Jul 12, 2008 12:11 am US/Eastern
Bad Gas Causing Big Car Problems
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
As a single mom with 2 kids, Jackie Masumoto needs her car.
"I mean without it I can't take my kids anywhere: to school, to sports, without my car I can not even move," says the self-employed South Dade resident .
So, when her car recently developed engine problems, stopped running, and had to be repaired several times, she really felt stuck.
Jackie says she got several tanks of bad gas at a Perrine Amoco station.
She remembers it well, and recalls "On May 30th, I came here to get gas and the next morning, Saturday morning, I was taking my kid to martial arts and the car wouldnt start."
Jackie's dealer, South Motors BMW diagnosed a bad fuel pump and replaced it.
But, a few days later it broke down again.
Mechanics found the 2nd fuel pump was also bad. So they finally checked the gas tank.
Dan Warren, her dealers' service manager, tested the gas in her tank and confirms, "The test found the mix of ethanol to fuel in her car was about 22%, and what that did when that 22% ethanol went into the vehicle. What went in it was a fair amount of the contaminants that were also in that stations fuel tank. The resulting mixture caused her fuel pump to burn out not once but twice".
Her $3000 repair bill was not covered as a factory defect. The gas station also refused to pay for her repairs. With nowhere else to turn, she called the CBS4 I-Team for help.
Since the start of the summer, most stations are using what's called E-10. It's regular gas with up to 10% ethanol to make it burn cleaner.
But, in older cars like Jackie's, it can potentially cause fuel-line problems. It's also not supposed to have more than 10% ethanol according to state standards.
Since last year, consumer complaints have been on the rise.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, consumers filed 2167 gas station complaints thru the first half of the year. Last year, complaints dropped slightly to 2146. But so far this year, the state's heard from 3191 angry customers.
The state's petroleum inspectors say they got another complaint about bad gas at the same Perrine Amoco station Jackie claims caused her problem.
But when regulators checked the station's pumps, they found the gas was well within Florida's gasoline standards, and didn't contain too much ethanol.
The gas stations owner tells me she's taking this complaint very seriously. She says she's had the gas checked at her pumps and referred the issue to her insurance company. She tells me it did its' own investigation and told her the gas at her station is fine.
BP-Amoco says it guarantees every gallon of gas it sells and reports: "We thoroughly investigated this customer's claim and found no evidence that the gasoline sold at this bp station contained too much ethanol."
Some local mechanics tell CBS4 they are already seeing more fuel system problems they blame on the new e-10 gas.
Dan Warren cautions ,"If a consumer isn't cognizant of the amount of ethanol in the fuel station he purchased at, he's open to the problem."
When Jackies' insurance company checked her car, they found the damage was caused by contaminated gas. It's paying for her repairs. But, she still has to pay for her $1000 deductible.
The Florida Department of Agriculture says consumers who believe they may have bad gas, or didn't get all the gas they paid for, should file a formal complaint at 1-800-HELPFLA. Gas Stations can be fined or ordered to stop selling gas if the pumps don't give out all the gas you pay for or sell bad gas that damages your car.
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