Dodgy supermarket diesel

ro-cuin

1. I've been getting my diesel from the same supermarket garage for the past 6 months or so as it's on my way to work. I commute 600 miles/week. After filling up last week my 59 reg Reno Megane began to "kangaroo" down the road. The car got towed to a garage and £157 later I had a new fuel filter. The mechanic said the filter had waxed. He gave me a sample of the fuel. I rung the supermarket direct who said using their fuel was at my own risk and it wasn't their policy to compensate. I then spoke to their customer services at head office this evening who advised me to contact trading standards. Am I hitting my head off a brick wall or is it a life lesson to buy fuel from Shell/BT in future? :undecided

elantan

Tbh it was the words megane that made me wonder if that your problem

I had a megane, the full fuel system needed replaced at a cost of £4,800 ... Funnily enough about 2 months after the warranty went out of date

It may be the supermarkets fault and I would deff take it further ... But be aware meganes bring a whole host of issues ( mainly electrical I just admit)

Isn't it supermarket policy though to have their fuel as close to the max level of bio fuel as possible as that's cheaper ?

Paradigm

elantan wrote: »

Isn't it supermarket policy though to have their fuel as close to the max level of bio fuel as possible as that's cheaper ?

The standard for diesel is EU wide, BS EN 590. All car manufacturers are aware of the EU directive to include a minimum of 3.5% bio (up to a max of 7%) & very likely to rise in the near future.

If the fuel complies with the standard then the engine/filter design is at fault if there are problems, supermarket fuel "has" to comply with BS EN 590.... no ifs or buts!

Volkswagens comments....

Standard Forecourt Fuel – BS EN 590

Volkswagen Group does approve the use of diesel fuel containing up to 7% Biodiesel in all of their diesel vehicles. The

change to legislation on 1

st April 2010, insists that fuel suppliers must use at least 3.5% Biofuel in diesel production. In

accordance with European legislation (Directive 2003/30/EC) the Biofuel content in forecourt fuel will gradually increase

over the next few years, to meet the objective to reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions produced by road

transport.

Filling station forecourts supply diesel (to the standard BS EN590), which can now contain up to 7% Biodiesel with at
least 93% Fossil fuel. The use of this fuel requires no modifications to the vehicle or changes to the vehicles’ maintenance schedule.
Important: BS EN 590 is approved for vehicles fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF).

elantan

so if they have to have a minimum of 3.5% and can go up to 7% wouldnt the supermarkets then have the 7% and say BP or Shell etc have closer to the 3.5%

if i remember right people tend to have issues in winter due to the cold weather and the biofuel issues, it tends to be with supermarket fuel as well

i could ofcourse be totally wrong as it isnt something i have spent alot of time thinking about, i just seem to remember hearing something about it

EdGasket

"Am I hitting my head off a brick wall or is it a life lesson to buy fuel from Shell/BT in future?"
I think you might hit a brick wall if you try to buy diesel from BT!

Paradigm

elantan wrote: »

so if they have to have a minimum of 3.5% and can go up to 7% wouldnt the supermarkets then have the 7% and say BP or Shell etc have closer to the 3.5%

Possibly.

However the standard is clear & it covers up to 7% bio, all car manufacturers selling in the EU should be designing engines to work with that fuel.