Germany: E10 Delayed, 50% of Cars Have Technical Probs.

by Robert Farago

April 4th, 2008 9:12 AM

germany e10 delayed 50 of cars have technical probs

German officials have de-boondoggled on the E85 front, withdrawing plans mandating a 10 percent bio-fuel content for the lowest grade unleaded fuel. For some reason, the government didn't check the stats (or did?) before establishing a threshold for making the switch. If one million cars couldn't run on the plant juice blend, they'd hold off on E10. Deutsche Welle reports the numbers: "The [auto industry] sources said that some 330,000 cars made by German manufacturers, as well as more than 2 million imported cars, could not run on the new fuel and that the cars' owners would be forced to fill up with higher octane, more expensive types of gas." The German association for technical inspection (GTÜ) reports [via The Local] that the country's cars may have enough problems without worrying about running on bio-fuels. "A 2007 GTÜ study found that 8 million vehicles were found to have significant problems during general inspections. 'The finding is even more alarming when you consider that many of the vehicles had been repaired just before they were inspected,' said GTÜ chief Rainer de Biasi. His said the findings indicated that every sixth car in Germany poses an accident risk." Sobering stuff. Of course, one wonders about Germany's standards relative to, I dunno, New Jersey.

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Rm on Apr 04, 2008
@johnny canada I don't get it. No other company has issues with premature fuel pump failure with NA gasoline. Yet, BMW does and it's the fault of the fuel? How in the world does that make sense? It's not like the OEMS and suppliers don't know what the gasoline is like over here, so if their parts fail prematurely it's their own fault for not building robust components. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, the ability to run on E10 is federally mandated whether or not the gasoline is blended that way or not. If I've missed something, please correct me.

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Johnny Canada on Apr 04, 2008

@rm so if their parts fail prematurely it’s their own fault for not building robust components. Exactly. But nevertheless, BMW is blaming component failure on gasoline quality. All the more disappointing considering that a Soviet era Lada could run forever on boiled yak fat.

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Rm on Apr 04, 2008

Further reinforcing my perception that 'German Engineering' isn't all it's cracked up to be. Great for marketing, but just as crummy as 'American Engineering.'

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Bal00 on May 03, 2008
@rm What you're missing is that this is only an issue for direct injected engines running high pressure pumps. Obviously BMW should have taken the different fuel into account, but there are only a handful of direct injected engines on the US market, so it's not as simple as saying "the other guys don't have that problem".

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