Drivers warned as routine petrol stop 'ruins' multiple cars
Customers claim their car engines almost immediately broke down in front of the store on Hawthorn Road in Nunawading, while others failed to even start. 'Cars were just dying... immediately once they started running with the fuel that was put in,' one driver told 7News.
Footage taken by another customer shows multiple vehicles that appear to have been left in front of pumps and dotted around the car park. 'All these cars, every single one that is here is ruined because of water in their fuel,' he says while panning the camera.
Although the cause has not yet been confirmed, it's believed recent heavy rainfall could have leaked into the 7-Eleven's tanks, contaminating the petrol, according to the broadcast.
Multiple pumps at the site were affected, prompting drivers who had already discovered the problem to frantically warn others pulling into the service station. At one point, tensions became so high that police were called.
'We're telling the people who are running the store to stop pumping fuel, stop selling fuel and they just continue to do it,' customer Michael Hennessey said.
In a statement, 7-Eleven told 7News the incident was isolated to the one store and fuel sales have been suspended as the company investigates the cause of the contaminated fuel. Affected customers will be offered compensation, however it is unknown exactly how much it will cost to fix the vehicles.
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Contaminated fuel can cause thousands of dollars of damage
It's not the first time polluted petrol has caused problems for Victorians. Roughly three years ago residents from across the state said they feared they had unknowingly been buying contaminated fuel after their cars began 'running rough'.
At the time, Dyna Fuels Australia owner, Ken Gracey, told 3AW that when 'you get water in diesel, as the water dies off it starts to grow bacteria'.
'The fuel then will not burn, it will go through the system, it will block the injectors, block the pump and worst-case scenario could block your diesel particulate filter, maybe causing you five or six thousand dollars to replace.'
According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, any driver who suspects their car has been damaged by contaminated fuel should seek written confirmation from their mechanic and contact their insurer.
Fuel contamination should be reported to the Federal Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) at 1800 803 772.
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