There’s a new warning for drivers in the South Bay Wednesday. As gas prices rise, thieves are increasingly siphoning gas out of parked cars in San Jose.
Arturo Sánchez owns an auto shop in San Jose and says he’s been busy lately helping customers who are coming in with damaged tanks after getting their gas siphoned.
He says it’s an easy crime, with a big price tag.
Someone sneaks up, pokes a hole in the tank, and drains it.
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“Just yesterday we replaced two tanks,” he said, a job that can cost upwards of $1,500.
And it can take a week or more to replace each one. Sánchez said that’s because there’s a high demand for these parts now.
Others report their fuel siphoned directly out of the filler tube.
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A driver said that after having lunch in Santana Row with his family two weeks ago, he found the gas lid open and when he turned his car on, he said he noticed his tank was about a quarter empty even though he had just filled it up.
The man said he was parked on the first floor at a parking structure near Yard House in Santana Row when someone targeted him.
He said he did not file a police report and when NBC Bay Area asked San Jose police, they said it doesn’t seem like a trending crime in the city, but they may be because people simply aren't reporting it.
Sánchez says most of his customers are only reporting it to their insurance, since it is covered under vandalism.
Police do encourage drivers to report the crime if they’ve been a victim.
They also suggest investing in aftermarket locks to deter gasoline tank tampering.
