Petrol stolen through tiny holes in fuel tanks

People are stealing petrol by making a nail-sized hole in a car’s fuel tank and taking the petrol.

A police spokeswoman said in March that petrol was taken from a locked vehicle in a car park in Auckland. The vehicle owner discovered it had no petrol although there was half a tank when he parked it.

Noticing a trail of petrol on the ground nearby, the man looked closer at his car and saw a ‘‘nail size hole near the tank where someone has possibly put the hole and taken gas out of his vehicle’’, the spokeswoman said. Nothing else was taken. ‘‘Police looked into the matter ... but exhausted all lines of inquiry,’’ the spokeswoman said.

On social media, others said their cars had been targeted but police were not aware of this type of theft becoming a trend across the city, she said.

Automobile Association motoring adviser Cade Wilson said it was aware of a small number of this type of theft in Auckland. Wilson said petrol was highly flammable and any sparks created could cause a fire, which could happen if a petrol tank was steel and the object used to puncture it was also steel.

‘‘If the vehicle owner hasn’t noticed the puncture and there is still some fuel in the tank and they drive away, the owner could unknowingly leave a fuel trail behind them that even a misplaced cigarette could ignite,’’ Wilson said.

Tell-tale signs petrol had been taken included the smell of petrol fumes around the car, if liquid was spotted on the ground around the back of the car or if the petrol light came on when it wasn’t on before. ‘‘Avoid starting the car or keeping on trying if the car stalls out as the fuel pump and wiring could also be affected and worstcase scenario create an electrical short,’’ Wilson said.

‘‘Replacing a fuel tank can be a costly process and it might pay for vehicle owners to talk with their insurance company to see if they might be covered before organising repairs.’’