Bad Gas

[badgas]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois
Bought bad gas, fouled up my injectors. Car runs on 2 cylinders, now I have to take out my gas tank and drain it, and clean or replace fuel injectors, 4 at $80.00 each. What is my recourse?

 

[racer72]

Don't buy gas at that station again. When you called the station to see if others had the same problem, what were you told?

 

[ecmst12]

Did you have the fuel in your tank tested to prove that it was the cause of your problems?

 

[You Are Guilty]

If you can prove:
a) that bad gas damaged your car; AND
b) that the bad gas in (a) came from a particular station,

then yes, you absolutely have recourse. (And if you don't, your recourse is to either fix your car, or not fix your car).

Good luck.

 

[Zigner]

And, gather your evidence and request reimbursement from the station. If they don't reimburse, then you can decide whether or not to sue.

 

[swalsh411]

I thought this would be about beano not working as advertised and ruining the big job interview.

 

[badgas]

If you can prove:
a) that bad gas damaged your car; AND
b) that the bad gas in (a) came from a particular station,

then yes, you absolutely have recourse. (And if you don't, your recourse is to either fix your car, or not fix your car).

Good luck.

I have not had it tested, but I have a sample, and a witness as to where the sample came from. I also have on my credit card report that I purchased gas from there. I also have the same witness that my car has both spark and compression, and we pulled out the fuel rail with the injectors and there is nothing coming out of two of them. Same witness saw that a fuel compression tester showed normal pressure going to the injectors.

When I called, they said I am the first to say anything to them.

 

[Zigner]

And, you have an actual mechanic (you know, a pro) who will testify as to the bad gas causing this?

 

[You Are Guilty]

When I called, they said I am the first to say anything to them.

If this claim is actually true (and it might not be), then you are going to have a uphill battle. You need a good amount of physical debris to clog one, much less two injectors. (Taking into account the two filters at the dispenser and the filter on your fuel pump). That much debris would almost certainly have been delivered to multiple vehicles at the station you used. The fact that it was isolated to just you means that you are going to have to show that it was not just a randomly-timed failure of your injectors and was related to the gasoline sale.

Good luck, but you're going to need to have your gas sample professionally tested to even have a shot here. A "witness" is not going to cut it in court or with the station's insurance carrier.

 

[badgas]

If this claim is actually true (and it might not be), then you are going to have a uphill battle. You need a good amount of physical debris to clog one, much less two injectors. (Taking into account the two filters at the dispenser and the filter on your fuel pump). That much debris would almost certainly have been delivered to multiple vehicles at the station you used. The fact that it was isolated to just you means that you are going to have to show that it was not just a randomly-timed failure of your injectors and was related to the gasoline sale.

Good luck, but you're going to need to have your gas sample professionally tested to even have a shot here. A "witness" is not going to cut it in court or with the station's insurance carrier.

The substance is a heavy fluid, not a debris. It looks like it could be hydraulic fluid or something. It would easily have made it through the fuel filter.

 

[Zigner]

The substance is a heavy fluid, not a debris. It looks like it could be hydraulic fluid or something. It would easily have made it through the fuel filter.

It sounds to me like your car might have been tampered with.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Good point. Some gas station arguments:

"How do we know someone didn't just pour brake fluid in his tank after he filled up at our station?"

"Since no one else complained of any bad gas that day, it is impossible for any fluid to have just made it into plaintiff's car."

(Assuming you test the fluid) "Plaintiff can't prove that the fluid he tested was the same fluid we sold him."

"Plaintiff's car was a hunk of junk on its last legs anyway. Our gas had nothing to do with its imminent failure."


Defense = ?

 

[badgas]

Good point. Some gas station arguments:

"How do we know someone didn't just pour brake fluid in his tank after he filled up at our station?"

"Since no one else complained of any bad gas that day, it is impossible for any fluid to have just made it into plaintiff's car."

(Assuming you test the fluid) "Plaintiff can't prove that the fluid he tested was the same fluid we sold him."

"Plaintiff's car was a hunk of junk on its last legs anyway. Our gas had nothing to do with its imminent failure."


Defense = ?

In order:
My car has a locking door over the cap.

I am no longer the only one with the problem.

And yes, my car has over 200,000 miles on it, but I car pool and drive every other day, and my car ran great the day before. The biggest thing is I am no longer the only one with a complaint.

The first repair service shop in the area that I tried to contact said that they have had a ton of cars with fuel problems recently. They have not been able to pin-point where it was coming from. They are now going to ask their customers where they bought their gas from.

 

[You Are Guilty]

If you can trace multiple complaints to the same station, then you may be able to convince them to pay without even having to take them to small claims court.

Also, if you can trace all the complaints to the same station and you really want to stick it to them, fill this out and let The Man take a crack at them too:
http://www.illinois.gov/gasprices/complaint.htm

 

[ecmst12]

That improves your chances considerably.