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Did hitting a pothole break my car?
In October I hit a pothole at speed. Immediately afterwards warning lights came on and the car started juddering and wouldn’t accelerate properly. Luckily there was a refuge close by and I pulled over. When we came to a halt there was a lot of smoke coming out of the exhausts and a strong smell of fuel in the cabin.
I called the roadside assistance and the car was recovered and spent five weeks at the closet dealership while it was tested and repaired.
A fuel sensor and spark plugs were replaced and the final diagnosis was that I had put bad fuel in the car as apparently the fuel had separated when the technicians drained the tank.
I’m really flummoxed as to how I could have driven 100 miles at speed on bad fuel only for this to manifest the instant that I hit the pothole. It would be great if someone could explain this to me please as the dealership can’t.
I called the roadside assistance and the car was recovered and spent five weeks at the closet dealership while it was tested and repaired.
A fuel sensor and spark plugs were replaced and the final diagnosis was that I had put bad fuel in the car as apparently the fuel had separated when the technicians drained the tank.
I’m really flummoxed as to how I could have driven 100 miles at speed on bad fuel only for this to manifest the instant that I hit the pothole. It would be great if someone could explain this to me please as the dealership can’t.
Asked on 18 December 2024 by Karen Kennedy
Answered by
David Ross
It does seem unlikely that putting bad fuel in your car would have caused this issue to occur at the exact moment you struck a pothole, but there are a few factors to consider. Firstly we would be asking what exactly the technicians meant by 'bad fuel' - if this was the case we would want to try and trace where the fuel was purchased and investigate further. It is also worth bearing in mind that fuel added to the tank would not immediately enter the engine unless the tank was almost empty, so even if the fuel was bad you would have been able to drive normally for some time. If you are unsatisfied with the technician's explanation you may wish to consider having the car inspected by an independent engineer.
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