Saskatoon drivers fed up after fill-up mistake at gas station

Several Saskatoon drivers are without transportation for at least a few days and facing costly mechanic bills after an error at a gas station in the city.

Michelle Wiwchar says she filled up at the Husky-Esso gas station on Marquis Drive last Monday after the lines at Costco were too long.

It’s not uncommon for Wiwchar to deviate to the Husky-Esso location, she said, because she can collect Optimum points on those purchases.

She said she was on the phone with her fiance that night, heading home from an evening shift, when she realized her car wasn’t starting. She chalked it up to the cold and managed to get it going long enough to drive from the Idylwyld North area to her home in the Wildwood neighbourhood.

The next day, her car wouldn’t start.

“It would turn over and I would hear sort of a grinding and a ‘pop-pop’ and that was it,” she said, noting her exhaust smelled funny at the time, though neither she nor the tow truck driver who attended her residence could figure out the problem.

By the end of the day, Wiwchar had an answer. Her mechanic called to inform Wiwchar that her car had been filled with diesel instead of regular gasoline.

READ MORE:

• Sask. NDP launches petition calling on Scott Moe to suspend gas tax
• Moe condemns Canada’s coming emissions cap for oil and gas sector
• Guilbeault unveils plan to eliminate sales of gas-powered vehicles

“The diesel got all the way through my car, from soup to nuts,” she said.

Wiwchar said she put two and two together after seeing a post shared on Facebook by an anonymous person in a Saskatoon traffic group that the gas station she had visited had diesel in its gas wells.

She isn’t sure how the mix-up happened.

“I know what my car takes,” Wiwchar said, calling it a habit to reach for the clearly marked ‘87’ pump — not the one for diesel.

“Instead of getting beef in my sandwich, I got ham,” she quipped.

Wiwchar said that when she called the gas station about the problem, she spoke with the retail manager who told her it was “compromised gas.” Wiwchar said the manager was very responsive and empathetic and promised an adjustor would call her.

Barb Ridsdale’s experience was very similar. She said she filled her tank up at the Husky-Esso station on Monday at precisely 11:04 a.m.

She lives outside the city, and said she made it home without any problem. However, on her next drive into the city for work, she noticed her car wasn’t accelerating properly and made a bit of a sound.

It wasn’t until after work that Ridsdale’s real problems began. Her command start didn’t work at first. Then her car started, began smoking and died. Ridsdale said that when she got into the car and turned the key, the car started again but started shaking.

“I knew something was wrong,” she said.

Ridsdale called her husband, who said she could likely still make the drive home. Ridsdale was able to make it just beyond her work parking lot before her vehicle quit on her completely.

Now, her vehicle is caught up in a shop’s backlog and likely won’t be able to be checked for at least a week.

A day after her car died, Ridsdale happened to see the same Facebook post Wiwchar did. After speaking with the store manager from the gas station, Ridsdale is now waiting for her own calls from the adjustor and the regional manager.

“It’s a real bad inconvenience for me,” Ridsdale said, noting she lives outside of Saskatoon.

She’s hoping her vehicle can be saved without too much fuss and cost, and hopes the word can be spread to other people who might have also used contaminated fuel from the same gas station.

A mechanic at Audrey’s Auto Repair in Saskatoon has already seen one of the cars related to the contaminated fuel.

Jeff Hedin personally worked on the vehicle that came in on Tuesday.

“We took a look at it and it was confirmed that the fuel is contaminated,” he said.

Diesel burns at a different rate than normal gasoline, which means that fuel in a vehicle for which it’s not intended will make the engine flutter or not run at all, and will smoke badly. Regular gasoline put in a diesel engine can cause even more damage, amounting to around $20,000 in repairs, according to Hedin.

“It won’t wreck the engine, per se,” he explained, but noted the repair will at least require draining the fuel and the lines and likely also replacing the spark plugs.

He put the cost of the repair at $1,000 or more, on top of the owner losing the convenience of their vehicle for at least a few days.

An emailed statement from Cenovus Energy said the company “became aware of diesel having been added to a gasoline sales tank following a delivery from a third-party supplier at the Husky Travel Centre located at 315 Marquis Dr. in Saskatoon.”

The statement noted that people who bought gasoline from the location between 10 p.m. on Jan. 21 through 6 p.m. on Jan. 22 may have been affected.

“Drivers whose vehicles were impacted are eligible to be compensated for any needed repairs and are encouraged to call customer service at 1-800-661-3835, option 4, for more information,” the statement said.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Hedin said this issue isn’t a very common one and, when it does arise, is usually due to user error at the pumps.

Wiwchar said her mechanic is being “cautiously optimistic,” and expecting to perform a full fuel-line flush and flush the engine while replacing the fuel pump, spark plugs and filters.

“They’re going to replace all that, give it a really vigorous flush and then they’re going to see if it starts,” Wiwchar said. “They’re not making any promises. They’re being smart about it.”

Wiwchar just hopes the repair won’t amount to needing a new vehicle entirely.

“Some people are able to kind of balance those charges until the insurance kicks in … but some of us just aren’t,” she said, adding she has just taken on several added expenses since signing a new lease.

Should she have to cover this expense, it would add significant strai, as she already lives “a bit more paycheque to paycheque.”

Wiwchar called the situation “pretty devastating” for her, if she doesn’t receive compensation for the bill. However, she’s been in touch with the company’s insurance agency and said her mechanic’s bill and, if needed, the cost of a new-to-her car or further repairs will be covered by the company.

A rental car has also been arranged for her in the meantime.

“They’re acting in good faith,” Wiwchar said.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker and Mia Holowaychuk