Fuel Filter and refusal to honor warranty!

redux

A new fuel filter element would only cost a few quid plus the time to fit it, so £140 sounds like a bit more, especially when some main dealers offer a service involving filter changes and other work cheaper than that.

I can't see how they can assert that winter fuel additives are not present unless they've already sent the fuel off to a testing lab. How about asking for a copy of their test results, on top of the request you've already made to retain some for Sainsburys to test.

In any case, diesel without winter additives will gel at a few degrees below zero, but many cars have a heater on the filter housing which allow operation down to lower temperature even with only summer diesel. Find out if this Peugeot has such a filter heater or not.

And also in any case, another owner who has used their car a little less might still have fuel in the tank which was bought before winter additives started being used. So there would be hundreds of cars with this happening all over the country ... perhaps there are ...

If the fuel can't get past the waxing at the filter, then that should just mean the car won't start. I don't understand how more damage would be caused, unless it's something like the fuel pump overheating while trying to pump fuel. And I wonder how much a new fuel pump would cost.

If the fuel has water in it, or some other contamination, then perhaps there would be a case, if it could be proven that the supermarket was the source. But with the line being that this is just about winter additives, they don't seem to be heading in that direction so far.

Just a few ideas to think about.

Is this only about the filter element, the filter body, or some other parts as well?

alleycat`

yourboywillis wrote: »

The Peugeot garage on Bensham Bank

You can tell them they are talking utter barnacles.

A couple of years ago it was -19 here and my car started first time, every time, with Sainsburys diesel in the tank.

I was somewhat worried about the fuel waxing but it seemed to be ok.

It isn't a peugeot mind. So it doesn't fall of its perch every time it gets a bit cold.

Edit:- If you said you'd got it from Shell or BP or Esso would they have blamed it on something else?

red_eye

yourboywillis wrote: »

Afternoon All

Where to start. Purchased a 207 Sportium from my local Peugeot dealership early April last year on a 3 year "Just Add Fuel" deal. For those unfamiliar with this deal it comes with the car, breakdown cover, insurance, road-tax and warranty for three years all included.

As we have had poor weather recently the temperature in the north-east has seldom raised above freezing this week, a high of 2 yet a lowest of -8 have been registered. Whilst driving home on Saturday the cars Engine Warning light appeared and the car entered "safe mood"

Took it into the dealership I brought it from today and explained the problem and they asked me was I buying Supermarket Fuel, I answered that I had just filled up at my local Sainsburys last week and their response I found astounding. As Supermarkets buy the cheapest fuel possible they are still buying summer diesel, this doesn't have the additives or preservatives to protect the diesel in the cold temperatures and this has damaged the fuel filter.

To make this worse, this isn't under warranty, and is a rather expensive job, which has left me with many questions

1) Shouldn't they be telling me to avoid Supermarket Fuel and only buy branded diesel?

2) If this was true, wouldn't it be happening to every diesel in the country, and therefore if its only Peugeots isn't this an manufacture problem?

3) A modern car should have some form of heating system to protect again this?

4) How much at fault are Sainsburys for selling, essentially, a faulty product?

Any help, advice or direction anyone out there can give would be much appreciated.

Thanks

go back to the dealer and get what they said in writing. then email a copy to bosch and sainsburys wait for their reply and take that to the dealer and demand somre free services for all the running around you have done

nickcc

Winter grade diesel is introduced in November, the actual date depends on your location. All the oil companies comply with this requirement and the storage tanks at the distribution terminals only hold winter grade diesel until April. Some vehicles are fitted with heated fuel filters but this is usually for colder climates than ours. Some of the Supermarkets, as do BA, buy their fuel off the spot market but this fuel still has to be supplied to distribution terminals where it is checked for compliance before entering storage. Winter grade diesel has a lower cold plugging point than Sumer grade which prevents waxing. Kerosene is not used to lower the cold plugging point as this would cause excessive wear to your injection system due to the lack of lubricant.

yourboywillis

UPDATE

Peugeot have got back to me stating that it in indeed the diesel that has caused this problem and will write a letter stating the fuel has damaged this car. However they refuse to state that it was Sainsburys fuel that caused this damage.

Surely this is pointless as if I go to Sainsburys they will just say it wasn't our fuel, and if I go to the Total garage I filled up at a week before that they will just say the same?

New fuel filter
A fuel additive
ran through a diagnostics machine

£140

That said however they also rang and offered me an upgrade!?!

Tilt

Have you spoken to Peugeot UK Customer Services?

mkirkby

yourboywillis wrote: »

UPDATE


New fuel filter
A fuel additive
ran through a diagnostics machine

£140

That said however they also rang and offered me an upgrade!?!

Upgrade of what? The car? Typical main dealer trick. You have to remember that as a main dealer they have both sales and servicing. They don't care where they make money, they just want your cash.

Dodgy b*&tards

Again, try Peugeot customer services and also ask them for the breakdown of the £140

yourboywillis

Yep, useless, just "raised a case" didn't offer any reason or explanation, just a case was being raised

yourboywillis

End of the day summary

Peugeot Customer Services have been notified and a case raised.

The dealership themselves are doing the work (I really need my car back) on the condition that I get a letter stating it was faulty fuel and a sample of the fuel if needed. They have also offered me an upgrade and will discuss prices when I go in tomorrow.

Sainsburys are also aware of the issue, have also raised a case and have all of the dealerships contact information!

Will keep you all in the loop when I pop in to the dealership tomorrow!

Thanks for all your hard work and contributions towards this problem ,really is an invaluable source of information

DaftyDuck

Well, I'm buying a new car in about a month's time. I'll look in on this thread next week and, if Peugeot haven't apologised to you, done the work for nowt, apologised again, and apologised to Sainsbury's, that's one make of car I can easily cross off the list straight away, and save myself the time. I doubt I'll be the only one with a similar view.

OK, so the fuel may (may...) have been at fault. If so, I'd expect a clear and precise explanation (in layman's terms, but precise nonetheless)from the garage of exactly what was wrong with the fuel, and I'd also expect them, as concerned and sensible citizens, to have rapidly contacted Sainsbury's, so they could stop selling this damaging fuel to other Peugeot Owners immediately... thus saving many, many owners of Peugeot cars trouble from failed components, particularly in this severe weather. I think we can safely say Sainsbury's would have immediately complied, not least since they could still sell fuel safely to owners of Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan, Volvo, Toyota, Renault, BMW, Ferrari, LandRover, Bentley, Jaguar, no doubt even a Dacia would work....

Keep us posted! Genuinely interested.