fuel fun and games

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Posts
70
....posted on here a month or so ago about a rough-running S2 TD5 that seemed to be down to fuel pump problems, well, it was - but with some extras

the problem became apparent almost immediately after filling up, and when the RAC came out to have a look, after a quick sniff and a turn of the ignition (nothing else) they declared that I'd filled the thing up with petrol rather than diesel - well, I was bloody sure I hadn't, and a subsequent check of all the relevant receipts and forecourt records at the service station confirmed that I had (at least) used the right pump !

anyway, £200 quid for the ensuing pump out, at the instigation of the RAC, plus £70 worth of fuel literally down the drain.....and best part of £400 for a new fuel pump, filter etc, complete with the revelation from the mechanic that he was as certain as he could be that it WAS diesel that had been put through the thing

surprisingly enough, the RAC, when pressed, are steadfastly certain that it was petrol that they took out of the motor (they've "done tests", apparently), and the service station are equally intransigent that it was diesel that was put in - so someone's lying, and I'm £700 quid out of pocket

I'll be on the phone to solicitors shortly - can anyone recommend any checks or owt that I can instigate in the mean time (the mechanic has held on to the old pump and filter) or has anyone had any experience of resolving a similar matter - if it was diesel that went in to the thing, I'll accept that the fuel pump going was just a coincidence, but I want the money for the pump out and the wasted fuel back off the RAC - if it was petrol, I want the cost of everything back off the service station !
 
Well if the rac diagonosis was correct and the repiars carried out have rectified it then it appears there was a fuel mixing issue. No you need to work out did you put the wrong fuel in or was it the wrong fuel in the pump-not unheard of, do you have a sample of the fuel removed?
 
i definitely used the right pump (although obviously I appreciate that this does not necessarily mean that the right fuel came out of it !) - it's a service station I use regularly, I know exactly what pump I used and have also been back to check, plus I have a VAT receipt that states I bought diesel, and was charged at the diesel rate

I do have a small sample of the fuel, and - to be honest - the smell is inconclusive - the mechanic who did the repairs said that the use of cleaners by some service stations can mask the diesel smell to a certain extent....
 
Last year I attended a brokendown Saab that had cut out. It had filled up wth fuel at the local supermarket. The fuel light was on when he filled up and the vehicle was a petrol one.

There was fuel and spark but it wouldn't run. I asked to see the receipt. The guy didn't have it. We went back to the petrol station and checked the cctv. He had used the correct petrol pump. I tested the petrol from that pump. IT WOULDN'T IGNITE.:eek:

I then tested petrol from another pump supplied from another tank. It WOULD ignite. I then tested that the samples would evaporate. The good sample would, the dodgy one wouldn't. The dodgy one also felt greasy. I showed my findings to the sales guys on the forecourt and requested to speak to the manager. An hour later he showed his face. I repeated my tests in front of him and asked him to sign that the tests were fair and correct. HE REFUSED. I also asked him to take the pumps offline. This he did.

I advised the guy with the saab to get a sample of fuel from it and if there was a problem with the bill for repairs being paid then he should send it to trading standards.

The following day the pumps were back online. I checked with the cashiers. They told me that it had come up as clear from trading standards.

I never heard back from the Saab driver. If I was wrong then I would have expected to get my arse sued for it as per the norm these days. I did however attend a breakdown of the local trading standard rep who was responsible for checking the fuel. THEY HAD NOT AT ANY TIME BEEN CALLED TO THE PETROL STATION IN QUESTION AND TESTED THE FUEL LET ALONE GIVEN THE ALL CLEAR.

Up until the Saab incident I fuelled ALL my vehicles from that petrol station. I stopped after this and have found that after going from supermarket fuel to ESSO, All my vehicles run better (more power) and I get upwards of 50 miles extra per tank.

Just to add to this. A nearby army base has banned all it's vehicles from filling up with a different supermarket fuel after the number of breakdowns that it has caused.

SEND A SAMPLE OF FUEL TO TRADING STANDARDS. THE PETROL STATION WILL LIE ABOUT HAVING HAD IT TESTED. DON'T TAKE ANYONE BUT TRADING STANDARDS WORD ON IF THE FUEL IS CORRECT OR NOT.
 
well, well, well - there's a thing !

had a test on the fuel sample i retained done by a tame lab, contacted through a coach company i know, and it transpires that i filled up with unadulterated diesel

interesting to see what happens now, having informed the RAC of this fact, and also that I'm pursuing redress the for the (best part of) £300.00 that their cretinous patrolman and his pal, the dodgy pump-out technician, have cost me with their combined inability to spot a tank of diesel when it's put under their noses.....
 
Back
Top