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Contaminated petrol causes cars to break down
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Posted by: forwardone
Trading Standards officers have launched an investigation into a suspected batch of contaminated petrol that is thought to have caused thousands of cars to break down.
So many vehicles have juddered to a halt that owners face delays in getting them fixed as garages have been inundated and spare parts are running out.
Drivers complained their cars began misfiring and losing power after buying petrol from filling stations, including Tesco forecourts, in the South-east.
Tesco said they had carried out "extensive" tests on current and past batches of unleaded, including fuel from affected cars, and had found no contamination. The wholesalers, Greenergy, had also been unable to find the cause of the problem. The chief executive of the Society of Motoring Manufacturers, Christopher MacGowan, said: "I have been in this industry for many years and I cannot remember a similar occurrence on this scale.
"It appears there is a rogue load of petrol in the United Kingdom at the present moment but until we actually can track down exactly where it has come from and also what the precise problem with it is, it's very difficult to give meaningful advice to drivers."
The petrol affects cars' oxygen sensors, which keep the car running smoothly, or which shut down the engine if there is a problem, allowing it to be driven a short distance at low speed.
The problem is concentrated in London and the South east, although Adam Cracknell, a spokesman for the RAC, said its members from Norwich to Brighton had been affected.
Ian Hillier of the Trading Standards Institute said the consumer protection body had received about 100 complaints from drivers and has begun an inquiry.
Initially it was suspected that the petrol was contaminated with ethanol, but tests had ruled that out, Vanessa Guyll, the AA's technical specialist, said. Tests have failed to determine what the problem was.
The UK Petroleum Industry Association, the trade association representing the nine main oil refining companies operating in the UK, said: "The problem is not thought to be widespread and we have no reports of quality issues with petrol supplied from UK refineries.
"Reports received from motoring organisations and other sources indicate that the source may be a batch of fuel supplied to some large independent retail sites."
A Tesco spokesman said: "Whilst we cannot currently trace any problem back to Tesco fuel we will of course continue to urgently work with our supplier to identify what might be behind it."
Darren Ross, 42, took his Saab convertible 1.8T back to the dealers after a dashboard warning light came on. He said that the garage had dealt with 15 other cars with the same problem within a week. Mr Ross faces a delay while parts are ordered, and a bill of £200 as the fault is not covered by the car's warranty.
He said: "I'm really angry. I want compensation... It has been a massive inconvenience to me and I am also concerned about the long-term damage it might have done to my car's engine."
Independent