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Dirty Tesco Petrol???

s2rjn

s2rjn

Member
Hi all
Was in Tesco this AM and stuck 35 litres of their high-end momentum into my C2S so I could use their 10p off voucher which expired today (yes I am tight)
Drove 2.5 miles and up flashed the engine managment light - panic/fear/worry ensued.....I managed to nurse the car the 15 miles or so to RS Posrche in Penarth Cardiff (Dave Coombes legendary Porsche Indy) at first he thought it was a problem with a coil pack...however after stopping & re-starting several times the car ran fine (which wouldn't happen with a faulty coil pack)
So he put in some fuel cleaner and I was away to give the car a thrashing
The light came on twice more on the way to work but disappeared when I floored it....Dave and I are hoping this dodgy half tank (which I put in when car was already half full) should work it's way through and will be OK

Anyone have any experience of this...I have complained to Tesco and am waiting for a call-back
All this because I wanted my massive £3.60 discount with their voucher
Stressful day!
 
filled up my 997 there on Sunday with Momentum and have had no trouble so far. Mine you i only put in about 30 litres and that was mixed with what i have left in the tank. Hopefully just a dodgy batch and no your car.

shaun
 
Maybe fuel pump? my 997.2 c2s had an issue with the HPFP pump and wouldn't start but eventually did with engine management light, reduced engine power etc and needed a lot more gas to move it around at the OPC

Just a thought not sure the differences with fuel pumps on the 997 vs 997.2

 
There's been problems with Tesco fuel before on here, have a read through this thread

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=541203&mpage=1&key=

Varying opinions but never used the stuff on the 997 - the Cayenne on the other hand runs on anything it's given...
 
Filled mine up at Tesco Bradford on Saturday (saved £5.00 with voucher) ready for the R7 run to Louth, Sunday, ran like a dream, sorry but I hope its a local thing.

Steve R7
 
Filled mine up with 99 Sunday in Brackley before my Silverstone trackday. Ran very fine. I usually don't put Momentum or indeed Tesco fuel in usually but it was early and was close to the circuit (believe me you don't want to pay circuit fuel prices!) [:)]

However, I've had a dodgy tank of 99 before in our V8 M3 which made the car very sick for a while. Took two tanks of Shell fuel to make it good again.

Simon
 
My C2S which I've had for the last 2 years has been fed on a diet of Momentum and thats all its ever had & I've never had a problem. Think you may have another issue such as an intermittent pump fault, or have I just been very lucky with Tesco fuel? [:eek:]
 
When I picked mine up from an indi.. He told me straight DO NOT use supermarket fuels. They mess with the engine management system (Can cause a knocking and the management systems try's to rectify it) and can cause problems. He said he had had quite a few cars in with this problem. So I only use BP for her..... [&:]
 
Been using Tesco fuel in my 996 Turbo for 5yrs and my Cooper s for 2yrs since new and no issues. Get my club card points too?
 
Since around 2006, The giant supermarket chains have been pumping a blend of petrol containing bioethanol, a type of alcohol made by fermenting sugars from plants. The "official word" is modern cars run perfectly well on the mix and because bioethanol is almost always greener to make than petrol, the admixture helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is less reliant on oil reserves.

The spread of bioethanol across supermarket garages is being driven by Greenergy, a company based on the River Thames. Greenergy buys in cheap ethanol produced from sugarcane in Brazil and blends it with petrol, before selling it on to Tesco. The fuel is better for the environment, and allows Tesco to compete with other petrol stations simply because the ethanol is so cheap.

The warranties on today's standard cars state that no more than 5% bioethanol should be used. Bioethanol is more acidic than petrol and damages aluminium components and rubber seals. Adding ethanol to petrol does strange things to the vapour pressure, which is a measure of how volatile and potentially explosive it is. it also attracts water from condensation. Alcohol and water mix exceptionally well (particularly in drinks [:D]). This can leave an uncomfortable situation with a blend of gasoline, water and alcohol sloshing around in your fuel tank.

It is clearly an owner's choice which brand of fuel he/she uses, but if you are filling up regularly with supermarket fuel in your high performance motor because a) it is more convenient, b) you are collecting loyalty points or c) it's cheaper, you would be as well to factor in the potential for damage and costly repairs to your machine along with these savings. [&:]

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I had a call from an OPC sometime ago to tell me they had had a spate of 911's in needing replacement fuel pumps, the only common factor being they all refuelled regularly at supermarkets.

Regards,

Clive




 
Well I now have 150 miles left of the dodgy tank and I have been driving around trying to waste the petrol over the last few days
As soon as I start her up though I now get the check engine light, she is running fine going up the box but splutters on down changes and re-acceleration
I plan to run this tank dry then full her up on some super high-end stuff from texaco or shell etc and I am hoping she'll be OK
But I am also a bit concerned that she may need a new fuel pump and I think I am correct in saying that changing the fuel filter isn't possible in my 997 Mk1 as it's part of the pump???

Anyone know the likely cost of replacing a fuel pump ?
 
I wouldn't run the tank dry or you may do more damage by picking up the residue at the bottom of the tank.

I would fill up with high grade fuel now and keep topping it up in ¼ or ½ tank refills until the engine runs cleanly again. It may take several fills to achieve this.

Good luck.

Clive.
 
Sounds far more likely to be a fuel pump issue than dodgy fuel, else you'd find a whole load of cars and people around your area complaining.

What code did it give you, I'm assuming you've had it read? If not, I would do so ASAP.
 
yes I had it read and it said there were errors on 3 of the 6 cyclinders (i think)...the fault then cleared when we stopped and re-started the car. It has been happening on & off now for the last 150 miles and as I'd used half a tank I've just topped her up with Super Unleaded.....I drove 2 miles and the error flashed up but then cleared itself so it really is intermittant
I am hoping when this new super flows through it will be OK....everything is pointing to the petrol at the moment
I have complained to Tesco on Tuesday and the manager called me back denying all knowledge as you'd expect but I still think it's the fuel!
 
What were the errors? Misfires? Which cylinders?

Tbh if I'd suspected it was the fuel then I'd have taken a sample out to send for analysis, else you've got no proof at all it's the fuel should it decide to melt your engine, however unlikely that may be. FWIW you are having the exact same symptoms as I had when my HPFP was on the fritz: Intermittent CELs, random misfires that are constant for a few minutes then a 10 min wait clears all, always started having issues when going down through the gears... It's like I'm reliving it all over again!
 
Yes mis-fires in something like 3, 4& 6?? but my memory isn't great and I only glanced at the machine
Dave at RS said he thought one had mis-fired and it had kicked up a fault code for the others!?!?!
Excuse my ignorance but when you say HPFP do you mean the fuel pump? and you've lost me with CEL's?? [8|]
Did you need a new HPFP if thst does mean fuel pump? [:)] if so how much are they?
Cheers
Rich
 
Sorry, HPFP = High Pressure Fuel Pump, CEL = Check Engine Light (sometimes also called a MIL for Malfunction Indicator Light or EML for Engine Management Light). MY HPFP was done under the semi-recall that Porsche did last year, and then that one turned out to be faulty too so was replaced last month alongside the LPFP which was also knackered! Can't help you with costs I'm afraid as it was all done under the warranty, what year is your car? Do you have any warranty on it?
 
The HPFP on the Gen 2 engines is 500 pds, and at least 2.5 hrs labour according to my OPC, when I had the recall done.
 
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