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Gas Station Problem

S

STS

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well my wife went an filled up her car (Volvo SUV) at a local station and then about 2 miles down the road the car sputtered 3 times and then completely turned off in the middle of the road (thank goodness she was not on an interstate)...the car requires premium fuel and she swore that is what she put into the tank but I was concerned that this could be the cause...

We had the car towed to the volvo dealer by AAA to diagnose the problem and correct....so they pulled the fuel from the engine and immediately called us to tell us that what they pulled from the gas tank was 97% water and that it had cycled through the engine and that this is why it stopped.  Apparently the gas pump she used was pumping out water and the only gas in her tank was what was there prior to the "fuel up".  So far our bills at Volvo are adding up.  I returned to the gas station the next morning to discuss this with the attendants and to get some information to see about finding out if their liability insurance would cover the repairs.  Volvo said that they may have to replace parts of the engine but who knows if that is true....however the gas station workers would not give me the name of the owner or the owner of the property and gave me the phone number to their fuel supplier.  I was shocked that they were so evasive....and it also appears that at least one other person had come in with the same problem.   I know that I will get this resolved one way or another but has anyone ever run up against something like this?  We were hoping to avoid getting our car insurance involved but I guess if it drags out we will be forced to and have them litigate the matter

 
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Man, that is pretty shady, I would suggest going back, and offer to call the BBB and a lawyer if they don't want to give you the owners name.  I would think there is a public record of it somewhere, but that would take a lot of digging. A third option, is be the squeaky wheel, post on facebook, call your local news etc.  

 
Man that is just wrong. Who does this crap? And why would they do it? Was it iniential buy the gas station owner? Or did someone else dump a bunch of water into their fuel tanks as a prank on the gas station?

Either way good luck with that. What a huge pain in the ass this must be for you to deal with.

 
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Spur's Addiction said:
Man that is just wrong. Who does this crap? And why would they do it? Was it iniential buy the gas station owner? Or did someone else dump a bunch of water into their fuel tanks as a prank on the gas station?

Either way good luck with that. What a huge pain in the ass this must be for you to deal with.
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My bet is that they had no idea...I can't imagine that they would do anything nefarious to cause this BUT they should have handled it better...my thought it was maybe rain water seeped into the holding tanks?  I know that the gas will float on top of the water...maybe I am naive b/c surely they did not think that they could do away with this if they do it on purpose.  I have obviously been reading up a bit and read where that if the caps are not scewed onto the holding tanks properly, then water can get in there fairly easily!  

My biggest concern is what will happen if they have to rebuild part of the engine...will that take away from the value of the vehicle should we trade/sell it in the future?  My best friend is an attorney and she is checking with the state departs of commerce and will follow up with the owner but it was shocking to say the least...I mean I don't even know how one would spot this potential problem!  

 
carolina_corpsman said:
Man, that is pretty shady, I would suggest going back, and offer to call the BBB and a lawyer if they don't want to give you the owners name.  I would think there is a public record of it somewhere, but that would take a lot of digging. A third option, is be the squeaky wheel, post on facebook, call your local news etc.  
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I thought about the squeaky wheel on social media as I checked to see if anyone else posted about it....but I did not want to hold it against the owner if the attendants were breaking protocol.  We have a good friend who is checking on this with the state and will follow up with the owner.  We do know who they buy their fuel from wholesale but I feel like if that is the problem, it is between the owner and them as opposed to being between me and the wholesaler

I will keep you all posted....when I went to speak with them I recorded the entire conversation.  Tennessee is a one party consent state for recording but I did tell them I was recording so maybe that is why they were evasive but it certainly made them look shady 

 
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STS said:
I thought about the squeaky wheel on social media as I checked to see if anyone else posted about it....but I did not want to hold it against the owner if the attendants were breaking protocol.  We have a good friend who is checking on this with the state and will follow up with the owner.  We do know who they buy their fuel from wholesale but I feel like if that is the problem, it is between the owner and them as opposed to being between me and the wholesaler

I will keep you all posted....when I went to speak with them I recorded the entire conversation.  Tennessee is a one party consent state for recording but I did tell them I was recording
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Yeah, it's hard to tell if it's just a crappy employee, one who is trying to protect the owner for some reason maybe a promotion, or, someone who *puts on my tinfoil hat* was the one who had them fill the tanks with water while partnering up with the delivery driver to sell thousands of dollars worth of fuel on the black market *takes it back off*...

I would say that would be a good option after repeated and documented attempts to contact them without success. 

 
Good that you have a friend that is a lawyer looking into this for you.  She will be able to advise you if you need to litigate.

As long as Volvo is diagnosing and repairing the damage with Volvo parts, I wouldn't think it would affect the resale value.  Unlike an accident, it's not going to show up on a Carfax report.  As long as it is running properly after the repairs, I wouldn't see any need for further disclosure.  Of course, if it goes to litigation, then you would argue your resale value has plummeted.

 
STS said:
My bet is that they had no idea...I can't imagine that they would do anything nefarious to cause this BUT they should have handled it better...my thought it was maybe rain water seeped into the holding tanks?  I know that the gas will float on top of the water...maybe I am naive b/c surely they did not think that they could do away with this if they do it on purpose.  I have obviously been reading up a bit and read where that if the caps are not scewed onto the holding tanks properly, then water can get in there fairly easily!  

