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Local gas may have damaged vehicles

BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
e-mail: sshepard@bakersfield.com | Wednesday, May 14 2008 10:47 AM

Last Updated: Thursday, May 15 2008 8:46 AM

About 50 cars have been damaged by contaminated gasoline produced locally and sold at 40 gas stations, including 25 in Kern County, in late March and early April.

The gas contained sediment that’s plugged vehicle fuel filters and damaged fuel pumps, according to the Kern County Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards. The fuel was produced by Kern Oil & Refining Company and sold between March 24 and April 8. Vehicle repairs have ranged from $400 to $1,000.

Anyone who experienced car problems believed to be related to the gasoline should contact the department at 868-6300.

The situation surfaced when gas station customers began reporting problems with their cars, said Manuel Villicana, deputy director of Agriculture and Measurement Standards. Kern Oil acted immediately and pumped out most of the gas from station tanks within a week, Villicana said.

The gas was believed to have been tainted when the refinery's filtration system unknowingly malfunctioned.

“The refinery is still trying to figure out how this got by them because normally they sample every batch they produce,” Villicana said.

Kern Oil & Refining Company did not return calls seeking comment but Villicana said the company is reimbursing affected vehicle owners for repairs.

Bakersfield resident Donald Gooding was one of the first to report the problem to the county and has already received a $400 reimbursement from Kern Oil.

Gooding said the engine of his 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup truck started chugging when he pressed on the gas pedal while returning to Bakersfield from Lake Isabella. He had purchased gas from one of the affected stations about four days before.

Gooding said he tried to get the gas station to accept responsibility but never got anywhere with the situation until he approached the county. Kern Oil contacted him right away, he said.

“They got right on it. Once they had been notified, they really got with me and wanted to take care of the problem,” Gooding said.

The county has posted signs at all Kern stations that received the fuel notifying customers of the situation. In addition to local outlets, another 15 gas stations in six other counties also received the tainted gas.

Even though the gas was sold more than a month ago, Villicana said new reports of damage continue to come in from people who may not drive their cars that often.

John Jacobsen of John's Independent Honda & Acura repair shop in Bakersfield worked Tuesday on a 1991 Acura Integra believed to be affected by the bad gas.

“Basically, the car doesn't want to run,” said Jacobsen, who drained the gas tank and was surveying the car's fuel system for damage.

Jacobsen said the sediment in gasoline can plug the fuel filter and damage fuel pumps. It can also plug injectors in newer model cars with fuel injection systems.

The county has released the Kern County gas stations that sold the bad fuel but not all stations have experienced problems.

“(The county) put a sign up, but no complaints. Everybody says, ‘Your gas is good.’ We also use it in our car and it had no problems,” said Ali Lilani, owner of Zee Mini Mart in Delano.

While large-scale gas contamination occurs rarely, at least one other Kern County gas station was impacted by a second tainted fuel incident last week.

About 16 truckloads of gas accidentally mixed with diesel was distributed by the Kinder Morgan tank farm in Fresno to about a dozen gas stations. Most stations were in Fresno but a Circle K in Tehachapi also received some of the fuel, according to county officials.

Prior to that, the last major incident of bad fuel in Kern County occurred in 1992.

“It does happen from time to time,” Villicana said, “but it's pretty rare.”