Gas mixed with windshield washer fluid causes vehicles to break down: fuel analysis company
A fuel analysis company says it now knows the contaminant that was mixed with gas at a Guelph, Ont., gas station, causing dozens of vehicles to break down.
Last month, CTV News reported the story about drivers who said they filled up their tanks at a Mobil Gas Station on Woolwich Street, only to be faced with hefty repair bills for their vehicles due to tainted gas.
A new lab study submitted by one of the victims determined the contaminant mixed with the gas was a highly concentrated windshield washer fluid.
Gas from a stalled vehicle on the left, clean fuel from a pump on the right.
“Which was not expected that was very unusual,” said Bill Quesnel, the president of Wearcheck Canada, the fuel analysis company who did the study on the gas.
Quesnel said it is possible for ground water to leak into a fuel supply from time to time but finding washer fluid is not common. He said the mix-up could have happened during transport.
“Likely that the delivery vehicle, which would deliver fuel as well as other fuel products, possibly would not have been flushed properly. So there was a portion of washer fluid,” he said.
Less than a month since the incident, the gas station is closed for good.
Apex Property Management, the company that handles the property, said the gas station operator was evicted by their mortgagee due to poor operating practices.
The drivers involved said they still want their money back.
“It’s been a frustrating experience. You go to get gas and you don’t think this is going to happen,” said Ella Van Oene.
Van Oene stopped at the Mobil station to put $20 worth of gas in her vehicle. After her car broke down, she paid around $1000 to get it fixed.
“I just wanted there to be some accountability. I wish that the actual owner of the gas station reached out,” she said.
Van Oene says least 40 other drivers have been contacted by Travelers Canada, the insurance group representing the gas station. Victims have been told they’ll be reimbursed for all expenses but haven’t been given a timeline for when they’ll get it.
CTV reached out to Travelers Canada for comment but did not hear back.
'Out of stock' sign on a fuel pump in Guelph, Ont. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV Kitchener)“
How do I feel? Cautiously optimistic or optimistically cautious – something along that line. I don’t know where this is going to go. I haven’t heard anything in the last five or six days,” said another victim, Brian Holstein.
The drivers impacted say they’re willing to wait up to a month to be reimbursed before taking further action.
“It’s just honestly skepticism surrounding all gas stations, this could have happened to any gas station,” said Van Oene.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.