It seems that there may have been some faulty gas delivered to a large number of filling stations near London.
There have been thousands of complaints to local Trading Standards offices about the quality of fuel received. Many have claimed that within a few miles of filling up, cars started running extremely rough, lost power, started knocking, and the emissions warning light came on. Many eventually stalled and were unable to restart.
Dozens of cars ended up having to be towed, or taken to garages for investigation. The common problem seems to have been faulty lambda sensors. Replacement of the sensor is very variable in price, but unlikely to be less than £150. Premium model dealers (e.g. Mercedes Benz) have been charging as much as £2000 ($4000) to replace the damaged sensor.
Of course, that's if the car can be repaired. For some popular models of car, garages have been unable to repair the car because both they have run out of sensors. Indeed, even major parts distributors have run out of the sensors, and in some cases may be unable to supply them for up to 2 weeks.
News story Note - some of the above information has been collated from other sources.
I've never heard of anything like this before - mass vehicle damage due to faulty fuel. Indeed, it's not yet been confirmed that the fuel was faulty (preliminary reports from the supermarkets allegedly selling the faulty fuel are reported to have passed quality checks). Results of official testing by Trading Standards officers is expected in the next few days.
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before?
Are lambda sensors so easily damaged? I knew catalysts were, hence the need for lambda sensors, but this is the first time I've heard of fuel contamination causing damage.
What sort of contaminants might destroy sensors?
Is there something else going on, as I wouldn't expect a faulty lambda sensor to cause stalling, and failure to start?
Update - Preliminary reports are suggesting the presence of abnormal levels of silicon in the suspect fuel. It's thought that this is due to contamination with silicones - additives commonly used in Diesel fuel as foam inhibitors.
However, when burned, silicones produce silicon dioxide. In the case of gasoline engines, the silicon dioxide crystalises on the lambda sensor, destroying its surface.
The source of the contamination is not yet known, however, one scenario being investigated is that the wrong fuel additive package was added at the depot.
There have been thousands of complaints to local Trading Standards offices about the quality of fuel received. Many have claimed that within a few miles of filling up, cars started running extremely rough, lost power, started knocking, and the emissions warning light came on. Many eventually stalled and were unable to restart.
Dozens of cars ended up having to be towed, or taken to garages for investigation. The common problem seems to have been faulty lambda sensors. Replacement of the sensor is very variable in price, but unlikely to be less than £150. Premium model dealers (e.g. Mercedes Benz) have been charging as much as £2000 ($4000) to replace the damaged sensor.
Of course, that's if the car can be repaired. For some popular models of car, garages have been unable to repair the car because both they have run out of sensors. Indeed, even major parts distributors have run out of the sensors, and in some cases may be unable to supply them for up to 2 weeks.
News story Note - some of the above information has been collated from other sources.
I've never heard of anything like this before - mass vehicle damage due to faulty fuel. Indeed, it's not yet been confirmed that the fuel was faulty (preliminary reports from the supermarkets allegedly selling the faulty fuel are reported to have passed quality checks). Results of official testing by Trading Standards officers is expected in the next few days.
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before?
Are lambda sensors so easily damaged? I knew catalysts were, hence the need for lambda sensors, but this is the first time I've heard of fuel contamination causing damage.
What sort of contaminants might destroy sensors?
Is there something else going on, as I wouldn't expect a faulty lambda sensor to cause stalling, and failure to start?
Update - Preliminary reports are suggesting the presence of abnormal levels of silicon in the suspect fuel. It's thought that this is due to contamination with silicones - additives commonly used in Diesel fuel as foam inhibitors.
However, when burned, silicones produce silicon dioxide. In the case of gasoline engines, the silicon dioxide crystalises on the lambda sensor, destroying its surface.
The source of the contamination is not yet known, however, one scenario being investigated is that the wrong fuel additive package was added at the depot.
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