Have you been affected by contaminated fuel?

Filled up with what I thought was deisel at Whitley Bay Morrisons garage Hillheads Road on Tuesday 24th at 10.00am.Did about 20miles and car started to play up.RAC who are first class came out and had to drain £82.00 worth of fuel from my car(also cost me £200.00 for the privelage)Car is still at local SAAB dealer getting put right.Morrisons say that nobody else has complained.Hard to beleive !!Trading Standards involved.Watch this space.

Filled up with £70 of diesel (totally empty tank), at ASDA Portrack Lane Stockton on 13th January. Car began to run lumpily almost immediately. Garage has drained tank. Instead of a yellowish liquid, the fuel was black. Have contacted ASDA who are investigating, but say no other complaints have been received.

Filled up my Renault Kangoo van with diesel at Asda Canterbury and after 60 miles broke down. Van was taken to Renault main dealer and was told that the fuel system had been damaged by contaminated fuel and due to the fact there is now metal particals throughout the fuel system, it would all need replacing at a cost of £4000. So van is now scrap. Will try to make a claim against Asda.

filled my tank in tescos tolworth surrey with unleaded after a couple of miles car stopped no warning at all same happened next day so got the car looked at , garage saying contaminated petrol omg why are these petrol stations getting away with damaging peoples property as thats what there doing !!!!!!

I bought some fuel from Tesco in November and within an hour my car was experinencing problems. Had to call out recovery service following day and then in to garage for new fuel pump and 3 injectors. The car had been fine before filling up at Tesco Thirsk. Also wrote to Tesco to complain and told no-one else has reported problems so they will not be paying anything out. Would love to know where I go next from here as I am a good £800 out of pocket

My wife recently refueled at an Esso station and broke down only a few miles later. He total bill has come to over £1,500 and Esso have dismissed us like trash. We are going to take legal action.

Two family cars - both filled with petrol from same local station in Northwood Hills December 2011. Both cars engine malfunction lights have come on. Could this be contaminated fuel?

My problem has been with Morrisons. After filling up there, something blocks the fuel line, especially after wet weather. After filling up there 16/12, the car would not start at all after the snow. I have been told by someone from the carhire firm I used that there is silica in the petrol, which can block the injectors. This makes sense, as silica absorbs moisture and swells. My local garage has cleaned out the injectors and it now runs perfectly. I still have a tank of morrisons petrol, but I've put in an additive to take out any moisture, so it should run until I can fill up elsewhere.

Hi, I filled up with diesel last weds (21st dec) at Total garage, Woodford New Road and the next morning I had just driven off the motorway when the car died, no signs leading up to it, restarted it but cut out again in a few seconds, then ticked over but wouldn't start. Car is now in garage and there are tiny metal shavings blocking the micro filter on the fuel rail, now have to have new fuel rail and new high pressure fuel pump and with labour costs it looks like its gonna cost around £1200. As of yet the garage hasn't washed out the fuel tank but maybe I will suggest they do, guess I will lose full tank of fuel as well, not happy. Has anyone experienced similar problems?

I filled up a full tank of fuel December 15th and started to have problems within 20 miles. The car stalled and was not able to restart. I filled up from Bromly Shell services on Bromley hill. Has anyone else had an issue with possible fuel contamination?

We have just had this problem, we had to have our tank washed out and bought two new filters We bought some petrol from Tesco in September 2011 that's when our problems started . We contacted Tesco but they say they have had no problems reported at that store obviously after reading your web page there is a problem with dirty fuel

I've just had at least one, probably 2 bad tankfuls, from my station (they can remain anonymous for now).
My car has been slow to start for a week, had a sudden loss of engine power on Monday. Topped up on Wedndesday night, and on Thursday morning it couldn't get a mile without making a sort of partial stall. Engine ticking over but accelerator has no effect. The garage diagnosed dirty fuel. They've cleaned out the filters, but didn't drain the tank. Their advice was to keep putting fresh fuel in. I can't see it working while the dirty fuel is still in there. Desperately hoping that the station covers the cost of repair and I don't have to call in the lawyers.

