Woman says 'bad gas' from grocery store gas station trashed her minivan

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As thousands of people plan to hit the road for Memorial Day travel, one local family has a warning that stopped them dead in their tracks.

Kasita Bailey-Griffin said she filled her gas tank up at a grocery store gas station a few weeks back, and about half an hour later her car stalled on the freeway.

"The car started sputtering, so we literally had to pull off the highway," she said.

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She took her 2016 Kia minivan to the dealership to get repairs. That's when she learned the problem was contaminated gasoline. Then, she heard the repair cost.

"Close to $5,000 because we have to get so much. We have to get a fuel injector replaced and all this other stuff that they have to do," Bailey-Griffin said.

To make due, she's adding a lot of miles to an SUV she had planned on selling.

Bailey-Griffin contacted the grocery store gas station and she said the claim was denied. She's now hired an attorney trying to fight for the repair costs.

"It's just caused additional headaches in our lives," she said. "We can't be the only ones."

Michael Grivon owns Swiss Garage at Alabama and Edloe. He said he's seen this problem many times.

"It depends on the level of contamination, but typically it has to be drained out of the gas tank. You have to get it out of your system," Grivon said.

He said the cost of repairs varies based on how much contaminated fuel is involved.

There's more bad news: prevention is not easy.

"There's really no way. The old-fashioned school that I still agree with is if I see a gas truck dropping gas at a service station, I usually just keep on driving," he said.

He said gas freshly dropped off at stations can stir up sediment and water, which can contaminate vehicles' fuel systems.

Grivon said you can help protect yourself by keeping gas station receipts for a few weeks at the very least. He said reputable places will own up to the problem and help you fix it, if you prove you fueled up at their location.

Bailey-Griffin said she has her receipt, but she's still fighting to fix the problem.

ABC13 reached out to the business where Bailey-Griffin said she got contaminated fuel and is awaiting a response.

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