SEATTLE -- Three or more gas stations had to shut down after contaminated fuel was pumped into several cars and trucks.

At least nine cars and trucks broke down after the gasoline and water mixture was pumped into their vehicles, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News. The contaminated fuel was linked to a Shell facility on Harbor Island, said Brian Sibley, a spokesman for Shell Puget Sound Refinery.

"It looked like coffee," said Maryanne Trengove, describing the stuff that came out of the gas pumps at a Shell station in Snohomish Sunday.

"It was brown, and then in the other cup, it was clear-ish with dark brown sediment in the bottom of the cup. Did not look like gas, at all," said Trengove.

In a statement released by the Shell station, they said a preliminary investigation showed that human error at the Shell's Seattle terminal allowed gasoline mixed with water to be loaded onto delivery trucks.

The contaminated regular unleaded gas was delivered to four Shell stations in the Seattle area, said the statement.

Trengoves car died shortly after she got gas, but the car isn’t even hers. She was borrowing the car from a relative while her own is in the shop after an accident.

She said her relative's car needs extensive repairs.

The vehicles that broke down filled up at two Safeway gas stations including one in Maple Valley on the Maple Valley Highway. Both were shut down Sunday after the contaminated gas was discovered.

Bad gas was also found at two other stations, including a Des Moines Safeway on International Boulevard, but no one bought it, said Shell.

Shell said they are working with the people who bought the contaminated gas from their stations and reimbursing them for their repairs.

"We finally did get someone from Shell to give us a reference number, not a claim number, but a reference number and supposedly they're going to reimburse us for all fees, but you have to pay up front, which is a little unfair, I think," said Trengove.

Shell said they are also replacing the contaminated gas with new gas at the affected stations. The bad gas was only loaded into one tank, said Shell, and is not related to any of their other refinery operations.

Any consumers who believe they have been impacted by this problem are encouraged to contact the station where they purchased fuel.