Water found in fuel at Hy-Vee in Jefferson City

ABC 17 News confirmed Wednesday that the Missouri Department of Agriculture found water in unleaded fuel at the Hy-Vee gas station in Jefferson City.

The Department’s Weights, Measures, and Consumer Protection Division was notified of a complaint related to the gas quality and responded on Monday.

Samples were analyzed and water was found in regular unleaded gasoline.

“Water in the fuel tank can actually create a few problems,” Greg Rollins with Rollins Automotive said. “The most notable would be sputtering or hesitation on acceleration when you’re driving your car.”

And if there is a large amount of water, Rollins said it can cause more serious but rare issues.

“If you get too much water in your fuel system then as your driving, if that water gets into the inside workings of your engine and it doesn’t compress, it doesn’t ignite, it can actually do damage and break your engine,” Rollins said.

The Department of Agriculture is working with Hy-Vee to find out how water got in the storage tank.

ABC 17 News talked with two viewers who contacted our newsroom after having serious issues with their vehicles after filling up at Hy-Vee.

One driver said Hy-Vee has offered to pay for the repairs on her car.

If you are having similar problems, Rollins said you can fix the issue by siphoning the fuel and water or removing the tank, draining it and refilling it with high-octane fuel.

Hy-Vee released a statement Wednesday:

“We were first notified Monday afternoon that a customer experienced vehicle problems shortly after purchasing fuel from our Jefferson City location. Over the past 24 hours, we have received a handful of similar complaints and have been working closely with the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Weights, Measures and Consumer Protection Division to resolve this issue. We immediately disabled the fuel tank once we were made aware of the problem.
Our internal compliance team is investigating to determine the exact water levels in the fuel storage tank and how the water may have entered. It appears that all impacted customers filled their cars at the same time the station received its fuel delivery — about 10 a.m. Sunday.

We encourage customers who experienced vehicle problems after purchasing gasoline during this time Sunday to call the Jefferson City Hy-Vee at 573-893-2505 and speak with Store Director Rod Dolph. He will work with customers to verify proof of purchase and handle their claims.

Mid-grade (89 octane) unleaded, premium unleaded and diesel fuel are still available at our Jefferson City location.”