RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — When he goes to fill up his truck, Rashaun Brown said he’s hoping he gets what he paid for.

“When you think about getting your gas, you think about getting your gas and riding to its fullest potential,” Brown said.

Brown, who said he depends on a working vehicle for his job, stopped at a gas station in Raleigh with his work partner Thursday morning. He and other drivers have questioned why several stations have recently bagged pumps.

“They may not have a problem with the fuel,” said Melissa Spencer, supervisor with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Fuel Quality Lab. “It might be with the pump itself. But for whatever reason, it’s being bagged off and there’s signage on there.”

Spencer said her department had a record spike this month in complaints ranging from slow pumps to contaminated fuel. Of about 50 reports, about half noted issues with water in fuel.

“How [water] gets in there is hard to say,” she said. “Each place is different. It could be there’s a crack in the tank or lines that the water gets into. If the water table goes up, it can get in that way.”

Parts of North Carolina recently saw several inches of rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Debby this August. Spencer said the state continues to investigate each report, but there may be a correlation with the spike in complaints.

Spencer said the last spike in complaints was back in January at 36 total. Altogether, there have been about 236 complaints so far this year. Since 2021, Spencer said the highest monthly numbers hovered anywhere from 24-27 complaints.

“We take every complaint that comes in seriously,” she said. “We go out and investigate it. Even people who call 2-3 months after the sale, we go out and check the product.”

Spencer said complaints came from 37 gas stations across the state. Some had multiple reports. “If we find any phase separation in the tank, we stop sales on that product and the station has to get it remediated,” she said. “Once the problem is fixed, we go back and check it before they can resume sales.”

Spencer said their staff try to respond to complaints within 24 hours after they’ve been received, but not every driver will file a report. “The sooner we get those complaints, the sooner we can check the product and have a better answer for them,” Spencer said.

Vincent Belmonte, the General Manager at Epic Auto Center in Raleigh, said water and fuel is simply a bad combination for your vehicle. “It depends how much water is in the fuel,” he said. “If the ratio of fuel to water in the tank is greater than 50%, it’s sucking straight water into the intake and into the fuel system. That’s not going to combust. It degrades the quality of fuel.”

Belmonte said water strips the ethanol from gasoline. The cost for repairs can be expensive and can depend on how much water is in the tank and how long the car was driven. He said, “You can lock up your engine, you can damage your fuel system, you can damage your fuel pump, you can be talking about thousands of dollars in repairs very quickly.”

If customers have concerns, Belmonte said the best option is to have your car towed and checked by a mechanic. “Of course, they’re furious,” Belmonte said. “They’re buying gas at the gas station and expect it to be gasoline, not water. A lot of the time, the customer ends up footing the bill.”

Spencer said while lawsuits and insurance are sometimes involved, they’ve also seen issues resolved between the gas station and the customer. She said there are about 7,000 gas stations across North Carolina, the number of complaints is often low, and they want to make sure drivers are getting what they pay for.

Spencer said bagged and slow gas pumps can often be a sign of an issue. She also said to avoid purchasing gas if the station is in the process of getting a delivery because the force of the fuel delivery can push dirt and particles of sediment through the dispenser, even if a filter is in place. 

If you suspect that there is a problem with the quality of the fuel you have purchased, you can contact the NC Fuel Quality Laboratory at 984-236-4770. Complaints can also be shared online at this link.