

 

Good advice.
Of course the gas station could plead stupidity like: Ahh, someone knocked off the tank covers and rain water got in the tanks.

 

No matter, They are still liable. They have insurance for these types of incidents.

 

Let us know where you got the gas from...

 

$112.25 per gallon is even more than the rocket fuel we bought for my uncle's race boat. l would be pissed!!

 

That sucks!

I think you should also file a complaint against the gas station just to make sure that you are on record that you have a claim for damages to your car. Be sure to have your receipt of gas purchase and have your Acura dealer document the water found in your gas tank, a sample of the tainted gas would be even better evidence, if you needed it.

 

If the water came from a crack in the underground gas tanks I'd be worried about the potential of gas leaking into the environment. This is a bigger problem than they're letting on to.

 

Definitely need to raise hell about this. Water in the underground tanks is definitely a major issue and so is the possibility of leaking gas into the environment. You should really find a way to report this to someone, perhaps even write to the parent company of the gas station.

 

I would report this to BBB as well as any local news stations. Local news stations love doing investigative stories these days.

 

Also with all of the posts earlier.

 

Well, as of now, I still haven't heard a single word from the owner of the gas station after leaving two messages. I drove by again yesterday afternoon and took pictures of the pumps (with the tape on them displaying they were out of order). I have my receipt (thank god) and a sample of the tainted gas (my dealership is holding it right now).

Acura will not warranty this as it is an external problem which makes perfect sense and I called my insurance and their gut reaction was that my problem might not be covered! So, if the gas station (a certain gas station with a red triangle as their logo in Glenview, IL) doesn't own up to this and reimburse me IN FULL, trust me, the Glenview Chamber of Commerce will know about this, I will contact the BBB, I will contact the local TV news stations...there is not a CHANCE IN HELL I will be paying for any of this. No sir.

 

Whew!! Good thing I don't get gas from red triangle stations... Don't drive through Glenview often either...

But good luck to you and keep us posted!!

 

oh, Sorry to hear about it. it sucks. Keep us posted with the action against gas station.

 

Write to Shit-go HQ in Houston. Start at the top. I have a Prelude that was damaged in Shell car wash - they did not pay of coarse. I sent back the CC cut up and will never buy gas from them again. Get as much publicity involved as possible.

 

Hmm damm that sucks. I always wondered what would happen if water got into the engine. What does it mean "cylinder misfiring?"

 

You might want to contact your state enviromental control agency, if they go out and find water in the tanks while testing for cracks/leaking you will have some serious third party evidence to back up a claim. Without proof there is water in the tank your gas came from you are fighting a serious up hill battle to prove for example that someone who dislikes you or your car didn't put the water in instead of the station's pump, remember in this case YOU have the burden of proof. Further, it is doubtful the pictures of the closed pumps would be allowed in court, this is done for public policy reasons, for example if a manufacturer is alerted to a possible products liability issue and rectifies the problem their fix is not usually admissible due to the fact that if it was admissible manufacturers would NEVER rectify problems prior to a court decision if it could be used as an admission of guilt and more people could be harmed in the interim.

Vandy

 

You should also be contacting the city about checking the gas. I couldn't tell you the name of the commission but they go around checking gas stations to make sure the octane's are right and nothings being "watered down" so to speak. They'll be VERY interested in this. I wish I could give you a better idea of who to contact.

 

well I picked up my car today...runs beautifully...and the final repairs came in at a little over $1000.00

The owner of the gas station was surprisingly cooperative and sympathetic to the problems I had and is willing to reimburse me 100% for the repairs and all other costs (like the rental I had to get).

What a nightmare. Who would've ever thought it would come to this. We all assume that the gas we use (and pay so much for in Chicago land I might add) is safe. But apparently, according to the station owner the filling company left the cover to the underground tank off and rain water had been running in. And I'm still the only one who had this problem...if that's true, this owner got off extremely lucky and to be in his position has got to suck as well. I mean, I don't know what he has to do now...pump out the entire underground tank??? That has got to cost a pretty penny.

I won't be completely happy of course until I have the reimbursement check in hand, but I'm so relieved to know that the owner is going to cover me!

 

Good to hear.

 

Nope. Water is heavier than gas. He has to let it settle for a while, then pump carefully from the bottom sump until all the water is gone.

Realistically, since it's the filling company's fault, they're probably going to send a tanker out, pump the whole thing, and sort out the water/gas separation and/or disposal elsewhere. They're also going to take care of your repair.

Incidentally, for over $1000, exactly what did the Acura dealer do? In most cases, little more is needed than draining the water out of the system (involves draining the whole tank), replacing the filter, and checking out everything else. I'm thinking maybe some emissions equipment may have been damaged, because none of the major components should be harmed.

 

Hmm. I don't know what water could do to fully heated cylinder walls and pistons but it can't be too good. And many strokes full of water could eventually lead to an engine lock up. Water doesn't evacuate as well as hot gas exhaust.

 

Good to hear they're gonna pay up

 

Apparently, they had to completely drop the gas tank. One mechanic said "let's just siphon it all out" and another said, "No, there is just too much water (about 10%) in the tank, we have to drop it completely to really make sure we get it all out."

Well, it was explained to me that in order to drop the tank, they first had to drop the suspension (remove the wheels, the springs, etc.) then while the tank was down, they opened it up, wiped it down with brake cleaner (because it is alcohol based), blew out all of the gas lines with the brake cleaner or something and many other things. Then, because the suspension had to be dropped and the wheels taken off, they had to do a realignment yadda yadda yadda... they thought too, it may be necessary to replace the injectors for fear they might rust, but since I brought it in less than 24 hours after filling up at the gas station, they really thought the injectors would be okay. Now I would rather have had them replace the injectors altogether, but was told that if, down the road, they go bad they will be replaced under warranty.

Who knows...oh and also, it was $250 or thereabouts to safely dispose of the bad gas in my tank. They had to call in a hazardous waste disposal company to do whatever they do with bad gas. Can't just pour it down the drain...that was a quarter of the entire invoice!

 

OK, that makes sense. Didn't realize you needed to drop the suspension to get at the tank. Usually gas tanks can be drained completely without removing them, but I guess under the circumstances dropping the whole thing was probably advisable, especially since somebody else was picking up the tab.

Yeah, I think had it been longer-term, you might have experienced some problems in other areas, but from 24 hours of exposure, the problem should have been minimal. After all, the engine is designed to accommodate lots of water vapor running through it (happens every time you drive around on a rainy or humid day) and is designed to handle this just fine. The primary source of concern would have to be the fuel system.

 

That's great news.

 

last time i checked water in gas is ILLEGAL! start putting this around and let them know your mouth wont be shut. there was a small time gas station around here, put water in the gas, they were shut down. then another station picked it up and had the "gulf" gas name, then gulf dropped thier name and some how thier gas become significantly cheaper (like 10 cents). figures, they started selling crappier gas..

now that im in florida, i refuse to buy gas at any older looking station or anyhting thats not a major chain. These stations hafta hold up to certain standards to keep the name (ususaly) plus you have a greater chance of getting them to settle w. you if u start openeing your mouth.... (exxon mobile wouldnt want you to start gettig on the news saying they have tainted gas)