My biggest concern is what will happen if they have to rebuild part of the engine...will that take away from the value of the vehicle should we trade/sell it in the future?  My best friend is an attorney and she is checking with the state departs of commerce and will follow up with the owner but it was shocking to say the least...I mean I don't even know how one would spot this potential problem!  
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The newer ethanol fuels are known to retain water.  Engine coolant can mix with the oil in the crankcase in the event of a blown (failed) head gasket.  The glycol in anti-freeze can thin the oil down enough to cause damage to any engine bearings.  Excessive overheating can warp the heads and result in a partial rebuild of the engine.  Fortunately, your problem only affects the fuel system and there is no risk of oil and anti-freeze/water mixing in the crankcase (oil pan) and tearing up the critical internal parts of the engine.

Your mechanic will need to drain the fuel tank and purge the water out of the fuel injection system.  Draining the tank is very time consuming if you just filled it up.  I had an electric fuel pump in the fuel tank go bad with 3/4 of the tank filled and it was a PITA for the dealership, but they got it fixed.

Most fuel injectors can be purged to let air out in case the car runs out of gas.  Moisture would also be normally be ejected through the exhaust valves if the engine is turned over enough.  Removing and replacing the fuel filter that is most commonly found on the frame underneath most newer cars would allow most of the water to naturally drain out of a fuel line by gravity.

I doubt the water in the fuel would have damaged any emissions sensors downstream in the exhaust manifold and/or the exhaust pipe near the engine.

I am not a professional mechanic; just a shade-tree one that has worked on enough fuel-injected cars to know a thing or two.

Hope this helps, STS.

 
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kingofnerf said:
The newer ethanol fuels are known to retain water.  Engine coolant can mix with the oil in the crankcase in the event of a blown (failed) head gasket.  The glycol in anti-freeze can thin the oil down enough to cause damage to any engine bearings.  Excessive overheating can warp the heads and result in a partial rebuild of the engine.  Fortunately, your problem only affects the fuel system and there is no risk of oil and anti-freeze/water mixing in the crankcase (oil pan) and tearing up the critical internal parts of the engine.

Your mechanic will need to drain the fuel tank and purge the water out of the fuel injection system.  Draining the tank is very time consuming if you just filled it up.  I had an electric fuel pump in the fuel tank go bad with 3/4 of the tank filled and it was a PITA for the dealership, but they got it fixed.

Most fuel injectors can be purged to let air out in case the car runs out of gas.  Moisture would also be normally be ejected through the exhaust valves if the engine is turned over enough.  Removing and replacing the fuel filter that is most commonly found on the frame underneath most newer cars would allow most of the water to naturally drain out of a fuel line by gravity.

I doubt the water in the fuel would have damaged any emissions sensors downstream in the exhaust manifold and/or the exhaust pipe near the engine.

I am not a professional mechanic; just a shade-tree one that has worked on enough fuel-injected cars to know a thing or two.

Hope this helps, STS.
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Great info...I know absolutely nothing about cars lol

 
FurmanCock said:
Good that you have a friend that is a lawyer looking into this for you.  She will be able to advise you if you need to litigate.

As long as Volvo is diagnosing and repairing the damage with Volvo parts, I wouldn't think it would affect the resale value.  Unlike an accident, it's not going to show up on a Carfax report.  As long as it is running properly after the repairs, I wouldn't see any need for further disclosure.  Of course, if it goes to litigation, then you would argue your resale value has plummeted.
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Makes sense...i was not looking to make money just want to make sure we are made whole

 
Those tanks in the ground hold up to 50,000 gallons.  To get to the level where you got almost complete water would be very difficult for the average gas station to do without being noticed.  Unless this is some back road shady station.   I think the larger tanker trucks will carry around 10,000 gallons.  Even if those numbers aren't accurate, water is heavier and should go to the bottom and not result in the high % you got, unless the primary tank was basically empty when filled which sounds like the case.  Very odd.  In SC, the dept of Ag regulates and tests.  You or the lawyer should report this to them.  https://agriculture.sc.gov/faq/consumer-services-faq/

 
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gamecock88 said:
Those tanks in the ground hold up to 50,000 gallons.  To get to the level where you got almost complete water would be very difficult for the average gas station to do without being noticed.  Unless this is some back road shady station.   I think the larger tanker trucks will carry around 10,000 gallons.  Even if those numbers aren't accurate, water is heavier and should go to the bottom and not result in the high % you got, unless the primary tank was basically empty when filled which sounds like the case.  Very odd.  In SC, the dept of Ag regulates and tests.  You or the lawyer should report this to them.  https://agriculture.sc.gov/faq/consumer-services-faq/
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thanks...will pass along information!  I live in Tennessee so I assume there is something similar here

 
I used to own a car dealership. It is not that uncommon and usually the water has mud in it. I highly reccommend replacing all your injectors, pressure regulator and fuel filter. The gas station is 100% liable and responsible for all your expenses.

 
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