Drivers furious after diesel and premium pump mix up at Hamilton gas station

A Hamilton gas station is drawing criticism after two of its tanks pumped out the wrong kind of fuel for nearly 24 hours last week.

U Plus Gas at 1455 King St. E. says its supplier mistakenly filled a diesel pump with premium and a premium pump with diesel on the afternoon of Oct. 22.

Less than 1,000 litres were pumped from both tanks by otherwise oblivious drivers before the mixup was fixed on the morning of Oct. 23, said U Plus owner Braba Balasingam.

I have been in the gas industry for 28 years and this is only the second time this has happened to me," he said. It is not my fault or the customers' fault. It is the supplier's fault - they will pay for any damage that occurred."

Econo Petroleum, the national wholesaler of petroleum products based in Ottawa who supplies U Plus, would not comment when contacted by The Spectator early Monday.

Balasingam said the filling station sells very little" premium and diesel - between 300 to 400 litres daily - and pegs the number of cars affected to be maybe four or five."

Kristine Barlett's 2014 Audi Q5 is one of them.

Barlett said she stopped at U Plus on Thursday night while driving her son home from karate class to fill up on diesel.

Immediately when I left the gas station, the car started sputtering and making squealing noises, acting crazy," she said.

When Barlett got home, she told her husband, who then asked her if she correctly filled the car with diesel.

Yes," she told him. I'm not stupid."

The couple took the car to a mechanic Friday morning. By 5 p.m., the garage called and said there was in fact gas in the car - just not diesel.

Again, all eyes pointed to me and they asked if I made a mistake," said Barlett. I said I could prove it."

Barlett and her husband later drove to U Plus with a jerry can in case they needed to pump the correct gas.

But when we got there, the pumps were shut down," she said. The (staff) inside said there was some sort of mistake and that they were testing the tanks. They gave me the number of the owner, who told me the supplier mixed up the premium and diesel pumps."

Barlett paid the mechanic about $500 to empty the Audi's tank, refill it with diesel, and administer an oil change.

But that could be just the tip of the iceberg in repair costs.

Diesel fuel is an oil-based lubricant. When a diesel engine is filled with gasoline, it essentially strips all the oil out of the system that it needs to run and takes lubrication away from the high-pressure pump," explained David Harrison, service manager of Audi Hamilton.

A compromised pump allows tiny, finite metal particles to enter all sorts of places" in a car, like filters, fuel lines, injectors and engines, Harrison said.

These metal fibres get into everything, and it's very difficult to remove them without replacing entire components," he added.

Harrison said the extent of damage to a diesel engine is contingent on how long a vehicle was run with gasoline inside.

The more it runs, the more it washes all the lubrication from the diesel oil and the pump."

Barlett said she is in touch with an adjudicator through her insurance to get a second look on the Audi's damage. She said the pump mixup has left her frustrated" - more so with Econo Petroleum than U Plus.

The gas station could have issues and costs of its own because of this," she said. All I want is my car to be the way it was before gasoline went through its system. I'm frustrated."

Meanwhile, a furious" Stephanie Smith felt vindicated Monday when she saw a Facebook post from Barlett warning others about the U Plus gas mishap.

Smith filled up her motorcycle with what she thought was premium gas from U Plus at about 8:30 a.m. Friday, just before a ride on a gorgeous day.

She wasn't one kilometre from the station by the time her bike broke down.

I was, like, What is going on?' I lost all power, the bike was smoking," she said. It was fine before, so I started it up again to go home. Then the bike cut out completely. I rolled down a hill, waited, and a nice guy came and towed my bike."

Smith said a mechanic noted the problem was bad gas." She paid a $400 bill before taking the bike - which fortunately now runs smoothly - to U Plus.

I wasn't even looking for the money back. I just wanted to tell him about the gas so this doesn't happen to anyone else," Smith said.

Balasingam urged any driver who believes their car was incorrectly fuelled to contact the station. He said Econo Petroleum has informed him they will reimburse damages stemming from the error.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com