Has anyway been effected by contaminated fuel at Asda Thurmaston in Leicester. I filled up with diesel on Tuesday 22/11 and broke down very quickly. The garage has told me I have a tank full of petrol. Asda say It isn't possible and nobody else has complained. Can you contact me if you have had a problem?

VW Caravelle, 2.5L TDi (diesel), 2009 model.
Early 2011, 100km away from home with my family of four kids (all <9yo), the car started coughing and spluttering, then stalled.
Called VW assist, and 2 hours later the car was being towed.
Thankfully we were only 30 minutes from my parents home where we had it towed to for the night before it was to be taken to a local VW (180km from our home though!).
Long story short, my old man (a diesel mechanic) got it running that night, but for 6 months after this the car intermittently played up. It was regularly taken to VW whenever it happened, but they couldn't replicate the problem, despite my suggestion that we thought it was fuel related...but that's another story.
VW finally had the car stall on them, and they found the tank was full of sludge!
$400 later (...it could have been worse), the fuel tank was removed and washed out, fuel lines cleaned and fuel filter (supposedly) replaced, and the car has been fine...touch wood!

I have been keeping my receipts since, but still not convinced that this can be used to place the blame on the fuel station, but better than no evidence (some people keep fuel samples!).
Apart from going to high turnover fuel stations to minimise the risk, I am going to purchase a Mr. Funnel which removes water and contaminants, and use it every time when refueling the car...it might take a little more effort, but the benefits will greatly outweigh the potential hassles!

I am quite shocked at the prevalence of this, especially that nothing is being done about it!
Apparently the car manufacturers say that their fuel filtration systems are fine for US and European countries, it is just Australian fuel that is becoming contaminated at the fuel stations.

The cost to the car owner in terms of both inconvenience and cost can be astronomical!

Maybe I should become a fuel system specialist, because they must be quite busy!

I filled up with diesel at moto stirling services, travelled around 60 miles then noticed lack of power, then smoke, then a miss-fire, then a knocking noise from the engine. Stopped and arranged to be up-lifted. This was 27th october 9pm 2011 has taken two weeks of trying all sorts to fix this and a large amount of cash! Garage says no one else has complained. Diesel sample is going to be analysed will let you know the result. Do not take a chance.

Has anybody been affected with petrol bought from ASDA in Tamworth on 07/11/11?
I only managed 5 miles from filling up to having the car cut out and not starting.
As it stands my car is in the garage and awaiting tests to be performed but initial verdicts are that it is a fuel problem.

My Ka has been doing the exact same thing, really bad to drive and not starting straight after filling up at Tesco. Is it possible that as far North as Birmingham could be effected by this fuel?? any help would be great as my garage bill is getting higher and they don't know whats wrong.

has any one had any problems after geting petrol from morrisons cheadle heath in stockport i filled u my motorcycle on the 15/10/11 at 9:48am i filled up 8.75 liters full of unleaded petrol then drove to blackpool and most the way back i broke down on the way back i then took it to the mercanics and he draind the petrol into a clean jug and what came out was petrol and disel even tho the recipte says unleaded morrisons says no one els has complaned and they checked cctv and it does show me useing the unleaded oh and by the way the mercanic drained 8.50 ish of petrol/disel out of the bike

Anyone had problems after filling up with petrol at Asda Barnsley on Tuesday 11/10/2011? At the time they were having work done on one of their tanks and were transfering petrol from tank to tank. Only one unleaded pump was in use.
My car started misfiring and cutting out. I took it to a local garage and the fuel filter was absolutely clogged with gunge.
I contacted Asda and they told me that nobody else had complained, so they would not even investigate it as they had no need to.
I have a very good locking petrol cap, so no one had put muck in the tank as they suggested.
I am on pension credit guarantee so cannot afford to fork out a fortune for the work needed.
Anyone who had the same problem contact Asda yourself and let me know so that I can gather the evidence.

