Re: VW warrantee worries

I’m another newbie, so please excuse my naiveté if this is a well worn topic. In the effort to go greener, I am exploring the possibility of purchasing a VW TDI with the intention of running B100 fuel. Since I have heard some people raise concerns about converting a used vehicle raised on petroleum diesel to a biodiesel burner (e.g., clogged fuel filters, etc.), I looked into the possibility of buying a new Jetta TDI. During my exploration I wrote to VW of America to find out whether the use of biodiesel would affect the warranty on a new car. Here is the response I received:

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"Thank you for visiting the Volkswagen Web site. We appreciate your inquiry on Volkswagen's position on using biodiesel fuel. B100 stands for 100% biodiesel. It is a diesel fuel derived from biomass feedstock such as soybeans. It can be blended with regular diesel fuel (B20 = 20% biodiesel/80% regular diesel, for example). In Europe our diesel engines are certified to operate any blend of the biodiesel that is available in Europe. European biodiesel is different than biodiesel in the U.S. since it is produced from different feedstock (the rapeseed plant versus the soy plant). Our parent company does not agree with the specifications for biodiesel in the U.S. and does not recommend its use in any percentage. Using biodiesel will invalidate our warranty.”

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This raises at least two concerns for me: 1)What do I do now? Should I just buy a used TDI, run biodiesel in it, and just hope that the fuel filter doesn’t clog up when my wife and kid are driving far from home without any tools? 2)How can we environmentally sensitive types address the concerns raised by VW so that we can encourage as many other people as possible (including those interested in buying new cars) to switch to biodiesel? Thanks in advance for any input you all might provide!

Welcome to the forum. Please do a quick search for this topic. It has been discussed here many times. If you have additional questions, feel free to ask!

There is no difference in the European standard vs. the American standard that would affect performance, nor is there a relevant difference between rapeseed and soy. The reason VWoA is spreading this lie (it's illegal for them to blanket deny a warranty for biodiesel usage, see http://www.ravelco.net/magnusonmossact.htm) is because they are afraid of American biodiesel for one reason only, as far as I can tell, and it's a good one: here in America, the standard (ASTM D 6751, a good standard) is not government-enforced. So, do what you want, but make sure you trust your supplier of biodiesel to sell you only ASTM fuel. As a supplier in Northern California, we often have our fuel tested by laboratories to make sure. Since that's expensive, we are putting together our own in-house lab. As a final comment for you, I'd like to let you know that I happily drive a 2003 VW jetta tdi (on B100 since it was born 16000 miles ago) and it is under the extended warranty. If they ever want to deny it to me, I'll take them to court.

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Originally posted by ybiofuels
There is no difference in the European standard vs. the American standard that would affect performance, nor is there a relevant difference between rapeseed and soy. The reason VWoA is spreading this lie (it's illegal for them to blanket deny a warranty for biodiesel usage, see http://www.ravelco.net/magnusonmossact.htm) is because they are afraid of American biodiesel for one reason only, as far as I can tell, and it's a good one: here in America, the standard (ASTM D 6751, a good standard) is not government-enforced. So, do what you want, but make sure you trust your supplier of biodiesel to sell you only ASTM fuel. As a supplier in Northern California, we often have our fuel tested by laboratories to make sure. Since that's expensive, we are putting together our own in-house lab. As a final comment for you, I'd like to let you know that I happily drive a 2003 VW jetta tdi (on B100 since it was born 16000 miles ago) and it is under the extended warranty. If they ever want to deny it to me, I'll take them to court.

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Good answer, good link, thanks. Bill

Thanks for the great response and the additional resources!

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Originally posted by ybiofuels
There is no difference in the European standard vs. the American standard that would affect performance, nor is there a relevant difference between rapeseed and soy. The reason VWoA is spreading this lie (it's illegal for them to blanket deny a warranty for biodiesel usage, see http://www.ravelco.net/magnusonmossact.htm) is because they are afraid of American biodiesel for one reason only, as far as I can tell, and it's a good one: here in America, the standard (ASTM D 6751, a good standard) is not government-enforced. So, do what you want, but make sure you trust your supplier of biodiesel to sell you only ASTM fuel. As a supplier in Northern California, we often have our fuel tested by laboratories to make sure. Since that's expensive, we are putting together our own in-house lab. As a final comment for you, I'd like to let you know that I happily drive a 2003 VW jetta tdi (on B100 since it was born 16000 miles ago) and it is under the extended warranty. If they ever want to deny it to me, I'll take them to court.

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Here are some links of the newest specs (ASTM D 6751) for commercial quality B100 fuel in the US: http://www.petercremerna.com/Specs/SpecsBio.html http://www.worldenergy.net/product/specifications.asp# Here is a chart with world standards for B100 biodiesel, though they list the old ASTM PS121-99 standard for the US: http://www.biodiesel.org.au/Standards.html Just make sure you get ASTM D 6751 certified B100 biodiesel and your TDI should run fine with no issues. With respect to the warranty, the dealer may deny coverage for the fuel system if they judge that your problem was caused by the biodiesel, but they would do just the same for any damage caused by low quality or contaminated petro-diesel. Now, based on most TDI'ers experiences, you will not see any issues come up due to biodiesel usage. In fact it even prevents some fuel problems: low quality petro-diesel can clog the intake manifold on TDI's in as little as 30-40k miles. Biodiesel will never clog your TDI's intake at all.[8D] On usability, remember that there is nothing to "convert" to be able to run on biodiesel. Just fill up and go. And the TDI will run just the same with any mix of petro and bio in the tank. It is a mind opening experience to see that you can use an alternative and renewable fuel without requiring you to find any exotic technology.[:)]

Dorado et al. I’ve officially joined the crew! Yesterday I purchased a 2003 Jetta TDI and will begin running biodiesel on the next fill-up. Thank you all for your wisdom and support! I feel really good about this move and am eager to share what I’ve learned (from all of you) with other environmentally conscious folks.

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Originally posted by greencrow I’ve officially joined the crew!

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Congratulations on a wise decision! Eric

Congrats on the TDI! and let us know as soon as your burning the bean![8D]

Congrads greencrow! Personal liberation from Petroleum Madness will soon be at hand for you, it is a truly wonderful feeling.