Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jump to content


"contaminated Tesco Fuel" ...hmm.. I Wonder...


Recommended Posts

I notice a major story seems to be in the works (started on the auto newsgroups yesterday but now it is on Teletext) that hundreds of drivers are complaining that their cars have been damaged by "contaminated" fuel allegedly sold by Tescos and Morrisons. Apparently it is to do with the level of ethanol in the petrol and knackers the oxygen sensors.

This is all still conjecture of course and both Tescos and Morrison's says that they have not found any evidence of this in their tests.

It got me wondering though. I posted back in December about my engine management light coming on, resulting in a 300 quid bill to replace the O2 sensors. Lexus did do a visual check and washed it as well but I was peeved when I realised via the board it is a relatively easy DIY job using sensors sourced from the US.

Anyway the car is 6 years old and the failed oxygen sensor could well been an act of ***, but I happen to always fill up at my local Tesco which is 5 minutes walk from my front door.

I wonder....

I guess I'll never know, but I'll be filling up at alternate petrol stations for the moment - just in case!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


could well been an act of ***, but I happen to always fill up at my local Tesco which is 5 minutes walk from my front door.

I wonder....

I guess I'll never know, but I'll be filling up at alternate petrol stations for the moment - just in case!

How many miles were on the clock? I understand they are liable to fail anyway after about 50,000 miles, but will last longer with a well maintained engine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could well been an act of ***, but I happen to always fill up at my local Tesco which is 5 minutes walk from my front door.

I wonder....

I guess I'll never know, but I'll be filling up at alternate petrol stations for the moment - just in case!

How many miles were on the clock? I understand they are liable to fail anyway after about 50,000 miles, but will last longer with a well maintained engine.

Around 84K at the time so I guess it was a very well maintained engine.

In fairness though the feature on Channel 4 (it is headline news now) appeared to be saying that the problems occur almost instantly after filling up. Rough running with car going into limp home mode. In my case the engine management light came on but I was able to use the car for almost 2 weeks without incident before Lexus could look at it.

On another note, are religious references automatically censored on the board regardless of context? In my original post I used the well known phrase starting "act of" followed by the reverse of dog. The last word seem to have been replaced by ***. I'm certain I didn't type *** in my original post unless I've been inhaling the fumes from the dodgy petrol :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could well been an act of ***, but I happen to always fill up at my local Tesco which is 5 minutes walk from my front door.

I wonder....

I guess I'll never know, but I'll be filling up at alternate petrol stations for the moment - just in case!

How many miles were on the clock? I understand they are liable to fail anyway after about 50,000 miles, but will last longer with a well maintained engine.

Around 84K at the time so I guess it was a very well maintained engine.

In fairness though the feature on Channel 4 (it is headline news now) appeared to be saying that the problems occur almost instantly after filling up. Rough running with car going into limp home mode. In my case the engine management light came on but I was able to use the car for almost 2 weeks without incident before Lexus could look at it.

On another note, are religious references automatically censored on the board regardless of context? In my original post I used the well known phrase starting "act of" followed by the reverse of dog. The last word seem to have been replaced by ***. I'm certain I didn't type *** in my original post unless I've been inhaling the fumes from the dodgy petrol :)

A lot of forums stop you using naughty **** words ( see that was a 7 letter word ) anyway back to the topic :offtopic: I live between London and Southend ( someone has to ), just about all of the fuel in this area comes from either BP at Coryton or Esso at Purfleet , I happen to know Tesco fuel comes from BP. too many cars suddenly having problems with ****** ( see it did it again ) hego / oxygen sensors. I'd guess someone in the refinery pressed the wrong button. I took a Galaxy in for an MOT this morning, they had 8 cars , a friend who has a small workshop has 6 and I got a call from a customer with a Yarris saying there's a light on and it's not running very well. at least I have a good idea where to look now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could well been an act of ***, but I happen to always fill up at my local Tesco which is 5 minutes walk from my front door.

I wonder....

I guess I'll never know, but I'll be filling up at alternate petrol stations for the moment - just in case!

How many miles were on the clock? I understand they are liable to fail anyway after about 50,000 miles, but will last longer with a well maintained engine.

Around 84K at the time so I guess it was a very well maintained engine.

In fairness though the feature on Channel 4 (it is headline news now) appeared to be saying that the problems occur almost instantly after filling up. Rough running with car going into limp home mode. In my case the engine management light came on but I was able to use the car for almost 2 weeks without incident before Lexus could look at it.

