Sharp Increase In Contaminated Fuel Complaints In NC Leads To Expensive Repairs For Drivers

RALEIGH, NC — When Rashaun Brown goes to fill up his truck, he’s always hoping he gets the total value of the fuel he paid for.

“When you think about getting your gas, you think about getting it and riding to its fullest potential,” Brown said.

Brown, who said he depends on a working vehicle for his job, stopped at a gas station in Raleigh with his work partner Thursday morning. He and other drivers have questioned why several stations have recently bagged pumps.

“They may not have a problem with the fuel,” said Melissa Spencer, a North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Fuel Quality Lab supervisor. “It might be with the pump itself. But for whatever reason, it’s being bagged off, and there’s signage on there.”

Spencer said her department had a record spike in complaints this month, ranging from slow pumps to contaminated fuel. Of about 50 reports, about half noted issues with water in fuel.

“How [water] gets in there is hard to say,” she said. “Each place is different. It could be a crack in the tank or lines that the water gets into. If the water table goes up, it can get in that way.”

Parts of North Carolina recently saw several inches of rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Debby this August. Spencer said the state continues to investigate each report, but there may be a correlation with the spike in complaints.

Spencer said the last spike in complaints was in January, when there were 36 total. Altogether, there have been about 236 complaints so far this year. Since 2021, Spencer said the highest monthly numbers hovered around 24-27 complaints.

“We take every complaint that comes in seriously,” she said. “We go out and investigate it. Even people who call 2-3 months after the sale, we check the product.”

Spencer said complaints came from 37 gas stations across the state. Some had multiple reports. “If we find any phase separation in the tank, we stop sales on that product, and the station has to remediate it,” she said. “Once the problem is fixed, we go back and check it before they can resume sales.”

Spencer said their staff tries to respond to complaints within 24 hours after receiving them, but not every driver will file a report. “The sooner we get those complaints, the sooner we can check the product and have a better answer,” Spencer said.

Vincent Belmonte, the General Manager at Epic Auto Center in Raleigh, said water and fuel are simply a bad combination for your vehicle. “It depends on how much water is in the fuel,” he said. “If the ratio of fuel to water in the tank is greater than 50%, it’s sucking straight water into the intake and the fuel system. That’s not going to combust. It degrades the quality of fuel.”

Belmonte said water strips the ethanol from gasoline. The cost of repairs can be expensive and depends on how much water is in the tank and how long the car was driven. He said, “You can lock up your engine, damage your fuel system, damage your fuel pump, and you can be talking about thousands of dollars in repairs very quickly.”

If customers have concerns, Belmonte said the best option is to have your car towed and checked by a mechanic. “Of course, they’re furious,” Belmonte said. “They’re buying gas at the gas station and expect it to be gasoline, not water. A lot of the time, the customer ends up footing the bill.”

Spencer said while lawsuits and insurance are sometimes involved, they’ve also seen issues resolved between the gas station and the customer. She said there are about 7,000 gas stations across North Carolina, the number of complaints is often low, and they want to ensure drivers are getting what they pay for.

Spencer said bagged and slow gas pumps can often be a sign of an issue. She also advised against purchasing gas if the station is in the process of getting a delivery because the force of the fuel delivery can push dirt and sediment particles through the dispenser, even if a filter is in place.

If you suspect that the quality of the fuel you have purchased is faulty, you can contact the NC Fuel Quality Laboratory at 984-236-4770. You can also share complaints online using this link.

This article first appeared in WNCN.