VW retrofitting late-model diesels so customers will stop filling them with gas

Story by John LeBlanc Sounds simple, right? If you’ve made the conscious effort to buy a diesel-engine vehicle, you probably know enough to consciously fill the tank with diesel fuel. But that’s not the case with some Volkswagen TDI-brand diesel owners. Apparently, VW TDI diesel customers filling their vehicles’ fuel tanks with regular gasoline has become a bit of a problem. Not only does doing so void the factory warranty, VW says the gas-filled diesels has caused a rash of failed high-pressure fuel pumps. The problem has also led to an investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after receiving dozens of complaints about cars that stalled, primarily at highway speeds. According to VW’s Tony Cervone, the problem is caused by Americans lack of diesel engine experience. "It hasn't been as frequent in their lifetime to remember to fill up with diesel," Cervone told Automotive News Europe. So, starting with VW’s 2013 model vehicles, redesigned fuel fillers will only accept diesel pump nozzles, which are larger in diameter than gasoline nozzles. VW says, if a driver tries to insert a gasoline nozzle instead of a diesel nozzle with one of the new TDI fuel fillers, the fuel tank gate will remain closed. As well, VW will retrofit more than 250,000 North American (51,600 in Canada and 209,500 in the U.S.) TDI diesel vehicles, including the 2009-12 Jetta, 2010-12 Golf and 2009-12 Golf Wagon models. VW also said it would pay authorised dealers for the procedure and would begin notifying customers of the service campaign on May 28. Source: Automotive News Europe

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