Ford diesels dont like sainsburys

elp99jcm

Well, it's been some time since my post but I said I'd provide an update.

I wrote to both Sainsburys and Ford, as I said I would. Sainsburys responded very quickly with a very polite letter answering all my points. They confirmed their fuel met standards, they have no indication that their fuel affects any Ford vehicles and they have had no report of contamination. All of this I was certain of, of course, but I thought it was useful to have this in writing.

Ford took quite some time to respond. I was phoned twice by Ford Customer services at times I was unable to take the call and they only open 0930-1700 weekdays which, funnily enough, makes it rather difficult for people with full time jobs to find the time to phone them.

Shortly after the second call I received an abrupt letter stating they had tried to contact me be couldn't, the repair was not covered under warranty and I should refer to my owners manual regarding the type of fuel I should use (I did - they simply give the EN standard - which is what all forecourts offer).

I was somewhat dismayed by this but before I contacted them back I had another phonecall from customer services which was much more polite and said the matter had actually been 'escalated' since te letter. I should have not been told what I was told and the service manager at the dealership would contact me direct to discuss. Progress I thought......

However, the dealership failed to contact me. I had phone calls from Ford customer serivices every two days for the last few weeks asking if the dealership had contacted me and, of course they hadn't. Actually, that is not true, the service manager told them he had tried twice but I pointed out that it was a mobile number, I had no missed calls or messages. They later confirmed actually the dealership hadn't after all tried to contact me. Funny that. Apparently the service manager is very busy and 'working two people's jobs'. As far as I was concerned I hadn't seen him manage the one as yet.

Finally, last Friday I had a call from the after sales manager. He said I should not have been told what I was by the service engineer. It is not true, there are no cases of issues with different kinds of fuel (he drives a '61 CMax and puts any fuel in it, including supermarket brands). He said to be honest, considering the age of the car the garage should have changed the filter free of charge and "got me on my way". I was of course going to be refunded for the work.

I pushed further though, as I was still somewhat confused. What made my 5 month old car with 9k miles break down? Was it really the filter? Why? What caused it and how can I be sure nothing else has been damaged? I didn't get satisfactory answers to any of this. Just that the filter was definitely "clogged up" and "if it had caused any other damage then it would have shown up by now".

I checked my bank account today and have received a refund. Actually £1.26 short but hey, it's the least of my issues with them.

Ford Customer services phoned back asking if I was now happy that situation has been resolved and I made it clear I was far from happy. It wasn't about the money, it was about getting some clarity about what actually did happen to my car, the ridiculous things I was told and the time I have had wasted. I request I get in writing from the dealership an account of what has happened and answers to my unresolved questions. They said they would not close the case and would continue to chase the dealership.

I suggested they might want to have a stern word with the guy who spoke to me but got fobbed off about my case going into an annual review with the dealership etc.

So not entirely resolved and I'm still frustrated with the whole thing.

One thing that I find really, really, irritating, as I explained to Ford today, is that when I had the car repaired and was quizzing the service engineer he was obviously not enjoying the questions so said to me "well, we've got a driver ready who can deliver your car back home right now if you just pay. That way your family will not be inconvenienced as we can get the car back.....just think of your family". I can't state how angry that makes me.

[Deleted User]

I've just read with interest all 9 pages of this thread, I'll explain my situation.

I drive a 61 plate 2011 mondeo TDCi Econetic which means it has the super efficient Euro 5 engine - 1600cc yes the one with 8 little jets instead of 6 larger ones.

As background I use approx a tank of diesel a week or 600 miles the car is 18 months old & has done 35000 miles.

In December (4 months ago) I had Engine Mallfunction light on dash & car goes in to Limp Home Mode. You can stop turn engine off & then on again to reset but problem happens again 100m up the road especially if you stop on a motorway & need to accelerate off the hard shoulder. Car to main dealer - new fuel filter.

This week (March) exactly the same problem, car to different main dealer - new fuel filter.

This time the guy at the garage contacted ford who allegedley said (brief version) do not mix supermarket fuel with big brand fuel as the additives they put in do not like each other & react to cause a "gel" which will block the fuel filter. Only common in 1600 diesel (new ones) as these have a finer filter (????). The additives are for winter use & are added between Sept & March.

Both of my instances happened during sudden cold snaps, currently the last three fill ups have been Sainsburys City Diesel.

I have posted this on HJ & Ford Mondeo Owners Club & after reading lots & lots of answers it would appear to be:

• sudden temperature drops (-4 / -5 degC)
• Euro 5 engines with the finer nozzles
• Ultra low Sulphur diesel that maybe has added bio-diesel or other additives.

I've asked ford & Shell etc to comment but have not tried Sainsburys to ask what their biodiesel proportion is?

Any use?

forgotmyname

Doesnt it tell you on the pump what the BIO-Fuel ratio is?

7% seems to ring a bell. I have no issues using Sainsbury's fuel in my euro 4 Mondeo.

