fuel contamination

G'day Alan

I went to the relatively small expense and trouble of fitting an additional filter/water trap as a primary filter (FM100 from Diesel Care). The water alert is spliced into the OEM alert wiring and so far so good.

For peace of mind I reckon it's worth it. BTW, RACQ insurance do not cover a claim from contaminated fuel. It would seem some do and some don't when it comes to insurance policies.

G'day Alan
This sounds silly but, lots of people quote people who have never had a problem, there fore the problem wasn't there for it to happen. The ones who do have a problem are the ones who then have had a problem.

It can happen to anyone but doesn't happen to everyone.

Regular Toyota services aren't any surety of prevention. There have been cases where the service provider is quite possibly the cause of some of the problems, ie no change of filter.
Luck of the draw there.

Adding a degree of insurance over and above the OE filter, as Rosco has done, does exactly that, add an insurance factor, and also provides a second, although it is usually placed as a first line of defence, for catching and detection of nasties.

I use a similar thing for that reason.

Cheers
Ross M

My suggestions to prevent contamination:
- Buy good diesel fuel from high turnover diesel outlets (I use BP truckstops and BP Ultimate from recently constructed servos). Don't buy supermarket or similar discount diesel.
- Don't let your tank stay empty for periods of time - keep it full to prevent condensation.
- Use an algicide - I use Chemtech which also dewaters the fuel.
- Change the fuel filter once a year (before my winter trips) irrespective of kms travelled (usually travel 12-25k per yr). A fuel filter change needs to be impeccably clean - never undo the hoses from the top of the filter, or you might introduce dirt into the outlet. I shudder when I've watched others change filters.
- Drain the bottom of your fuel filter every couple of months - very easy to do on Toyotas (impossible on our VW).
I've serviced my own diesel vehicles for many years and have yet to see water or algae during a filter change. I think you make your own luck.

Like anything, regular maintenance makes all the different. But a 2008 Prado is just asking for trouble.

Am I the only one who wonders that, as the diesel contamination problem is not that uncommon, common rail diesels are not actually being manufactured fit for purpose? ie this is a fairly foreseeable occurrence but they don't manufacture the vehicles to reasonably protect them from damage??

Would be interesting to get some data on the % of vehicles that experience this problem (which can be minor - from the warning light coming on to much more serious).

Hey Col,

I think you may be saying pretty much the same thing I am. Why sell a vehicle in a market where it is know a certain % are going to fail as the vehicle cannot handle local conditions? Other industries would have to adapt their design (whether via 2nd filter as quite a few here have done) or service approach. Why leave the consumer or insurance company to bear the cost of something that is foreseeable?