The Chronicle

Caltex admits to water in petrol:

- ALEXIA AUSTIN Alexia.Austin@thechronic­le.com.au

E10 PUMPS at the Kearneys Spring Caltex were closed yesterday after residents complained of finding water mixed in with the fuel.

In a post to the Toowoomba community discussion, Oakey resident Kaileigh Elizabeth said she was shocked when a mechanic explained the reason behind her car malfunctio­n.

“Just a warning to anyone who purchases fuel from Caltex Toowoomba opposite Kmart in Kearneys Spring,” she said in the post.

“I broke down last Thursday about two minutes after fuelling up.

“The mechanic found 80 per cent of my fuel (was) water and 20 per cent fuel.”

Ms Elizabeth said she had contacted the station to no avail.

“I called them (on Monday). Weren’t much help at all. Said they would do an investigat­ion and in the meantime suggest I hire a car,” she said.

The post was shared over 700 times, with other residents reporting similar issues in the comment section.

One Toowoomba woman said her mum footed the repair bill after her car broke down minutes after refuelling at the same station last Friday.

“The whole tank was pretty much water too. She filled up on E10,” the woman said.

A Caltex spokesman acknowledg­ed the issue yesterday and apologised for the inconvenie­nce.

“Caltex is working with two customers who have had issues with their vehicles after purchasing E10 fuel at our Kearneys Spring store,” the spokesman said.

“The E10 pumps at this store were shut down late yesterday after a small amount of water was detected in the tanks.

He said technician­s were onsite yesterday, performing further testing of the E10 tanks and rectifying any issues.

“Caltex tests its E10 fuel daily and the presence of water is unusual. There have been no prior issues with water in E10 fuel at the Kearneys Spring site,” he said.

“Caltex apologies to the customers impacted and we are working directly with them to refund their purchases and ensure any issues with their vehicles are addressed.”

 ?? Photo: Contribute­d ?? FUEL WOES: Kaileigh Elizabeth posted this photo to Facebook, showing water found in her car's petrol tank.
Photo: Contribute­d FUEL WOES: Kaileigh Elizabeth posted this photo to Facebook, showing water found in her car's petrol tank.

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