Sounds to me like they dont know what the cause is or a design fault, Its struggles with cold diesel. They should have fitted heated filters or similar.

My old Rover diesel had a heater plug in the fuel filter line.

Sun-Is-Fun

Just to add my saga !

62 Reg Citroen Diesel Car done less than 2300 miles.

On way home various error messages came on dash, loud beep and car went into economy mode.

Contacted local dealer. Found fault to be blocked fuel filter due to waxing of diesel fuel. Blamed supermarket diesel, saying inferior in quality to branded makes. Car would not be fixed under warranty, as was a 'poor fuel quality issue'. Repair cost = nearly £150 !

Am writing to Citroen Head Office and Sainsburys now.

Many issues about this on MSE site alone, plus if you google 'diesel waxing supermarkets'

addyboy1982

2x diesel cars in this household, both run on premium Diesel.

The first is the OH's Vectra CDTI which is run on BP Ultimate now. Previously run on Tesco diesel for first year of ownership and it smoked, was sluggish and generally ran like a sack of sh*t. Standard BP was much better and Ultimate better still.

My Laguna 2.0dCi has always been run on Shell V-Power Diesel since I bought it. Filled up once at Sainsbury's as I was caught very short and it was flat, lumpy, noisy and did 44mpg across the tank (brim to brim as always) instead of 49mpg.

I'm sticking with premium branded.

Edited to add that both cars are high mileage and have always flown through MOTs with barely a trace on all the emission categories.

Lum

For the record my 2010 diesel Mondeo is mostly run on Tesco and so far hasn't had any problems, however I do occasionally run some Shell through it and it does seem to perk the car up noticeably, the effect lasts until a few tanks of Tesco have gone through it.

It's probably not worth spending the extra for, but when the price of Shell is the same or lower than Tesco match I'll always go for Shell.

The car has a "Ford recommends BP" sticker in the fuel flap, but it doesn't say "requires" so I ignore it as BP are always stupid expensive.

I guess what I'm saying is there may be some truth about the branded fuels being superior but, for me at least, they haven't caused any failures.

I've not tried Sainsburys though.

forgotmyname

And Sainsbury's use BP fuel.

GolfBravo

mjfp509 wrote: »

Contacted local dealer. Found fault to be blocked fuel filter due to waxing of diesel fuel. Blamed supermarket diesel, saying inferior in quality to branded makes. Car would not be fixed under warranty, as was a 'poor fuel quality issue'. Repair cost = nearly £150 !

OMG, £150 for a £8 fuel filter?

30 seconds to diagnose, 2 minutes to replace, no specialist tools required (just a 27mm spanner).

GolfBravo

I know that all fuel sold must conform to a set standard, but my guess is that not all fuel gets even close to the standard. Regardless whether supermarket or premium I'm afraid.

The winter diesel standard requires CFPP value of -15ºC, which means that in theory the fuel is not supposed to block the filter above -15ºC. And yet we hear all these horror stories about blocked filters at -2ºC. My guess is that a thorough test of various winter diesels available would find some "traces of horse DNA".

Only last week my neighbour got stranded in Germany on his way to Switzerland. His Audi A8 3.0 TDI would not start first thing in the morning at a hotel car park, -6ºC overnight. Called breakdown recovery, the mechanic just popped the bonnet up and within 10 seconds diagnosed the fault: summer fuel. The fuel was a premium Esso diesel bought in Oxfordshire only 1 day earlier, so winter diesel supposedly. Had his car towed to a garage, new filter fitted and also had to wait a couple of hours for the fuel to thaw. Had the fuel reheater tested, working OK, but unable to cope with the present fuel. The mechanic said that this is a very common problem in Germany, but only when the temperature drops below -25ºC.

elp99jcm

I'm pleased to see this thread reopened. Since my last post/rant I have had two more fuel filters. Jst008, I am also in a 61 plate 1.6 tdc with around 33k miles.

I probably shouldn't suggest another forum but my latest post is at talkford. Search for my username or the thread title "diesil fuel filter waxing every time there is cold weather"

On my post there are some pictures of fuel and filter which you'll find interesting.

I have paid out a lot so far but Ford Technical are convinced the fuel I am buying is not fit for purpose and waxing. Note this is official and in writing from Ford and not the dealership.

I phoned the AA technical helpline and they are well aware that many cars are suffering this apparent waxing problem but do not hsve sufficient data to explain the issue. There are no clear trends but it is more prevalent with supermsrket fuel.

I have been suggested a fuel additive which I have in writing from the dealership I can use. It should stop waxing, basically doing what the additivesin the fuel should be doing.

I am still sceptical but let's see. The story about the Audi above is interesting. When I have a spare moment I will cool in asalt ice bath andalso freeze in my freezer the samples of fuel I have taken to see if the wax or cloud.

I nust hope there is some resolution the this soon, I have found it pretty stressful asi use the car both for commuting and work trips so really rely on it.