Driver says gas purchased at Sam’s Club in Palm Desert damaged his SUV’s engine

Tom Azody of Rancho Mirage looked over the engine of his Ford Explorer, which he says was damaged by gas he pumped at the Sam’s Club in Palm Desert.

“I feel like i am caught in between a rock and a hard place you know,” said Azody.

The small business owner says he pumped what he thought was regular unleaded gas at Sam’s, the morning of May 18th.

A short time later, he says the “check engine” light on his dash came on.

To figure out the problem, Azody says that day he took his Explorer to Palm Springs Motors, where a service tech checked the SUV and concluded there was e-85 gas in the tank, an ethanol blend his SUV is not designed to run on, which is also a type of gas Sam’s does not offer for sale at the Palm Desert location.

“I got a reputable repair shop that says this is wrong with my car,” said Azody.

To support his conclusion, the tech at Palm Springs Motors compared samples of regular unleaded on the left, to e-85 in the middle, to the apparently contaminated sample on the right taken from Azody’s tank.

The tech also provided written documentation, saying in part, “performed fuel sample found fuel to be bad and or ethanol compared to good gas.”

Azody says he has “no doubt” the gas came from pump number 11 at Sam’s, which he says he “habitually” uses to fill up on regular unleaded.

“I haven’t done nothing wrong but get gas, and pay for it, and now I am in this situation,” said Azody.

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He says the ethanol gas caused about $3,000 in damage to his engine.

As a result, he filed an insurance claim with Sam’s.

But, after several weeks of not getting a response from Sam’s insurance company, Azody contacted CBS Local 2 and asked us to get involved.

“I want to be treated right. My car is broken and I need it fixed,” said the Rancho Mirage resident.

We contacted the media relations representative for Sam’s, and asked about what was causing the apparently delayed response to Azody’s claim.

In an email response, Walmart corporate communications representative Tara Raddohl wrote in part:

“We have been trying to get information from the dealership where the customer had service and the customer recently told us the dealer needed his permission before they would release anything to our team. We’re continuing to follow up for the information we need.”

Azody says his SUV still runs, but says damage caused to the emission system still has to be repaired before the SUV will be able to pass a smog test.

“At a point sometimes I think maybe I should just let it go, but my other side says no, its my right and i have to stand for it,” said Azody.

For now, Azody says he’ll wait and hope to collect on his claim with Sam’s. if he’s denied, he says he could take the big box retailer to small claims court.

We’ll keep you posted on Azody’s efforts to resolve the issue.

We have not heard from any other drivers here in the valley who have experienced similar troubles with gas purchased at Sam’s.