White residue in gassoline caused my car to break

[assad]

Hello all,

I came across this website when I google 'ethanol produces white residue', and thought I would get some advice from the experts.

Last month, I went to a EXXON gas station and pump about $20 worth of gas. My tank was empty when I purchased the gas. The next day, on my way to work, my car was hesitating, I drove for about a mile or so and it broke down.
I towed it to the dealer where I bought it so they could check it out. They found that the gasoline that was in my tank was contaminated with some weird cloudy mixture. They removed the tank from the car to inspect it further and found a big layer of white residue laying at the bottom of the tank. They told me this the gas mixture caused the car to break down because it has been sucked into the whole fuel system of the car. The repair is now around $4000, even after they flushed the fuel system, the car is still not running well. So they have to replace the 4 fuel injectors etc...
Here is a picture I took when they removed the gas tank from the car, and they gave me a sample for the gas that I have with me. But it is so difficult for me to test it here in Maryland to see what is in it.


imageshack.us/f/853/tank1r.jpg/

imageshack.us/f/804/tank2y.jpg/


My question is where does this stuff comes from? I know it came from the gas I pumped at the gas station, but I am trying to figure out how it was produced or if any of you guys know something that would caused this from your experience.

The gas station is right next to where I live, my 2 last gas purchases was at this EXXON gas station. This is a brand new car, 2010 nissan altima lass than a year old. I bought it brand new from the dealer, and it has been running fine until this issue.
The mechanic told me that the only way that this could have been introduced inside the car is from the gas at the pump, no other agent inside the car can produced this stuff.

I am trying to go after the station owner of the gas station to pay for the repair, but I need to prove that that white residue could have only come from the fuel I pumped from his station. I have contacted the station owner many times about this issue, but he seems to ignore me, even after lots of emails.
The state controller of Maryland went to the station and tested the gas after I told them my story, but they told me that the gas tested clean. But this was 8 days after the incident.
I contacted the consumer protection, but they said that they cannot enforced the station owner to pay for it, all they can do is ask nicely and he does not have to respond. I will probably end up taking the owner to small court claim since the amount is less that $5000.


Thank you

[oldyeller]

Not sure but it looks like someone pi$$ed in your gas tank....Got any enemys?

[assad]

No, no enemies that I know of. Also I live by myself, and the tank lid is lock from inside the car, you can only open it from inside the car. There was also no signs of forced entry on the gas lid. So this could have only come from the pump at the gas station.

I have read that if water mixes with some sort of gas+ethanol, this might be the result. Or some additive they add to the gas. I am not too sure, that why I want to get an educated answer.

Thanks

[adamsvega]

FIRST THING YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE BEFORE SAYING ANYTHING WAS GET A CLEAR JAR AND A FRESH SAMPLE TO PROVE YOUR POINT.
the fuel pump has a strainer and or filter on it of a set micron size .anything unless its acidic/alkali will get blocked by the pump some thing corosive will have a damaging effect on alot of fuel parts .
the old sugar in the tank only mixes with water in the tank . it will normally just clog the strainer and or kill the pump . bleach does a number on anything steel ..... most of the time this happens is when ya got a load of crud sediment in tank and drain it till its empty and only put a few bucks in to get home it suspends the mixture and walah its dead.
as the consumer your going to have to prove that you got your gas only from him and it was bad . if its a corporate store they will settle quick its cheaper .i would get the sample signed off by the dealer as legit and get 1/2 of it anlized to it make up ...... if a remote trace of what was in your tank is in his before his next delivery you will win ..water will not mix with the gas portion of the fuel and even with dispersant will go from a cloudy mess to two separate products if let to stabilize . thats how we test ethanol % ..... my best guess is a detergent .....if no one else has had a problem from this station ya better look towards mischief the internet is full of kids filming them selfs doing no good to to random people ..adam

[assad]

Thank you for your reply.

I did get a sample of the gas inside a container with the white residue. I have it with me, but I cannot get it tested anywhere in MD. The state controller of the county I live in told me they only test gas straight from the pump and cannot take any sample from individual. I contacted another company that told me, they can go ahead and try to test it, but they cannot promise they will identify the residue, and it will cost me $2000+.

First, we have to rule out any foul play. As I said before, I am the only driver, and there is no signs of forced entry on the gas lid which can only be open from the inside. I park my car inside a garage that is gated. I am almost 100% sure that there was no foul play.

This is a new car, less than a year old (18,000 miles), so there is no signs of corrosion anywhere. When I inspected the tank, it looked pretty new with no sign of corrosion. I believe it is made out some kind of plastic, I took a look inside (you can see from the picture also), it is coated with a gray film. There is no signs of the film coming out or peeling out that might have caused this.

