Texas Man Goes To Chevron. Then He Catches Them Selling Something Contaminated: 'I've Had 3 Stations Near Me Get Fined For It'

A San Antonio man says he discovered a Chevron selling water-contaminated gas, which caused major issues for his vehicle. 

“The fact that it's not burning through the plastic bottle says enough, it's not pure gasoline,” one viewer wrote.

In a TikTok series with over 917,000 views as of this writing, content creator @realayydee investigated the gas quality at the San Antonio Chevron to determine if the gas was contaminated with water. 

In his first post, he showcases his Cadillac Blackwing needing to be towed after a gas fill-up at the Chevron. 

“Can’t believe I got gas like any other time and my brand new car gets [expletive] with water in the gas,” the on-screen text reads. 

In the second post, the man goes back to the Chevron with an empty water bottle and his investigation cap on. It’s two days after the incident, and the man has questions about the gas quality. With the gas nozzle inside the bottle, he begins pumping gas into it. The start of the pump looks clear but then settles into a warm, hazy yellow cloud. 

Elan Fuel reports that gasoline is supposed to be clear or have a light yellow color. It can appear to be watery or have a transparent look, which means the gasoline is fresh. Now, if the gasoline is cloudy, red, or brown, the fuel is aging or contaminated. 

“There it is. Look how disgusting that looks. Just wow. That’s not good gas. I don’t know if y’all know what gas looks like; it’s not like that,” he says. 

He elaborates on the cloudy texture and color of the gas, implying it’s water-contaminated.

“It’s cloudy and has a huge layer at the bottom of the water. Looks kinda rusted. All that cloudiness is water suspended into the gas. The bottom layer is the settled [expletive],” he explained. 

After filling up the bottle completely, he walks inside the Chevron to confront the employee. He showcases the gas he says is water-contaminated, and the clerk calls his manager. The clerk is in disbelief seeing the separation within the water bottle. 

“I showed him it was contaminated. Now I didn’t know it would come out this bad,” the TikToker mentions. 

‘That Pump Has A UTI’

Viewers were noticing subtle details that made them believe the gas was indeed contaminated with water.

“The fact that it's not burning through the plastic bottle says enough, it's not pure gasoline,” one TikTok user noticed.

“I can never smell the gas in the air like I used to when I’m pumping. You even used to be able to see the fumes in the air. Not anymore,” another added.

“That pump has a UTI,” one joked. 

“I won a case once against a gas station and was able to prove my gas was contaminated. The gas station paid for my vehicle's damages and they later closed the gas station,” one wrote.

Man Tests Chevron Gasoline

To take matters further, the man decides to test the gas quality in a follow-up post. He uses an ethanol potency kit to test the same sample he showed the Chevron clerk. The test includes filling the bottom with water and adding the fuel to the top. Once the gas and water have been added, the tube gets shaken and sits for five minutes. 

“The reason for doing this is that ethanol is mostly hydrophilic. So, whenever there is water in gasoline, if it has ethanol, that ethanol will bind with the water, and it will fall to the bottom, forming a layer,” he explains. 

He speculates he won’t see the water level rise at all because the gasoline already has water in it, and the ethanol it contains has already bound to said water. 

“With this ethanol test, I’m not expecting to see the water level at the bottom rise at all, showing any ethanol content. Pretty sure all the ethanol on this sample already fell to the bottom. It already bounded and fell to the bottom,” he said.  

The man shakes the bottle, and there is no change in the sample. The ethanol levels have stayed the same. 

“That shows you it was water-contaminated from the start,” he shares. 

To prove his point even further, the man got gasoline water-contamination-finding paste to test the initial gas sample. When water is present in the gasoline, the paste will turn red. 

“It starts out brown, but in the presence of water, it’ll turn red,” he says. 

He replaces the sample deep inside the gas sample, and the paste shows a red line appearing, indicating water is in the gasoline. The man goes back to the ethanol test after five minutes, and there is no change since the initial shake. 

“There is barely any ethanol content in that top layer of gas, which shows all of this has settled to the bottom with water, so it’s water-contaminated,” he concludes. 

What Does Water-Contaminated Gas Do To Your Car?

Getting a bad tank of water-contaminated gas can seriously cause some major issues in your vehicle and lead to a hefty repair bill. 

The general rule of thumb is to never intentionally add water inside of your engine. However, there will be times water sneaks into your car without you knowing anything about it. While rare, some gas stations may have water seep into gasoline storage tanks underground. 

This isn’t the first offense Chevron has had with water-contaminated gas. A Georgia woman experienced a similar issue as the San Antonio man, which led to an engine issue, Motor1 previously reported. 

CarParts shares that any water contamination can cause issues with the engine's functionality and impact performance. When water enters, the vehicle may ride roughly or stall. This contamination can corrode the vehicle's fuel system components and needs to be addressed immediately. 

Motor1 previously reported that these issues can include the car not starting up, ignition stutters or hesitation, acceleration issues, shifting delay, a bumpy ride, a loose gas cap, needing to be filled up with gas more frequently, or the check engine light coming on. 

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To avoid the potential of getting gas contaminated by water, it's best to purchase gasoline from a high-volume fuel station. With more customers filling up, the gasoline will be fresh, and there is less time for the potential of water to seep underground into the storage tanks.  

Motor1 has contacted Avila via Instagram and TikTok direct messages. Chevron has been contacted via email. This post will be updated if either replies.

 

 

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