Gasoline mix up in Sarasota County sends numerous cars to repair shops

Posted By: EN Todayon: January 26, 2026In: General Energy News, Oil & Gas News

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Several drivers in Nokomis say their vehicles were damaged after pumping what they believed was regular unleaded gas at a Circle K on Laurel Road.

Shortly after filling up, customers said their cars started acting up, and many ended up needing to be towed to repair shops.

One local repair shop owner said multiple impacted vehicles were brought in over a short period of time. He said they all had one thing in common: diesel fuel in their gas tanks.

“Almost every car has come in on the tow truck. We have only had one make it here, and maybe they topped it off, and that is why. The new vehicles struggle more; we actually have to drain the tanks and flush all of the lines out. It is a large job,” said Dacey’s Place owner Bryan Dacey.

Tyler Balcom said his truck started struggling as soon as he pulled out of the gas station.

“I pulled out of the parking lot, and my vehicle just seemed really slow, like something wasn’t acting right, so I pulled off, checked all of my levels and gauges, made sure all of my fluids were good, scratched my head a little bit, like what is going on with my truck,” Balcom said.

“Then the next morning, I tried to turn it on, and it is just puffing out smoke out of the exhaust, which it has never done before, and it drove for about 10 feet, and it just completely stalled out, and that is when I knew there was a real problem,” he said.

Balcom posted what happened to his truck on social media, only to find out that dozens of others who visited the Circle K were having similar car problems. He contacted News Channel 8 in hopes of getting the word out to others who may have been impacted.

“I wanted to make sure that if there were other people who were affected, that they knew it wasn’t just them, it wasn’t a one-off with their vehicle. This is going to be something that ends up costing individuals thousands of dollars,” said Balcom.

Circle K sent us the following statement:

At Circle K, we guarantee and stand by the quality of our fuels. However, issues sometimes arise, and we encourage customers to report them to us as soon as possible for review by our claims department.

The car troubles experienced by customers who purchased fuel at our gas station in Nokomis resulted from diesel fuel being delivered inadvertently into a gasoline storage tank. As soon as we became aware of the situation, we shut down the pumps. On Saturday, we emptied, cleaned and replenished our storage tanks and resumed fueling operations at the site.

We sincerely apologize to anyone affected by this incident, and we are committed to making it right for them. We have heard from a number of customers who filled up at the store, and we are helping with their claims. After reviewing and verifying their claims, we will reimburse affected customers for any repairs and associated costs related to this incident. Any customer whose vehicle may have been impacted at this location can contact Circle K Customer Service toll free at 1-855-276-1947.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says it is investigating.

“Consumers experiencing issues after purchasing fuel should file a complaint with the department by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA or by visiting fdacs.gov. If the investigation determines that there is an issue with the fuel, the department can assist impacted customers with receiving reimbursement for any required vehicle repairs,” said FDACS in a statement.