Before the mechanic removed the tank from the car, he took the gas sample straight from the hose that goes directly to the engine (so pass the filter). He showed it to me and told me this gas is not good, that's what prompted him to take the tank out to further investigate. That sample he got straight from the hose was not pure gas, it was like water+gas mixed together (I also have a sample of that). It really looked like water with some yellowish gas droplet.
The picture you see above with the residue at the bottom was taken after the car was in the shop for 2 days. My guess is when the car is moving, this thing mixes up and gives a cloudy watery substance that can get through the gas filter and end up in the engine. But, when the car is stationary, it will settle at the bottom. Again, this is a guess based on the fact that I gathered.

My last 2 gas purchases was at this station, at first I purchased around 3/4 of my tank capacity (~$45). I drove for around a week going to work and back until my tank was empty, I remember because my gas light came on. So I decided to get some gas on my way to work at that same gas station, this time I only purchased around $20, that's when my car died. Usually, I do not purchase gas unless I am really low or the gas light comes on.

I also have receipt from my credit card that shows both purchases at the same gas station as proof.

I am not sure if other people who bought gas at that gas station have had the same problem or not, I am even not sure how I will find out.

[adamsvega]

Do a net serch for others .you need a nother sample from them a witness to seal it like a urine drugtest in both cases .with the fact of milage documentation and fuel reciepts . Your case is strong .put a blind add or rant in local paper looking for other victims and strawpoll local shops toback it up .good luck if it is a guy on a visa and the tanks are old . He will close it and move back abroad

[1outlaw]

I agree with Adam. Your case appears strong to me. I would make an appointment with the Maryland state controller again letting him know you do not consider the case closed. Ask him to bring along some water finding paste approved for alcohol fuels, Have him dip a stick treated in that paste into the sample you have to see what color change occurs- then you will know if it is water related. Show him where you park the car and receipts (including CC settlement statements). Be honest about where you drive the car to and park when away from home. Do know that if a station ever got water into their tank it would be hard to totally eliminate it- only professional tank cleaning would be likely to hide all traces. Tanks are never perfectly level- water hides in the low places (unless in suspension where a fuel test could also find it). The dispenser filters would also have either water or telltale higher levels of the rust and grit usually associated with water presence--DID THE INSPECTOR LOOK THERE?
Did the inspector find seal/gasket issues on tank top fittings?How soon after last summer's hurricane/ rain storms did this occur?
Have more complaints come in to the department since your claim?
There is little chance only one person can be affected and others not-- was a transport dropping a load as you filled your car?
Please note I had a similar case once--my tanks were clean, filters were clean -- customer's small children filled the car tank with a garden hose--just like they saw momma do Inspector kept asking questions until mechanic said he remembered grass aroung the fill cap- then he saw the hose laying on the ground beside where the car was parked and the kids were playing.

While the info regarding filling the tank at the last minute is helpful in diagnosis of this case -- (in that you likely did not have a bunch of high moisture gas left over from prior fills) -- waiting to the last moment to fill is bad for two reasons:
1) modern fuel injected cars use in tank fuel pumps that are cooled by the fuel covering them- running very low consistantly can lead to heat related failure of the fuel pump.
2) older fuel systems (not yours) and small engines with vented fuel tanks breathe in and out far more air leading to moisture condensing inside your fuel tank- it is best in those models to stay topped off.

You likely have a good case and it may end up requiring firmer action/ publicity against the station owner BUT stay in touch with him (and the state), be honest, treat them as you would want to be treated, but insistent. Review all facts/possibilities before hitting the press with the issue if resolution does not seem possible otherwise.

BTW- a simple test for water can cost as little as buying the correct water paste from a petroleum supply house. The really high test cost you were quoted is likely because of the "needle in the haystack" look that would be required to try to find everything- not necessary for your purposes.

[flapz]

I worked my way through college pumping gas. My father was a chevron wholesale distributor. These were the days before ethanol. Carefree days of tetraethyl lead and 100 octane custom supreme gasoline at any chevron. Weird things with gasoline did not exist. 

Now days I can't let gas stand in my motorcycle gas tank for a couple of months because the same cloudy looking contaminant plugs up my petthingy filter on the gas tank and that is with stabil in the fuel.

I filtered the gas and saved the crystalline looking contaminants.

It is attracted to all of its' buddies and they join until it looks like a cotton ball.

It completely clogged my filter in the tank. 

I'm going to try and find an atomic spectrophotometer at a test lab and see if they will test the residue but everyone I know drains their tank and Carb bowl these days if their machine isn't going to be used for a few months. 

We've been had by the tree huggers and gruesome newsom.

I'm glad I'm 78 because when I'm 93 sales of new internal combustion passenger vehicles will be banned in Calif.    

[CA Ana]

Was there any resolution for you? Did you have to pay it all? Did ExxonMobil, insurance, or the dealer help with costs at all? Having this exact situation rn with Chevron in my city.