Contaminated fuel can cause serious damage to your car’s engine and could leave you with a hefty bill for repairs. To avoid it, you should buy your fuel from a reputable garage and be wary of a price that seems too good to be true.
There are two ways that fuel could be contaminated:
Laundered diesel
Diesel that is used for off-road purposes (such as farming, forestry and construction) is subject to lower tax than diesel for road vehicles and is cheaper as a result. As the fuel is the same, off-road diesel is marked with a harmless dye to distinguish it from road diesel.
Criminals may remove this dye and sell it as road fuel. Diesel is ‘laundered’ or washed by removing the dye, either using acid or passing it through filters. This illegal laundering can have a number of side effects, including removing lubricants in the fuel which can affect your car’s engine.
If you put laundered diesel in your car it may suffer a noticeable loss in power, it may not run as smoothly as before and a ‘check engine’ light may appear on the dashboard.
Petrol stretching
Petrol ‘stretching’ involves adding up to 10% of a lower-taxed product (such as kerosene which is used for home heating oil) to fuel before selling it to a service station and then on to motorists.
Stretched petrol can cause serious engine damage. If you put stretched petrol in your car you may notice a lack of power, the engine misfiring, a knocking sound and a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust, and a ‘check engine’ light appearing on the dashboard.
What you should do if you suspect your fuel has been contaminated
There is no regulatory body in place in Ireland for the regulation of fuel. If you suspect that your petrol or diesel may have been contaminated and want to get your fuel tested, you should consider getting it tested independently.
If you find out that you have bought contaminated fuel, you should contact the service station where you bought it. If your car is damaged, you may be able to claim damages under consumer law. If the garage refuses to help, you may want to consider taking legal action against them. Read more on how to complain.
You should also contact your insurance company. Many comprehensive policies cover damage from contaminated fuel, but claiming on this may result in losing your no-claims bonus. Make sure to check the terms of your policy.
Revenue has information on how to report selling of contaminated fuel to them. You may also wish to contact your local Garda station.
Last updated on 23 October 2023
Tags: Cars, laundered diesel, petrol stretching