I drive a citroen berlingo van which had been running perfectly i had filled up wih diesel at sainsburys in bamber bridge and then drove home about half a mile. The following morning the van started to splutter and then cut out all together. I thought i had a problem with the engine. I bought myself another van to keep me working and decided to leave the citroen for a while untill i had time to look at it. Several months passed and i wasnt doing anything with the ciroen so i decided to syphon out the fuel and put it into my new van. To my dismay the new van started to splutter and run erratically, this rang alarm bells and only then did i suspect faulty diesel. I then drained both vehicles of fuel topped up with new and hey presto i now have two vans both running perfectly. Is it worth complaining to sainsburys at this stage or should i just put it down to experience. I still have a sample of the dodgy fuel

I have possibly been sold some contaminated fuel from a major retailer on 8th Sept 2011 in the Thetford area of Norfolk. I realise these may be difficult things to pursue individually, so would be interested to know if anyone else has had similar experience arounf this date. The retailer advises they 'never' have contaminated fuel. If the fuel was indded contaminated, vehicles before and after me will have similar problems (loss of power, lots of smoke and a hefty garage bill)

Hmm, I do wonder now I have read the blogs on this site. My car feels like it going to cut out from time to time. I even had it in the garage last year because of the problem. I have now moved and my nearest petrol garage is no longer a tesco so maybe I will monitor the car now and see if there is any difference??

Has anyone had any problems with diesel from Morrisons in Stone, Staffs? Filled up our LDV convoy bus on 4th June, drove to Stafford and it started spluttering on the way (never done that before) after being parked up for about an hour it refused to start. It would turn over but just died after a few seconds. On investigation it has water it the fuel tank, now awaiting the verdict on price of the repair. :-(

Anyone had problems after filling up at Shell Dean Row near Wilmslow?
I've just had to pay £300 for a new fuel pump etc in my Mini and I had only used this garage before the misfiring started.

Filled up full tank of fuel around £60 at Morrisons St. Andrews, Fife Scotland, managed a hundred miles over the next 2 days. Did not use over the weekend and on the Monday morning managed around a mile before loss of power and eventually stopped completely. Towed into garage by AA, who could not figure out what was wrong with it but thought it was fuel related. Garage discovered large amounts water in the fuel. Tank had to be removed to be drained, system flushed and cleaned and parts replaced, still awaiting the bill. Got in touch with local Morrisons and Head Office who basicly are not interested! Trading Standards cant do anything as Morrisons had taken 6 deliveries of fuel since, they were offering 6p off per litre at the time obviously because it was well watered down. Interestingly I have discovered that Morrisons garages have monitoring equipment attached to tanks to monitor for the presence of water, so there must be a need to mustn't there. However they will not allow me access to their records regarding this. Must have something to hide! Trading Standards is like a dog with no teeth and a very small bark - basicly they are useless, good at protecting companies but not Jo Bloggs! We need to do something about this fuel contamination to enable us to have some form of action against these companies!

Have just filled up at Sainburys and my car which has run perfectly trouble free for 2 years started juddering and stalling with very little power about 500m out of the garage. I drove home assuming it would right itself, went out again later and the car was impossible, and now it's bank holiday and my car won't run. It was totally fine crossing town to fill up, then wham. Anyone else got the fuel contamination problem now _ It was sainsbury West Hove at midday 21 april 2001 - any advice, PLEASE

My Wife Has been useing Safeway Fuel Shopper Dockets And now we have a bill of $2771.00 to clean the fuel system out completly from tank to Injectors.
I have samples of the Dirty Fuel out of the tank and filter to engine also i have got every reciet for purches of said fuel . Can any one tell me where to go from here please.

My car broke down due to contaminated diesel according to the garage, and run up a huge bill on repairing. That was shortly after filled up City Diesel in Sainsburys, Bath. However, the Sainsbury's would not take responsibilty. Wondering any body else got same experience or advice on what to do next, please.

