It’s happened again. A few weeks ago, we reported on a fuel delivery mix-up at a Circle K station in Avon, Ohio. Drivers of 14 vehicles who received diesel from a gas dispenser, or gas from a diesel dispenser, were left with damaged vehicles. Now, Phoenix, Arizona, wears the “dunce cap” as a Circle K “cross-drop” error has stalled out at least 25 vehicles. This is worrisome because, according to industry sources, fuel cross-drops [when the wrong fuel is accidentally pumped into a station’s storage tank] happen all too often.
$6,000 bill from fuel cross-drop
This time, the cross-drop occurred at Circle K’s location on 75th Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix on Sunday, February 9. It took a few days for the damages to be reported. Local media outlet Arizona Family reported on one fuel customer who experienced a bad reaction.
Nicole Marino filled up at the station and made it home. But there, the problem manifested itself. “I turned the key, and it kind of started a little bit and then just stuttered and went out. There was just smoke all over my garage,” she told Arizona Family. Her car ended up at a service facility. She recalled the unfortunate phone call she received later from the shop. “They called me and said, ‘Your tank is full of diesel,’” she said. “I was like, ‘No way. I’m not having that kind of girl moment. That didn’t happen.’ But then, when he asked if I’d been to a Circle K, that’s when my gears started turning. How did he know?”
He knew because Nicole’s car wasn’t the first the shop had recently seen with diesel in the gas tank. All the cases traced back to that Phoenix Circle K. Nicole’s repair bill came to more than $6,000, which Circle K’s insurance carrier will reimburse.
“At Circle K, we guarantee and stand by the quality of our fuels. However, issues sometimes arise, and customers should report them as soon as possible to us for review by our claims department,” the company wrote in a statement. “As soon as we became aware of the situation, we shut down our fuel pumps at this location.” But it was not before at least 25 drivers had pumped the wrong fuel into their tanks and sustained damage.
Cross-drops happen far more than you might think
Problems like these aren’t uncommon. Fuel delivery industry studies show that cross-drops with an unintended mix-up of different octane ratings happen about once in every 14,000 deliveries. Far less damage occurs in these types of mix-ups. However, the more severe gas-for-diesel or diesel-for-gas cross-drop happens about once in every 45,000 drops.
It may not sound like much—one in 45,000—but let’s do the math. With more than 100,000 retail fuel stations across the U.S., if each station receives two to four deliveries a week, approximately 300 to 500 million fuel drops are made every year. That means those damaging cross-drops could happen somewhere between 6,000 and 11,000+ times each year.
What’s being done to prevent these fuel cross-drop mix-ups? We’ll explore what the fuel delivery industry is doing to stop cross-drops in a future article.
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I know that diesel fuel has a stronger smell but, once you place the pump in your pickup, its already too late. This would be awful on a camping trip. Makes me concerned about traveling across country this summer. But from what has happened, it’s right in my back yard (AZ).
This is another good reason why I only fuel our dp in the truck islands at major truck stops. A tanker full of gasoline shouldn’t be anywhere near the truck islands. And if they had been there, the truckers would be throwing a fit long before I filled up. I don’t fill up if a supply tanker is filling tanks. With a 150 gallon tank, I can pick and choose where to refuel.
Thank you for the news, Russ and Tina! Proportionally rare and numerically large doesn’t seem like a frequent combination, but certainly is significant if I am one of those experiencing it. I frequently purchase gasoline at one of the many Circle K outlets in my little part of the world. I will let you know if I become ensnared by a similar mistake. Have a great weekend and safe travels!
Buy them books, send them to school and what do you get?
what books? you mean tablets and or computer…If there’s not an app, drop down menu or emoji to click on, forget it getting done correctly, just saying…
This is fuel delivery truck driver error…They should use color coding on the fuel truck dispensing nozzles, the hoses themselves and the ground tank inlets as well. Same colors as the public pumps.
There should be different couplings for the Diesel and Gasoline fill stations. That way, they could not make the mistake.