Chug chugga chug. Thppppp.
That's the sound of a car sputtering and dying— and not starting again. It was a lament heard around Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Tuesday after some drivers filled their tanks with what they thought was regular unleaded gas.
Turned out it was diesel.
An oil refiner based in El Paso accidentally mixed diesel with regular unleaded, which was purchased by some New Mexico gas wholesalers.
Diesel doesn't require a spark to ignite like gasoline does, and won't work in a conventional gasoline-powered car. And therein lies the dilemma that sent Lynda Griego off from the Costco on Renaissance with a freshly filled tank in what had been a perfectly running 1998 Ford Explorer. The chorus began before she got out of the parking lot.
"It was stalling. It wouldn't stay running. I'd hit the gas and it wouldn't go," said Griego, who's driving a rental while she waits for a minimum $500 to $600 repair at her Ford dealership. "Eventually, I had to drive with the hazard lights on."
El Paso-based Western Refining, the source of the error, says 40 Albuquerque and Santa Fe area retailers and wholesalers bought the fuel. Since stations don't always buy from the same wholesaler, the companies are tracking where the fuel went.
"We have learned we accidentally mixed diesel with gasoline," said Leland Gould, director of government affairs at Western, which acquired Giant Refining and its gas stations almost a year ago. "All you have to do is drive one mile and you'll know if you bought it."
The Albuquerque area's three Costcos and at least one Shell in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque either picked up the affected gas or had it delivered from Western's Albuquerque terminal.
Gould said his company is still determining how the mistake happened and how many people were affected. But gasoline manager Jeff Cole at Costco's corporate headquarters outside Seattle said nearly 100 customers had called by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
"Those are people who had a problem," Cole said. "This is one issue that is going to show itself quickly. You'll have a little bit different reaction if you bought a little than if you bought a lot."
KOAT-TV reported Wednesday that Costco sold the mixed fuel from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Costco promised to reimburse Griego for the repairs to her Explorer. But the single mother and student said she couldn't pay for the repairs up front. Costco talked to Bob Turner Ford and worked out a solution.
"Costco said they'd cut me a check and they gave me cash for a rental car," said Griego, who'd had her car only two months when she spent $60 to fill it.
Customers affected by the mixed fuel should return to the retailer they bought it from, Gould said.
Charley Brewer, CEO of Brewer Oil, who sold the fuel at an Albuquerque and a Santa Fe Shell station, said his pumps are up and running again with the correct fuel, as are Costco's.
"We've seen this happen numerous times over the years," Brewer said. "It's not the end of the world. A little diesel doesn't always bother a car. It depends on the car, how much was dropped in, and how much unleaded was already in there."
Brewer said he's working with his insurance company to satisfy customers.
Griego's tank was empty when she went to Costco.
She's having her tank removed and flushed, her fuel injectors cleaned and her fuel filter replaced, at least, she said.
Costco's and Brewer's affected Shell stations both sold premium gas for the price of regular Wednesday.