Just eventually solved a 3 month old fault with my Volvo V70 (petrol). I've mainly filled up at Tesco in Newport with super unleaded. Had a fuel pump failure in December (was playing up in November as well), but the car still wasn't right. Eventually the tank has been taken off, and there is black sooty residue in the tank, which is suspect of causing all the problems. This has cost a fortune - has anyone else seen this?

Has anyone had a problem with unleaded at Tesco, Dereham, Norfolk!! Filled up and broke down 1/4 mile afterwards. AA could't identify, towed to garage. 3 days later mechanic has informed me that he reckons it's water contamination, he has checked all pumps, hoses and tank etc...so am about to embark on a complaints & re-imbursement procedure with Tesco. If anyone has any tips or experience with Tesco I would greatly appreciate your help. :-)

So what is the standard letter about waxing? What is waxing?

Forgot to say it was the Alton branch of Sainsburys.

I am having a struggle with Sainsburys at the moment having purchased faulty diesel in December 10. The fuel burnt out my fuel metering valve and in addition I have had to have the fuel system drained and cleaned and filter replacements. Sainsburys are stating it is not their responsibility and are sending lots of technical jargon including the standard letter about waxing. If you have experienced similar problems please cantact Graham Logue, customer manager at Sainsburys. I'm sure he will send you exactly the same fob off info as he has sent me. I recommend you by your fuel elseware.

Has anyone purchased contaminated diesel from Sainsburys in Pepper Hill Northfleet, Gravesend. We bought some diesel there on 22nd January 2011, and our car broke down shortly afterwards. All four injectors developed a fault (its a low mileage diesel), and the bill is currently over £1500 and we've been without the car now for almost 4 weeks. Just been informed that the cause is contaminated fuel. I popped in to the petrol station to ask if anyone else had complained, and apparently someone else had telephoned to ask if there were problems with their fuel, as they had also developed faults.

Does anyone know of the best way to get the fuel tested to prove that it is contaminated?

Has anybody had a problem with 'contaminated' fuel from Shell Station Princess Parkway Manchester

We filled our Ford Focus with Excellium Unleaded Fuel at the Total Garage, Chestfield Service Station - Whitstable, Kent on 23 December 2010. Within minutes our car struggled and the Engine Management Light came on. It was discovered at our main Ford dealer garage that the petrol was at least 30% water!! I am still struggling with Total head office to admit it was their fuel!!! even though we have the petrol receipt with date and time and a full report from the garage carried out on the same day.
Has anyone else had this problem with Total..particularly in our area?

I filled up with around £65 worth of diesel at Sainsburys Stanway on the 23rd December 2010 and lost performance almost immediately. The MPG went down toa round 35mpg from 57mpg. Car semi returned to usual after filling up at Tescos, took the car to toyota dealership when they reopened on the 29th December and they asked where i had filled up last, and they said that they had around 8 other cars in with the same problems after filling up in Stanway. Fuel filter changed and everything went back to normal.

Complained to Sainsburys and they have just replied with an 'off the shelf' response stating that the fuel has additives to prevent waxing above -15'c etc.
Standard fob off if you ask me!

hi i put diesel in my car at corley north bound on saturday 15th jan and as i was on fumes i needed fuel then i found my car would not start at all i had to be recovered and the dealer has confirmed that the fuel in the tank is unleaded but i put diesel in and have the reciept as proof and its going to cost over £400 to fix why should i have to pay this has any one else had the same problem please contact me

Filled up with diesel on the northbound corley services, car started making terrible noises. On it being recovered and taken to peugeot i was told diesel had been mixed in with un-leaded. Being a taxi driver and full time driver i know i had not made this mistake. At a cost of £335 to rectify this problem i wondered if anyone else had trouble with this services. Trying to prove i am right is a nightmare.

