Volkswagen "Service Action" Meant To Keep Gas Out Of Diesel Cars
A recent study found that British police run up nearly $2 million in repair bills each year pumping the wrong fuel, diesel into gasoline vehicles and vice-versa, into their cruisers, and it’s an error becoming more and more common in the U.S. now that diesel-powered vehicles are rapidly gaining market share. At the worst, the mistake can run up several thousands of dollars in repair bills.
That’s usually not covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, and that can cause a lot of ill will, even if it was the owner’s error. So, Volkswagen plans to take steps to minimize the problem. The maker — which has been one of the most aggressive at pushing diesels in the U.S. – recently issued a service bulletin covering 209,500 vehicles sold in the U.S. and another 51,600 sold in Canada. The move involves TDI versions of the 2009-12 Jetta and Jetta SportWagen, and the 2010-12 Golf.
The plan is to retrofit the older vehicles with the same modified fuel filler introduced on 2013 VW products. Because gas and diesel nozzles are a different size, the updated fuel tank gate won’t open if a driver tries to pump the wrong fuel. The problem is more severe for diesel owners because gasoline nozzles are smaller on U.S. pumps. Most modern gas-powered vehicles already can’t accept a diesel nozzle.
Volkswagen isn’t the only automaker vulnerable to the problem. Federal regulators have already received 160 such complaints, and industry observers warn it could get worse without a fix as a growing number of manufacturers add diesels to their product lines. VW’s sibling brand Audi plans to launch four new "oil burners" for 2014. Chevrolet is preparing to introduce a diesel version of the Cruze sedan, and Mazda will soon add a diesel version of the new Mazda6 sedan.
Diesels are expected to reach at least one percent of the U.S. market this year, up from just 0.1 percent in 2008. But for some VW models, such as the Passat, the high-mileage powertrain technology now account for a quarter of U.S. sales. In Europe, where fuel can cost as much as $8 a gallon, diesels account for about half of the market.