Washed Diesel has distroyed the car.

ocj

Hi well it's happened.
My wife went to the local filling station last week (in north Dublin )and bought diesel for the car.
She drove home then the next day the car died. The mechanic has told us that it's full of washed diesel and it's going to cost 2.5K to fix after the injectors, fuel pump, filters, sensors and all have been rebuilt or replaced.
Reported to Customs who are going to take a sample but can anyone tell me has this happened to them before and if they successfully got any kind of compensation ?
Anymore and we'll have to right the car off.
:mad:

The Pontiac

What car is it? Sorry to hear about that.

It is not unusual for one fill of unwashed stuff to wreck the engine. If that's the case the station in question would be sued to the ground.

Are you not buying the fuel from the same garage on a regular basis? Might be worth investigating further.

beam99

What type of car is it? how much fuel was in the car before hand and how many litres did she put in?

Bandara

ocj wrote: »

Hi well it's happened.
My wife went to the local filling station last week (in north Dublin )and bought diesel for the car.
She drove home then the next day the car died. The mechanic has told us that it's full of washed diesel and it's going to cost 2.5K to fix after the injectors, fuel pump, filters, sensors and all have been rebuilt or replaced.
Reported to Customs who are going to take a sample but can anyone tell me has this happened to them before and if they successfully got any kind of compensation ?
Anymore and we'll have to right the car off.
:mad:

Don't believe your mechanic straight away. It's very very common that they say you have washed or dirty diesel, I'd had it said to me many many times over the years and they have never been correct. To detect washed derv isn't easy at all, they are sieving it thru chemical powder these days and its looks and tests quite perfectly. A full lab analysis is required to detect it. Even the on the spot tests that customs did up until 2 years ago quite often won't detect.

Hence why the new dye and dyeing method is being introduced next year.

If you want to pm me the station name in confidence I should be able to tell you if it is selling washed fuel or otherwise, and to advise you how to proceed etc

ocj

It's a Mazda 3, there was very little in it and she put €40 into it. Only drove home and tried to get to work the next day and it died.
It's the 1.6 HDI engine found in alot of cars.

ocj

Hammertime wrote: »

Don't believe your mechanic straight away. It's very very common that they say you have washed or dirty diesel, I'd had it said to me many many times over the years and they have never been correct. To detect washed derv isn't easy at all, they are sieving it thru chemical powder these days and its looks and tests quite perfectly. A full lab analysis is required to detect it. Even the on the spot tests that customs did up until 2 years ago quite often won't detect.

Hence why the new dye and dyeing method is being introduced next year.

If you want to pm me the station name in confidence I should be able to tell you if it is selling washed fuel or otherwise, and to advise you how to proceed etc

P.M. sent

mullingar

One tank of washed diesel will not kill a engine.

It might have been dirty or more probably contaminated diesel. A full flush of the fuel lines, filter replacement and a tank clean will remove dirty/contaminated diesel.

Send a sample to a lab for testing, similar to this crowd in Dublin: http://www.indlab.ie/petrol-diesel/diesel-analysis/

sweetie

I'd appreciate a pm so I know where to avoid. thanks

EazyD

As others have said I'd be wary of the mechanics diagnosis, it most definitely will require a full clean of the tank and check on the fuel lines, filter etc. Do make it your business though to report the garage in question as soon as possible, any idea of an inspection and they will dump this suspect fuel

Henry Ford III

There is presumably some degree of comfort in buying diesel from the big named retailers?

Of course it may cost a bit more, but I'd hope it would be better quality uncomtaminated fuel.

Joe 90

It always sticks in my mind that IH fuel caps use to have "Buy Clean Fuel Keep it Clean" embossed on them.

ocj

We seen the diesel that came out of the tank and it was bright yellow, not the norm colour. Customs were suppose to be out to take a sample but are not able to report their findings back to us. The car has ran perfectly till fuel from this gargage. Of course we're at the mercy of the mechanic but all the issue with the engine now are fuel related.
It's not like the fuel was very cheap. So there was no suspicion there.

Bandara

Henry Ford III wrote: »

There is presumably some degree of comfort in buying diesel from the big named retailers?

Of course it may cost a bit more, but I'd hope it would be better quality uncomtaminated fuel.

