Fuel From Tescos

[matty2767]

Saw on the news tonight that unwanted chemicals have been found in the fuel bought from supermarkets and that trading standards are investigating. apparently it knackers your oxygen sensor and causes the car to lose power and judder. obviously this isnt a cheap item to repair and with the amount of vehicles now faulty the sensors are in short supply.

nothing else to say but i thought i would let you know in case you havent seen the news

[uumode]

Thanks for that

I hadn't heard, so did a bit of digging on the internet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6405051.stm

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenew...-TESCO-FUEL.xml

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1253699,00.html

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...ales/article.do

[silverarrow]

its silicon in the fuel and tesco say fuel ok ???

i am not shopping at tescos ever again hit them in the profits !!!!

[matty2767]

me neither. an extra 2p a litre from Shell, on the mileage I do, is worth it. it will be interesting to see if tesco pay up and how drivers prove tescos responsible

[tnjbrown]

I don't want to make light of this as I know how bad things are for those who are caught up in the problem, but I was amused to see a story on the news last night which demonstrated the difference in standards between the products of the main petrol companies and the cheaper imports used by Tesco, etc. As the story ran, there was a video of a tanker arriving at a Tesco store and on the tank in large letters were the words "Why pay more?" I think we now know the answer to that.

[IMRAN786]

If yoyr oxygen sensor fails, can this lead to components in the Engine failing?

[Chris Dance]

It seems Tesco & Morrisons are insisting their fuel is OK. This not the case. Reported on our local radio: one lady had the oxygen sensor renewed on her car under warranty. She then found out about the fuel problem. She was assured by Morrisons and Trading Standards their fuel was OK she should fill up and drive her car as normal. She then filled up again at Morrisons and guess what the new sensor she just had fitted failed. The local radio consumer programme is looking into this. So do not fill up at Morrisons or Tescos no matter what assurances they give you.

[funkyg]

If yoyr oxygen sensor fails, can this lead to components in the Engine failing?

I've been told by a mechanic that a faulty O2 sensor could cause your CAT to fail.

Mike.

[Black Knight]

If yoyr oxygen sensor fails, can this lead to components in the Engine failing?

The O2 sensors work in conjunction with the air flow meter, and several other sensors to set the correct air fuel ratio and give optimum fuel efficiency/performance. If the O2 sensor fails then the ECU can't do this. The ECU will have to switch to a reserve setting to keep the engine running and I guess it will probably richen the mix to ensure the engine carries on running (when the Engine light comes on). If you ever owned a car with a manual or poorly adjusted auto choke and tried driving with it full on all the time you'll have a feel for how it'll drive in this condition.

Short term you'll notice a lack of performance and fuel economy. If you carried on running it for a long period (a few weeks I guess) the excessive Hydro-Carbon emissions will overwhelm the CAT and cause it to stop working. Longer period (say several months) the fuel washing past the rings could contaminate the oil causing it to stop working properly leading to excessive wear.

You'd have to be driving around for a long time with the check light on to do this though

[silverarrow]

its diesel mixed with the petrol

and ?? red diesel more profit to the supplier

silicon is a anti foaming agent in diesel

[Chris Dance]

Have any members on here picked up the contaminated fuel from Tescos or Morrisons? If so what are they doing about their claim for cost of repairs?

I was due to fill up on the day the news about it came, in fact my neighbour warned me about it earlier than that as his brother works in a garage and they were getting loads of cars in, all with the same fault.

It seems if you have not got a receipt you are going to have a job getting compensation.

[Boro Sera]

Giddlepin got a tank of contaminated fuel in January from Sainsburys. They paid in full AFAIK - but not in advance of course.

Double whammy though.......the repairs had to be carried out and then claimed for afterwards so not only did he have a sickly MR2, but had to Shell out hundreds of pounds to get it back to normal. The cost was refunded, but finding a big wedge of spare cash just after Christmas isn't the best way to start a new year !

[Shoto]

In case anyone hasn't yet heard the news.

Tesco drained/flushed all the unleaded tanks at affected outlets and re-filled with 'clean' petrol. They have also issued a national statement with contact numbers offering to compensate people with cars affected by the contaminated fuel.

There are full page adverts with the Tesco contact details in today's national press so it's worth checking a newspaper if your car was affected.

The BBC Radio news I heard this on didn't say anything about Morrisons or any other fuel outlets involved.

[Zincubus]

I am guessing that ESCO petrol is NOW ok to buy ...Oct 2007 ???

I have a Rav4 - Y reg - 4.1 - year 2000 .

Have been using Unleaded for 4 months ( since purchase) and JUST tried a FULL tank of Super Unleaded .... it SEEMED to run a little smoother or MAYBE it was the PLACEBO effect !?

Any thoughts on Super Unleaded folks ??

Can it do any harm ???

[B3rtie]

Unfortunately for Tesco and my Club Card balance, I dont use supermarket petrol anymore just the main brands - the petrol contamination scared me off! I think its safe to buy. Silicone is the main culpret which can kill Oxygen sensors appering as white deposits on them.

I use Super regularly in all our cars if its cheap enough and noticed the difference more in our Saxo which runs smoother and gives 10% more economy so in this car it costs no more (and possibly bettervalue) than regular 95. Shell V-Power works fairly well in the Avensis and often feels a touch quicker/smoother however you want to read it.

FYI - I found Total gives better economy generally (1-3 mpg) and Shell seems to make the engine run smoother/quieter in my Mini where I have been monitoring economy for about 2 years.

R

[shroud]

Unfortunately for Tesco and my Club Card balance, I dont use supermarket petrol anymore just the main brands - the petrol contamination scared me off! I think its safe to buy. Silicone is the main culpret which can kill Oxygen sensors appering as white deposits on them.

I use Super regularly in all our cars if its cheap enough and noticed the difference more in our Saxo which runs smoother and gives 10% more economy so in this car it costs no more (and possibly bettervalue) than regular 95. Shell V-Power works fairly well in the Avensis and often feels a touch quicker/smoother however you want to read it.

FYI - I found Total gives better economy generally (1-3 mpg) and Shell seems to make the engine run smoother/quieter in my Mini where I have been monitoring economy for about 2 years.

R

Never heard super unleaded doing any harm.

Due to the higher RON rating some cars feel smoother and need slightly less throttle to achieve the same acceleration than with nomral unleaded, but the difference is relatively tiny. Some performance cars are tuned for super, but i don't think an Avensis would fall into that category. I do use Shell super every few fill ups. as i think the additives also benefit the engine. However with recent fuel price rises, i find it increasingly unpalatable forking out the extra for super.