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Chantal Crate of Prescott filled up her 2013 Toyota Highlander at Ultramar at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The next morning her SUV was running rough and there was a strange smell from her engine, but she dropped her daughter off at school and drove to work in Brockville anyway, she said. Her car was hard to start after work, and it stalled before she could get out of the parking lot. Her Toyota stalled six more times before Crate got to her mother’s place in Brockville, not trusting the SUV to get her back to Prescott.

Crate said she contacted Toyota service and a mechanic said it was the second call he had received that day about a similar problem. The mechanic suspected diesel in the gas tank.

After Crate had her SUV towed to Toyota, the problem was confirmed: Diesel was found in the tank and the gas lines, she said.

The cost of the repair was $545, including the cost of the tow but not the cost of her gas, she said.

When Crate contacted the station, she said employees admitted the problem, and Crate was told to bring in all her receipts and that Ultramar would compensate her in full.

Crate said she usually throws out her gas receipt as soon as she gets it. But, luckily, on Tuesday she saved her receipt showing she paid for regular gas at the Ultramar.

“I never save it (the receipt). I just happened to grab it,” she said.

Karen Hoare, of Augusta Township, tells a similar story. She filled up her van at the Ultramar in Prescott during the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 17, which was the day after Crate did. Her gas tank had been about a quarter full.