Hundreds of metro Denver motorists who filled their vehicles up with gasoline contaminated with diesel last week are scrambling to get them fixed, renting cars or taking ride shares and figuring out how to get reimbursed. Some service shops are grappling with a dozen or more cars towed there as s tate regulators work to manage the mess that started Jan. 7. A class-action lawsuit has already been filed. “You should be able to trust the gas you get at the gas station,” said Sally Smith of Parker, whose husband Matt’s truck got contaminated. “It’s affected our work, our life — it’s affected everything.” Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety officials have been working with impacted consumers while getting the full list of gas stations affected from the distributor, HF Sinclair. The list includes 48 stations stretching from a Colorado Springs Costco to a Safeway in Fort Collins. HF Sinclair said in a statement Tuesday evening to 9NEWS that it has provided “a thoroughly vetted list of affected retail locations” to the state for publication. A request for comment from HF Sinclair by The Denver Gazette was not answered before this report’s publication. “As of today, we’ve received over 600 complaints,” said Cher Roybal Haavind, chief communications officer for CDOPS, at a Wednesday news conference. “They are still coming in, reports from consumers who experienced a variety of engine issues after receiving gas last week.” Zach Hope, CDOPS program manager, added: “This is an unprecedented event, and we’ve had the whole team working on it.” Hope said officials believe all the contaminated gas has been located and recovered. “We have received word from Sinclair that all contaminated fuel has been recovered and returned to them and new fuel is in place,” Hope said. The chain of events started Wednesday afternoon, and was discovered early Thursday. Hope said one of the distributors noticed the fuel “wasn’t the bright color of gasoline.” Sinclair at that point started notifying stations to stop selling the tainted gasoline. Lindsey DeHart of Castle Rock filled up her Subaru Thursday morning at a King Soopers in Castle Rock and made the short drive home. They started seeing news reports on Thursday night. “We tried to start it Friday morning and it showed the symptoms they talked about with the chugging, like coughing,” she said. They towed it to the dealership. David Takacs, service manager for Extreme Auto Repair in Parker, said the cars started arriving Friday and they’ve had 12 come in since then with issues caused by the contaminated gas. “They can be sluggish, or won’t even start,” Takacs said. “Sometimes you’ll see white smoke out of the tailpipe. These engines were not made to run on diesel.” Mechanics have to flush the tanks, put conditioner into the fuel injectors and check the spark plugs. The costs can reach thousands of dollars. “We’re just trying to get them all back on the road,” he said. While the DeHarts are using their insurance, the Smiths have been relying on Murphy’s Express — where the truck was fueled — to help pay bills with the claim they made. “Murphy’s gave us a number and we filed a claim,” Sally Smith said, which the repair shop would use to get paid. She’s been using Uber to get to work, while Matt Smith uses the couple’s second car. Repairs weren’t done by Thursday — almost a week later. “The most important thing for consumers to know is they should return to the point of purchase of the fuel,” Haavind said. “If they have receipts or anything that they can demonstrate they did purchase from that location, that’d be great.” “Unfortunately, the Division of Oil and Public Safety is not involved in that reimbursement process,” she said. Haavind said division officials are “making sure that the smaller owners are aware they do have an obligation to receive the complaint.” A class-action lawsuit has already been filed by Berger Montague PC, a California-based firm, on behalf of Charlene Franklin and “all others similarly situated.” The HF Sinclair El Dorado oil refinery is silhouetted against the sky at sunset March 21, 2025, in El Dorado, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) It names defendants HF Sinclair Corp. and Dillon Companies LLC doing business as King Soopers Fuel Centers. It alleges negligence, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose and a violation of Colorado’s Consumer Protection Act. “This action arises from the Defendants’ negligent, reckless and unsafe distribution and sale of motor fuel that was represented as unleaded gasoline but was, in fact, contaminated with diesel fuel, therefore causing widespread and immediate economic damages to consumers throughout the State of Colorado,” according to the lawsuit. It states up to 400,000 gallons of fuel may have been affected. “This was terrible and disproportionately impacted people who can’t afford to have this happen now,” said Alexandra Piazza, a shareholder with Berger Montague. “We can’t tell the whole scope yet, but we believe it’s far greater than the 600 who have filed complaints with the division.” Complaints can be filed with the division by downloading the complaint form here or calling (303) 866-4967. The investigation to determine the cause could take two to three weeks, Sinclair told division officials. The division does have the statutory capacity to fine the company, Hope said. “Here, obviously, a big mistake was made. But it’s an unprecedented one that is still under investigation,” Hope said. “The results of that will inform our fine amounts, if they exist.” /* Base table styles (desktop) */ .stacked-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; } .stacked-table th, .stacked-table td { padding: 10px 12px; text-align: left; border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd; } .stacked-table thead { background-color: #e6e6e6; font-weight: bold; } /* Alternating rows */ .stacked-table tbody tr:nth-child(even) { background-color: #f2f2f2; } /* Mobile stacked layout */ @media (max-width: 600px) { .stacked-table, .stacked-table thead, .stacked-table tbody, .stacked-table th, .stacked-table td, .stacked-table tr { display: block; width: 100%; } .stacked-table thead { display: none; } .stacked-table tbody tr { margin-bottom: 16px; background-color: #fff; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px 0; } .stacked-table tbody tr:nth-child(even) { background-color: #fff; } .stacked-table td { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; padding: 6px 12px; white-space: normal; } .stacked-table td::before { content: attr(data-label); font-weight: bold; margin-right: 12px; } } Facility Name Address City Costco Gasoline #6765175 Wadsworth BlvdArvada King Soopers Fuel Center #13714887 Candelas PkwyArvada Stinker Store #33313700 E Quincy AveAurora Costco Gasoline #4391405 S Havana StAurora King Soopers Fuel Center #10725751 E Smoky Hill RdAurora King Soopers Fuel Center #492351 S Buckley RdAurora Farmers Korner Gas16115 Hwy 9Breckenridge King Soopers Fuel Facility #7182395 W 136th AveBroomfield King Soopers #86 Fuel Facility5275 W 120th AveBroomfield Castle Pines King Soopers #6917296 Lagae RdCastle Rock King Soopers Fueling Facility #732750 N Ridge RdCastle Rock Costco Gasoline #10145897 Barnes RdColorado Springs Safeway27102 Main StConifer West Evans Sinclair2110 S Federal BlvdDenver Twin Star Energy #23550 Downing StDenver Circle K Store #27098541600 S Colorado BlvdDenver Broadway Cardlock6185 BroadwayDenver King Soopers Fuel Center #6071470 S Sheridan BlvdDenver Costco Gasoline #16524741 North Airport Way Building 2Denver Circle K #27064756702 N Tower RdDenver Circle K Store #2706786202 S Briggs St.Erie Safeway Fuel Center #163510300 Federal BlvdFederal Heights Safeway Fuel Center #46148206 Weld CR 13Firestone Safeway Fuel #29132451 S Taft Hill RdFort Collins Singh Food and Sinclair213 18th StGreeley SS Fuels #3029171 E Arapahoe RdGreenwood Village Circle K Store #27098807701 E Orchard RdGreenwood Village R B Food And Gas11010 E 120th AveHenderson Johnstown C-Store106 E South 1st StJohnstown K D Enterprise Inc1490 S Wadsworth BlvdLakewood Coal Mine Gas Express9819 W Coal Mine AveLittleton Bowmar Gas Express5200 S Lowell BlvdLittleton Costco Gasoline #4438050 W Quincy AveLittleton Costco Gasoline #4688686 Park Meadows Center DrLone Tree King Soopers Fuel Center #7021619 Pace StLongmont King Soopers Fuel Center #67513057 S Parker RdParker Costco Gasoline #102218414 Cottonwood DrParker Murphy Express #862113001 Copperhead TrailParker Costco Gasoline #10274000 River Point PkwySheridan Costco Gasoline #480600 Marshall RdSuperior Safeway Fuel Center #18739640 Washington StThornton Costco Gasoline #62916375 N Washington StThornton Costco Gasoline #11784665 Weitzel StTimnath Big D Oil Co. #648214 6th StWellington Circle K Store #27411855390 W 112th AveWestminster Costco Gasoline #4406400 W 92nd AveWestminster ...read more read less