Associations Team To Push the Boundaries of Biodiesel - and Vehicle Warranties

Associations Team To Push the Boundaries of Biodiesel - and Vehicle Warranties

Diesel-powered cars and trucks are gaining popularity in the U.S., and that's got many people in America's biodiesel industry all excited.

With more diesel vehicles on American roads and concern about global warming at an all-time high, sales of biodiesel in the land of the free ought to be brisk. But they aren't.

The problem, as the producers, brokers, distributors and retailers of biodiesel will tell you, is that automakers are being total party-poopers when it comes to warranty issues.

Never mind the fact that Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the engine that bears his name, experimented with fuels ranging from powdered coal to peanut oil.

If you use a blend that contains more than 5 percent biodiesel (or less than 95 percent petro-diesel), you can kiss your vehicle warranty good-bye.

Doesn't matter if the higher blend -- say 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petro-diesel -- was certified to stringent standards. Most automakers will nullify a warranty the moment they learn that a blend higher than B5 has gone into the fuel tank.

The biodiesel industry says it's not right. They say 20 percent biodiesel (B20) or even 100 percent biodiesel (B100) are wonderful fuels that don't do an engine any harm.

And now two of the industry's trade groups are trying to force this issue, pointing to the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, a 1975 federal statute governing car warranties that prohibits any automaker from voiding a car's warranty based on the type of fuel used in that car.

In a joint statement drafted by the Northwest Biofuels Association and the Oregon Auto Dealer's Association:

"A vehicle's warranty cannot be voided solely due to the use of biodiesel. Even if the manufacturer recommends a blend of 5 percent biodiesel and a customer uses a higher blend such as 20 percent or 99 percent biodiesel, this does not void the warranty. If a customer uses a blend of biodiesel that is not recommended, that in and of itself, does not void the warranty. If the biodiesel is not the cause of the engine or parts failure, the warranty must be honored (assuming the failure is not the result of another external factor)."

Reality-Check Time

The performance of biodiesel in cold conditions is markedly worse than that of petroleum diesel. Both petro-diesel and biodiesel can, in cold weather, become cloudy and simply will not flow. But the temperature at which biodiesel won't flow is significantly higher than that for petroleum diesel.

Then there's the solvent problem. Biodiesel can be incompatible with the seals used in the fuel systems of older vehicles, necessitating the replacement of those parts if biodiesel blends are used.

Petroleum diesel forms deposits in vehicular fuel systems, and because biodiesel can loosen those deposits, they can migrate and clog fuel lines and filters.

Higher blends of biodiesel are also known to breakdown some fuel lines, making them soft and vulnerable to rupture.  

Those are just a few of the problems we can cite off the top of our heads regarding the use of biodiesel blends in vehicles that weren't designed for them. There are others, no doubt.

We're big fans of alternative fuels, but even if these two associations are able to get a judge to agree with their interpretation of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, should diesel-vehicle owners ignore the advice of the companies that made the vehicles and fill 'er up with biodiesel?

We think not. Rather, we'd like to see automakers make more diesel-powered vehicles that can run on B100. Now that a green administration is in the White House, perhaps we will.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.