Multiple gas stations around the Denver metro inadvertently received and sold diesel-tainted gas on Wednesday and Thursday, according to state and company officials.
“We are aware that several of our locations recently received contaminated unleaded fuel from a third-party supplier that does not meet our quality standards,” a spokesperson from King Soopers wrote in a statement to Denverite. “As soon as we became aware of the issue, we took immediate action by shutting down the impacted fuel lines and dispatching teams to perform thorough diagnostics.”
Stores run by multiple brands were affected, including King Soopers, Costco and Murphy Express. Burning diesel fuel in a non-diesel car can cause significant damage, and some drivers told 9News that their vehicles stopped working after fueling up.
“If you do catch it right away, try not to run the vehicle, park it, and then get it towed to your nearest repair facility,” said Peter Schiavoni, a service advisor at the Denver area auto shop chain Urban Autocare. “Or if you do catch it late or it is not running correctly or the car does begin to stall out and die, get it to your local repair facility as quickly as possible and then they can go forward and try to either flush or assess those components.”
According to Schiavoni, putting diesel fuel in a gas-running car will not permanently damage the vehicle, it’s a fixable issue. The cost depends on the individual vehicle and how complex the engine system is.
“The older the car and the more simple the setup is, the cheaper it would be, but the more components and a more high-tech car would have more problems,” he said.
The mishap may have begun at a regional terminal facility where fuel products are distributed.
State officials believe “that regular unleaded gasoline contaminated with diesel fuel was loaded from the HF Sinclair terminal in Henderson, Colorado and sent to numerous gas stations between 2 p.m. on January 7th through 6 a.m. on January 8th,” the state Division of Oil and Public Safety wrote in a statement.
State officials did not say how many gas stations or customers were affected, though 9News reported the state has received nearly 200 complaints.
King Soopers has identified the following stores:
- 14967 Candelas Pkwy., Arvada
- 25701 E. Smoky Hill Rd., Aurora
- 17000 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora
- 3050 S. Peoria St., Aurora
- 1045 S. First St., Bennett
- 12167 Sheridan Blvd., Broomfield
- 2355 W. 136th Ave., Broomfield
- 7284 Lagae Rd., Castle Pines
- 750 N. Ridge Rd., Castle Rock
- 5125 W. Florida Ave., Denver
- 1611 Pace St., Longmont
- 12959 S. Parker Rd., Parker
- 17761 Cottonwood Dr., Parker
Costco and Murphy Express did not immediately respond to Denverite’s request for comment.
The state agency said stations that received the tainted gas are “working quickly to stop sales of the contaminated gasoline and have it replaced with the right fuel.”
Impacted customers are encouraged to contact the gas station they visited and submit a complaint to the state online or by calling 303-866-4967.
