Contaminated Fuel

[TuNeS]

Today, my wife fuelled up at a BP service station with BP Ultimate, only to end up on the side of the road 5 minutes later.

Skoda Assist sent out RACQ and the mechanic believes that there was water in the fuel. The car was towed to a secure location where it will be delivered to a Skoda dealership tomorrow.

The fuel station admitted they had issues last week which they were adamant was fixed, however denied they had any issues and the manager has not called me back. I know this is going to be an expensive exercise and am worried that a bill will come my way.

Has this happened to anybody else? Where do I go from here?

[dazag]

If the Servo doesn't come to the party ( get the fuel receipt & time you called Skoda Assist to show manager the time between refueling there & the car stopping ) then I would look at contacting consumer affairs or the ACCC

[K1W1]

Tip half a litre or so of meths into the tank. It will break up the surface tension of the water and allow it mix with the fuel and to pass harmlessly through the engine and out the exhaust as steam.

And make sure that you get a sample of whatever is in the tank so it can be analysed if required.

Edit:

You can also buy funnels that have water filters built in if you think this may be an ongoing problem.

[Diesel_vert]

Where do I go from here?

Download and read BP's Fuel Guarantee from here: linky

I would call BP first (not the servo) to see what options you have before escalating it further.

Good luck, and I hope you still have the receipt.

[Transporter]

You should have no problem claiming it from BP, since everybody knows it was/is flooded area.

To everyone who is worried and is in floods affected areas I would recommend using fuel additive called Interjectron or Interject450 from INTERJECT INTERNATIONAL , it's amazing product, I'm using it in my workshop for long time.

[TuNeS]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have the receipt and I will let you know how this pans out. Fingers crossed.

[Catrina]

Same Problem

Hi, I had the same problem back on the 16th Jan from a BP, which i lodged a claim with BP who then use Claims Management Australasia as an independent. My claim was denied so i am trying to gather more evidence even though i submitted the receipt the motordeals receipt that fixed the problem. They claim that they tested the fuel on the 16th and no water was present and that they have had no other complaints. Can you tell me which BP you were at as if it was the same one it may help both of us.

Thank you

[K1W1]

They claim that they tested the fuel on the 16th and no water was present

Well that's BS to start with.
EVERY underground tank in the world has some amount of water in it.
At your standard service station the pick up point for fuel is raised above the bottom of the tank. The pick up point is designed to be above the normal level of water in the bottom (we all know I hope that the fuel floats on top of the water) so under normal circumstances there is no problems. You will very occasionally get a glitch when new fuel has been added to the tank and the water hasn't settled but it's very, very rare.
Tanks are, or at least were when I worked for BP tested by dipping a long pole into the tank from the filler hole. Again, when I worked for BP records were supposed to be kept so it may be worth asking to see them. The bottom area of the pole was covered with a paste that reacted to the water so when you pulled the pole out you could tell how deep the water was by measuring the discolouration of the paste. As long as the discolouration was below xx inches (in those days) there would be no problems. If it got close to the upper limit the tank would have to be completely pumped out to remove everything in it.
For nervous flyers underground tanks with Jet Fuel have a floating pick up so they suck from the very top of the tank to absolutely minimise the chances of water contamination. The fuel is also lab checked for each refuel as well rather than using the paste method. A floating pick up is way too expensive to be installed in every underground tank at every Service Station.
In this case I believe it very important the you get a decent sample of fuel from the bottom of your fuel tank into a sealed glass container in case you need to get your own analysis done.

[TuNeS]

Car is at Brisbane prestige and I should know the diagnosis tomorrow. I have already lodged a claim with BP and they assured me that provided the sample contained water, I would be reimbursed for the repair cost and the hire car. I am now slightly concerned with the above experience. I am yet to get a bill on the repair and I don't think it will be cheap so I hope the claim goes through without issue.

[TuNeS]

Catrina, How much was the repair bill? The BP service station was on the Sunshine Coast. Feel free to contact me via private message to discuss further where I can give you my mobiel number.

Hi, I had the same problem back on the 16th Jan from a BP, which i lodged a claim with BP who then use Claims Management Australasia as an independent. My claim was denied so i am trying to gather more evidence even though i submitted the receipt the motordeals receipt that fixed the problem. They claim that they tested the fuel on the 16th and no water was present and that they have had no other complaints. Can you tell me which BP you were at as if it was the same one it may help both of us.

Thank you

[Catrina]

HI, our bill was just under $500, but we filled up at indooroopilly thank you for letting me know. I will be taking this to the ACCC to see what i can do next. Good Luck.

[TuNeS]

These photos are quite disturbing. I will be very upset if BP dont come to the party as the tank has been professionally cleaned and the whole fuel line including filters and fuel pump need to be replaced. With labour, replacement car and towing the bill is $2500+.

Due to such poor quality control, I have no hesitation in mentioning the exact service station so you make sure you never go there - BP LANDSBOROUGH CENTRAL.........just up the road from Australia Zoo.

[Antiplastix]

Moral to the story, always ask for a receipt when you fill up. I had a tank full of crud from the small service station at the bottom of Mac. Pass, Albion Park in my Triumph. Everything had to be pulled to peices and cleaned, but I had no receipt, so I had no proof. Bad Luck.

[TuNeS]

luckily I have the receipt.

[K1W1]

If you pay by credit card you have a receipt even if you don't have the paper copy.