Water-contaminated gas at Chicago gas station leaves six customers with vehicle problems

If you filled up gas on Chicago's south side between October 1st and the 10th, you'll want to hear this. Listen closely. A family says a stop at a Save-A-Stop left them with nearly $10,000 in car repairs. The problem? The gas contained water. And now the station's owner is explaining how it happened and what's being done to make things right. Leslie Moreno is joining me here with the details. And this should catch everybody in terms of something that could happen anywhere, really. Exactly. And according to the gas station owner, a total of six different customers were affected by all of this. The owner says rainwater got into the system after a lid developed a crack. We went to the station to get some answers about what exactly happened and what drivers need to know. A routine gas stop for one family turned into a nearly $10,000 repair bill. Family says their daughter filled up her Mercedes-Benz at this Save-a-Stop along Racine Avenue in the Morgan Park neighborhood. But just five miles down the road, they say the car started shaking, making loud noises, and the check engine light came on. The vehicle had to be towed. The family says the dealership found the fuel contained 50 percent water. Fox Chicago met with the station's owner, who says a crack in one of the lids allowed rainwater to get into the fuel. So there was a crack over, according to the technician, you know, there was a crack over here. That's why maybe the water went in. The owner says the customer first reported the problem on October 1st and he notified the appropriate parties right away. He says crews have been working to address the issue every day since. They pumped all the gases today, you know, from the line, you know. If there is no bad gas here on the tank, if there is anything on the line, so we pump everything out this morning. Alderman Ronnie Mosley, who represents the 21st Ward, says the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection was notified. He says the plus and premium fuel lines appear to be the only two affected. We're actually going to close down two of the lines just to make sure and have them have some technicians and repairs come out and then call the city to come out and inspect it again. Mosley says business owners are responsible for checking the quality of fuel every night. He says some repairs have been made, but there is much more work to be done. You can come here and get unleaded gas, but anything above that, you won't even be able to get here. No premium. Whatever happened to the customers, you know, we are so sorry about it. You know, it was an accident. The owner says claims have been filed for all six customers who were affected. Some repairs have been made, but they are not quite done. Alderman Mosley says regular gas is safe, but anything above that you probably don't want to be putting in your vehicle. Well, I'm glad that the owner decided to get in front of this and actually speak about what's taking place here. But it is bigger than this just one location here. So water in your gas tank, it can clearly cause serious damage. You spoke to some experts here. What should drivers look out for? A lot of damage. You definitely don't want water in your gas tank. We're talking short-term, long-term damage, especially for your engine. And depending how bad the damage is, you could potentially just need a whole new vehicle. Again, this happened between October 1st and 10th. So if you pumped gas at this exact location and maybe your vehicle is acting funny, We do have some resources on our website, FoxChicago.com, on what you can do in terms of filing a claim. I'm sure that'll be very helpful to people. Thank you so much for letting us know. I hate that that young lady went through that, but thanks to her, other people will at least know what to look out for. Thank you, Leslie.