Members of the Mongrel Mob and Black Power had an altercation over petrol in a tiny Hawke's Bay settlement on the weekend.

Three Mongrel Mob members who unwittingly ran out of petrol in the middle of Black Power country became involved in an altercation when they knocked on the wrong door looking for help.

The men, who had been in Wairoa for a gang gathering, were returning home on Sunday morning when they ran out of petrol in the settlement of Raupunga at around 6.30am.

A police spokeswoman said "they went to seek help at a nearby address and became involved in an altercation with the occupants. When they later returned to their vehicle they discovered it had been taken. The vehicle has since been recovered."

It is understood the men, believed to be from Taupo, had knocked on the door of Black Power associates.

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Raupunga, which is 35km south of Wairoa, is known as a Black Power area, while in Wairoa the Mongrel Mob is much larger.

No complaints had been made and no charges had been laid in relation to the matter.

It was near the settlement in November 2015 that a car carrying four Mongrel Mob members plunged off a 125-metre cliff into the Mohaka River. Three of the men died.

A coroner's report revealed that the driver of the car, Ronald Rigby had methamphetamine in his blood and was trying to prevent another car overtaking when he drove off the cliff, killing himself, Nathan Isaac and Terry Stone.

The men had been on their way to the gang's 50th anniversary celebrations in Hastings. They had passed through Raupunga and the car was making its way up an incline out of the river gorge about 2.45pm when another car travelling in the same direction, a Honda Prelude, attempted to pass it on a gentle left-hand bend.

Police located the Prelude in Raupunga days later but were not able to establish who drove it at the time. The men who police believe were in the car told police they received legal advice not to make a statement.