On another note, are religious references automatically censored on the board regardless of context? In my original post I used the well known phrase starting "act of" followed by the reverse of dog. The last word seem to have been replaced by ***. I'm certain I didn't type *** in my original post unless I've been inhaling the fumes from the dodgy petrol :)

A lot of forums stop you using naughty **** words ( see that was a 7 letter word ) anyway back to the topic :offtopic: I live between London and Southend ( someone has to ), just about all of the fuel in this area comes from either BP at Coryton or Esso at Purfleet , I happen to know Tesco fuel comes from BP. too many cars suddenly having problems with ****** ( see it did it again ) hego / oxygen sensors. I'd guess someone in the refinery pressed the wrong button. I took a Galaxy in for an MOT this morning, they had 8 cars , a friend who has a small workshop has 6 and I got a call from a customer with a Yarris saying there's a light on and it's not running very well. at least I have a good idea where to look now

Sorry, but why do you think Tesco fuel comes from BP?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Sorry, but why do you think Tesco fuel comes from BP?

What makes you think it doesn't? My parents house is quite near the Cattedown oil terminal in Plymouth - you could sit in the Earl of Mountbatten pub opposite (quite a pleasant pub as it happens, the roast beef & red onion baguette is excellent, as is much of their beer range) and watch supermarket tankers fill up all day from the Esso or BP badged tanks on the other side of the water (no more than 200m away, it's easy to watch what's going on).

One Tesco store will have BP fuel, another 40 miles up the road will have Esso, another 30 miles in another direction will have Texaco. And next week they'll all change round...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, but why do you think Tesco fuel comes from BP?

one of my friends was a manager at BP Coryton until last April and my wife works for Tesco, plus I've seen the tankers coming out of there. BBC news this morning claims the affected fuel is from the Esso terminal at Purfleet. As Mike B points out they will get their fuel from the cheapest source, and it's possible Tesco did a deal with Esso recently as BP are in the process of selling the Coryton refinery. My friend was telling me last week he's glad he's out of it, he gets two pensions one from Mobil oil and one from BP. He said some of the workers there will now end up with three pensions.

:offtopic: Back to the BBC they had some expert from who knows what organisation on this morning saying the problem appears to be excess silicone in the fuel and that's what's destroying the oxygen sensors. I spoke to my mate with the workshop last night he said all of the problem cars ran a lot better as soon as they disconnected the oxygen sensors. Probably not a good idea long term as it could / will damage the cat, but for a quick fix and find out a good idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, but why do you think Tesco fuel comes from BP?

What makes you think it doesn't? My parents house is quite near the Cattedown oil terminal in Plymouth - you could sit in the Earl of Mountbatten pub opposite (quite a pleasant pub as it happens, the roast beef & red onion baguette is excellent, as is much of their beer range) and watch supermarket tankers fill up all day from the Esso or BP badged tanks on the other side of the water (no more than 200m away, it's easy to watch what's going on).

One Tesco store will have BP fuel, another 40 miles up the road will have Esso, another 30 miles in another direction will have Texaco. And next week they'll all change round...

Just that we only supply BP outlets with BP refined fuel. The supermarkets buy from the cheapest available, but as you point out this can easily be Esso/BP/Chevron if there's more than enough in the market. In the case of the contaminated fuel it looks as if it was supplied by their usual supplier, Greenergy, whose main fuels storage facility is at West Thurrock, Thames, but they also have product availabilty in the following locations:

  • Grays, Thames;
  • Dagenham, Essex;
  • Immingham near Grimsby;
  • Eastham and Stanlow, on the Mersey estuary; and
  • Kingsbury in the West Midlands.

Greenergy also supply the 99 Octane to Tesco with the additives package.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So with my filling up at either Croydon, Chelmsford or Pitsea with SUL puts my 300 at risk then.

I put in £30 at Tesco Pitsea last night on did about 20 miles but so far so good :unsure:

Just that we only supply BP outlets with BP refined fuel. The supermarkets buy from the cheapest available, but as you point out this can easily be Esso/BP/Chevron if there's more than enough in the market. In the case of the contaminated fuel it looks as if it was supplied by their usual supplier, Greenergy, whose main fuels storage facility is at West Thurrock, Thames, but they also have product availabilty in the following locations:

Grays, Thames;

Dagenham, Essex;

Immingham near Grimsby;

Eastham and Stanlow, on the Mersey estuary; and

Kingsbury in the West Midlands.

Greenergy also supply the 99 Octane to Tesco with the additives package.

We were at a wedding reception last night and I was talking to a friend who's a tanker driver and it would seem Tango is corrrect, the dodgy fuel did come out of Greenergy at Furrock ( it's against the law here to use TH ). He said Tesco still ocasionally still get petrol from Coryton but mostly from Greenergy now. I wonder how much longer they will ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share



×
×
  • Create New...