A Cupertino gas station is under fire after dozens of residents complained that the unleaded fuel they pumped was actually diesel, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to their vehicles.
Cupertino resident Danean Gallaher filled her car with what she thought was unleaded fuel from Alliance gas station on Stevens Creek Boulevard on June 28. But after driving only three blocks from the station, it unexpectedly died and had to be towed. A mechanic gave her a shocking diagnosis: there was diesel in her car.
The repairs cost her almost $3,000.
She’s not the only one with the problem. The Santa Clara County Weights and Measures Division recently received 23 other similar complaints, all pointing back to Alliance’s alleged mix-up. The state also as been asked to help with the investigation, as first reported by NBC Bay Area.
“There’s a lot of us that aren’t going to go to Alliance anymore,” Gallaher said.
The division did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Bay Area News Group.
Weights and Measures told NBC that staff initially tested the fuel on July 2 and 3 and found no trace of diesel, but it was possible that the fuel lines could have been cleared before they came.
An employee at Alliance said no manager was available on-site to comment about the situation, and referred any questions to the county.
Fueling a gas vehicle with diesel can have dire consequences. Gasoline engines cannot easily combust diesel fuel, causing a clogged fuel system and engine failure, among other things, according to FireStone, an auto repair company. Drivers will need to have the entire system drained and cleaned, and in some cases, it can be costly to replace damaged parts. There are usually precautions in place to prevent drivers from accidentally filling their cars with diesel. Diesel nozzles are bigger than those of unleaded gas and often have a bright green pump’s handle.
Gallaher, who posted about her incident on the social networking platform NextDoor in June, said 37 other residents have come forward and shared similar experiences with Alliance, all within a few weeks of one another. Some of their repair costs have range from $4,300 and as high as $15,000. Gallaher said the station’s owner has yet to respond directly to those affected by the incident.
After spending weeks at the repair shop, the car’s finally back with Gallaher. It’s working properly, but she’s cautious, as others affected by the mix-up are experiencing car issues even after taking it into the shop.
“Its seems OK,” she said. “But someone else posted that their car seemed to be OK, then their engine light came on again and now their car is back with a mechanic to figure things out.”
