Dozens of drivers go from the pump to the auto shop after fueling up with contaminated gas at Bucks County Wawa

RICHBORO, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A number of drivers who recently filled up at a Wawa in Bucks County suffered some pain at the pump — not from high prices, but from bad gasoline.

The company acknowledged a fuel equipment problem at the Wawa on Second Street Pike at the Addisville Commons Shopping Center in Richboro. That’s where 17-year-old Connor Lenahan filled up his tank last Thursday. By Friday morning, something was clearly wrong.

“I went to start my car and it wouldn’t start,” he told NBC10. “It took three or four attempts to start. And when I did get it on, it was very, very jittery and I was having some problems accelerating.”

He wasn’t the only one. His mother posted about the problem on social media.

“She ended up getting around 35 people that reached out with the same problem,” Lenahan said.

Repair shops in the area started getting calls about the same issue. Greg Millevoi, owner of Millevoi Brothers Richboro Automotive, told NBC10 that he expects to fix roughly 15 to 25 cars that fueled up at that Wawa location.

“A thorough examination determined that the fuel inside these cars was definitely contaminated and a very extensive repair had to take place to correct it,” Millevoi said, which could cost between $3,000 and $4,500.

“You have to drain the fuel tank. You have to drop the tank down, blow out the lines, replace the injectors, replace the spark plugs, replace the fuel pump on some cars,” he explained.

In a statement, Wawa explained that there was a fuel equipment problem on one of the tanks, and drivers who needed to take their cars to the auto shop could file a claim .

“Once aware of the issue, and the potential impact to fuel, we took immediate steps to correct it,” the statement reads, “and we are working with our fuel equipment manufacturer to investigate and understand the issue, including the timing of any potential impact. At this time, we believe that this was an isolated incident that may have affected a very limited number of customers.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. At Wawa, we have a quality fuel guarantee, and if any customer’s vehicle had a mechanical problem caused by our fuel, we encourage them to visit our fuel guarantee page , to submit a claim.”