Filled up with £20 of unleaded 17/12/20210 @ Shell station in Sutton in Ashfield Nottinghamshire.I drove to work about an hour later and after 10 miles my Toyota Avensis started spluttering and the engine management light came on.Managed to get back home and contacted my local dealer .
Took the car in and after a couple of days they managed to resolve the problem by draining the petrol i bought from Shell and replacing it with new.
I confronted the garage owner who said that nobody else had complained,but he gave me a contact number for Shell.
I called Shell(call centre in Manila)they took my details and after 2 weeks contacted me saying that they hadn`t found any problem.I had had the petrol analysised which found tap water mixed in.I asked how water could get into my petrol they replied with contact Trading Standards if you`re not happy.
Anybody else been affected????????????

Filled up with diesel on 31/12/10 at Tesco, Bar Hill, on 2/1/11 after travelling about 30 miles my Toyota Avensis started to dramatically lose power. I just managed to limp home on hazard lights after having to stop and let the engine rest a few times. Car left on drive until taken into Toyota, Cambridge for diagnostic check on 7/1/11. When we got there and told the mechanic the problem he immediately asked me where I had purchased the fuel, on being told Tesco he said he had seen a number of cars with the same problem, all having purchased diesel from Tesco. Not enough additive in had caused the fuel filter to clog with "waxy diesel". New filter, additive and £93.92 later and car is back to running smoothly.
Then saw article in Cambridge News so contacted Tesco in Bar Hill, they told me to contact head office who referred me back to the branch, going back in to fill in form "CBDR". I suggest everyone with this problem does the same. Only ever fill up at Tesco and car is serviced regularly so cannot be a coincidence.

Just in case anyone else is having problems; I filled up with diesel on 28/12/2010 and 04/01/2011 at Biggleswade Sainsburys and have had intermittant problems since (Engine stutters on acceleration). The garage says 'no other complaints received'.
Is it just me and a coincidental unrelated problem? or has anyone else had any problems with the diesel?I think some water in their tanks?

Anyone else with this problem from the same filling station ???

Has anyone been hit by contaminated Diesel in Cambridge recently - December 2010? My girlfriend's diesel Clio has a dashboard light appear last week. Its under warranty so she took it to the Renault garage who said it is affected by a bad batch of diesel and around 10 other customers had also been hit. They said customers of petrol at Milton and Bar Hill Tescos had been hit. Anyone else?

The garage had not contacted Tesco but I thought I'd raise it here following the issues a few years ago.

Anyone else been hit?

Just in case anyone else is having problems; I filled up with diesel on Thursday 25th Nov 2010 at Tesco Wickhurst Lane Horsham and have had intermittant problems since (Engine stutters and engine light comes on). The garage says 'no other complaints received'.
Is it just me and a coincidental unrelated problem? or has anyone else had any problems with the diesel?

Filled up £40 of petrol at asda Wrexham 27/10/11, Vauxhall corsa 1.4. The engine started to judder and struggle as soon as you slowed down / went up hill. garage tried everything to repair it and have just discovered it was due to water in the fuel (contaminated fuel), with an estimated repair cost of £800!!

Anybody else in the wrexham area had the same issue with asda's petrol?

Filled up with diesel at Morrisons in Leek, Fuel pump gone on Land RoverTD5. Told by Garage contaminated fuel any one else had a problem.

I purchased diesel from Asda Alloa on 21 September 2010 (Tuesday) The car Ford Focus) was not used until the following Saturday (25th) and stopped just as I arrived home that night. On Monday I had it taken to Macrae and Di++ in Stirling who eventually diagnosed contaminated fuel and had to have the injectors reconditioned. I also lost a full tank of fuel. Total cost £923. I have reported this to Asda but have had no response so far.

I just wondered if I was alone in this?

Regards

PJ

My father filled up with super unleaded petrol from the Total Garage at Balsall Common, Kenilworth Road, Nr.Coventry on Sunday 17th October, on Tuesday his car was showing smoke from the exhaust and the car a Corsa was stuttering and could not get up speed on Wednesday he called the AA who were not sure of the problem and took it to a garage service station, when the mechanic checked it out he diagnosed contaminated petrol, he drained it and the car is now running OK. Has anyone else had problems from the Total Garage?