Mechanics in Colorado busy after customers buy contaminated fuel

Colorado officials say the number of people who have filed complaints that they purchased contaminated gas recently is now over 400, double the number it was on Saturday.

The complaints have been filed with Colorado's Division of Oil and Public Safety regarding gas stations in the Denver metro area that received contaminated fuel. A shipment of diesel fuel was sold as regular unleaded gas, which can damage a car that is only designed to use regular gasoline.

"OPS continues to log and process these complaints," the Division of Oil and Public Safety said in a statement on Monday. "Inspections and fuel sample testing remain ongoing with a focus on smaller locations that may not have as robust a claims-filing process. All retailers are being encouraged to honor customer claims."

The division said it has also requested that Sinclair, the company that owns the facility in Henderson that sent out the gas, produce a list of retailers that received the contaminated fuel.

"Sinclair has not yet produced such a list, but OPS is hopeful Sinclair will release a list in the coming days," the division said on Monday.

Sinclair did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Monday evening.

Those who did put the fuel in their cars are being told to go to the gas station they bought it from to be reimbursed, but mechanics in the Denver metro area have told CBS News Colorado that there will likely be repairs with steep costs involved. Those could start around $1,000, but one customer said his repair bills are already at $3,200.

At Parker Automotive in Parker, manager Adam Civilla says they've seen more than a dozen cars with diesel issues come to the shop since Friday. Civilla says when diesel gets into a car's fuel tank, "For some cars, they run really rough. Some cars don't have great acceleration. Some cars don't even run at all. They'll die, and they won't restart."

Civilla says right now, customers are paying for the bill themselves, but the state is encouraging customers to keep their receipts and reach out to the retailer where they purchased the gas. The Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety is also encouraging impacted customers to contact them by submitting a complaint online or calling 303-866-4967.

As the state investigates, Civilla is preparing for more cars in the shop, saying he's never seen an event like this. 

"I expect that we're gonna get more. We had two more towed in tonight. I assume by tomorrow morning we'll have more," Civilla said.