Motorists with mechanical problems caused by a fuel mix up swamped auto dealer service departments and auto repair shops Thursday trying to have their vehicles fixed.

"We have eight, possibly nine and one on the hook (tow truck)," said Lydia Strong at Santa Fe Mazda Volvo. "It's a mess - we really feel sorry for these people."

Strong said the repairs required included draining the fuel tank, flushing the tank and fuel lines, changing oil and spark plugs and putting fresh oil in the vehicle.

"Depending on the car, the cost is ranging from $300 to $600," she said.

The company responsible for the problem, Western Refining, has been removing gasoline mixed with diesel fuel from service stations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and replacing it with the proper fuel, a spokesman said.

Leland Gould said the fuels were accidentally mixed in a tank at a Giant Industries pipeline terminal in Albuquerque.

Gould estimated the mixed fuel was delivered to about 40 retail and wholesale locations. He didn't know the specific service stations where the fuel turned up.

Western Refining is paying the bills for all of the vehicles that might have been damaged by the mixed fuel.

"We will work with their insurance or whatever we need to do" to have the vehicles repaired, Gould said.

Most stations who received the mixed fuel stopped selling it on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning after being notified of the problem, Gould said.

One Santa Fe-based gasoline distributor, Brewer Oil, unknowingly sold the tainted fuel at its Shell station 4061 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe from 2:30 p.m. Tuesday until 8:30 a.m. Wednesday before stopping sales. The station continued to sell premium fuel, which wasn't affected by the fuel mix up, at the price of unleaded, Brewer said.

"We apologize to all the people who had problems" with the fuel mix up, he said. "It was nothing we did intentionally."

Brewer has received about 50 calls from customers in Santa Fe and Albuquerque with mechanical problems they said were caused by the mixed fuel. "We think maybe 30 are legitimate," he said. "The others weren't."

Other stations where the mixed fuel were sold included Peerless Tyre at 3010 Cerrillos Road and a Giant Service Station at 2961 Sawmill Road.

Other auto dealers working on cars damaged by the mixed fuel included Don Chalmers Cadillac and Saab.
"We have five right now, and one or two that are going to be towed in," said assistant service manager Evan Aguilar. "We have a Dodge, a Pontiac, a Mitsubishi, a Crown Victoria from the Department of Public Safety and a city car."

In addition to fuel lines, vehicles' catalytic convertors and oxygen sensors could also need replacement, Aguilar said. "It will depend on how far they drove it."

At Don Mackey Nissan, "we have eight so far," said Gary Gonzales, service department manager. "I've only been authorized to do one." The others still need to be approved by Western Refining before being repaired.

Some vehicles needed less repair than others.

At Alex Safety Lane, "we did one so far," said service tech Charles Lury. "It was blowing out white smoke, but it was not as damaged as some of the others. Actually we didn't have to do very much to it."



Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.



Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com