100% correct

Avoiding unbranded stations is the only policy imho, yes there may be some genuine ones but the vast majority are simply blatantly selling washed/striped fuel, both diesel and unleaded

Bandara

ocj wrote: »

P.M. sent

Replied


Text added: Bright yellow colour isn't necessarily an issue, colour be anything from pale yellow to slight greenish hue in colour, get it tested and you'll know for sure.

The Gride

ocj wrote: »

Hi well it's happened.
My wife went to the local filling station last week (in north Dublin )and bought diesel for the car.
She drove home then the next day the car died. The mechanic has told us that it's full of washed diesel and it's going to cost 2.5K to fix after the injectors, fuel pump, filters, sensors and all have been rebuilt or replaced.
Reported to Customs who are going to take a sample but can anyone tell me has this happened to them before and if they successfully got any kind of compensation ?
Anymore and we'll have to right the car off.
:mad:

If what you are saying is correct then you won't be alone and every car that got fuel from that pump should have stalled by now.

My father had a new car a few years ago and it constantly broke down. On the last occasion the garage where he bought it cited washed diesel and produced a lab report saying so. He employed a private motor assessor who called to the garage and took a sample direct from the car giving the garage a sample of the fuel also. The fuel was sent to an independent lab and the tests revealed that the diesel was perfect and not washed at all. He sued them over this faulty car which took 3 years to go through the courts but he got his full money back with compensation.

Get the fuel to a lab and tested.

JohnBoy26

ocj wrote: »

It's a Mazda 3, there was very little in it and she put €40 into it. Only drove home and tried to get to work the next day and it died.
It's the 1.6 HDI engine found in alot of cars.

They are not the most reliable of engines. IMO you should get your car diagnosed properly before blaming the filling station.

rugbyman

OCJ
I doubt like others that one fill can do the harm, you do not say if this was a one off fill from that station.

part of your problem now is to get good advice from a knowledgeable mechanic.
It is often easy ,as others have said to blame everything.

Was the car serviced regularly with one garage , is it they who diagnosed it?

My sympathy to you, whatever way this pans out will not be simple and will cost you.

Rugbyman

I have a nephew may be able to advise you if you are stuck.

johnnydeep

The Gride wrote: »

If what you are saying is correct then you won't be alone and every car that got fuel from that pump should have stalled by now.

My father had a new car a few years ago and it constantly broke down. On the last occasion the garage where he bought it cited washed diesel and produced a lab report saying so. He employed a private motor assessor who called to the garage and took a sample direct from the car giving the garage a sample of the fuel also. The fuel was sent to an independent lab and the tests revealed that the diesel was perfect and not washed at all. He sued them over this faulty car which took 3 years to go through the courts but he got his full money back with compensation.

Get the fuel to a lab and tested.

this story is hard to believe. who is to say that it was the diesel that was in the tank at that very moment that was washed.
I believe that one fill of the wrong diesel can do damage to your pump/injectors

Henry Ford III

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

They are not the most reliable of engines. IMO you should get your car diagnosed properly before blaming the filling station.

I don't agree at all.

That 1.6HDI/TDCI is very reliable when serviced properly. It's a very popular engine used in a huge variety of vehicles.

mullingar

+1. The 1.6 has proved to be one of the most reliable small diesel engines on the market. Its biggest fault is owners who dont service it on time

Guy:Incognito

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I don't agree at all.

That 1.6HDI/TDCI is very reliable when serviced properly. It's a very popular engine used in a huge variety of vehicles.

Like a lot of things, its more a case of unreliable owners . Different things will stand up to different levels of abuse /lack of care. For the majority of typical drivers a lot of issues come down to how much of one or both a particular car can endure

endplate

Check with your insurance company. It happened to my father in law and insurance company covered the cost of the repairs. Unfortunately it will effect your NCD.

The Gride

johnnydeep wrote: »

this story is hard to believe. who is to say that it was the diesel that was in the tank at that very moment that was washed.
I believe that one fill of the wrong diesel can do damage to your pump/injectors

It is hard to believe but it happened. It also was a big main dealer in Dublin and for whatever reason they decided to twist things by producing false lab reports. Wherever they got the sample from it was not from my dads car. They were left red faced and it cost the manufacturer ( not the dealer ) over 30K in the end. They are still in business today also.