Just thought it could be worth mentioning. Looks like a few people have had similar problems.

Driving along at 70mph, the car started to loose power, accelerator pedal started to vibrate and the revs dropped sharply. After 5 seconds the car would recover and continue on as if nothing was wrong. Had this problem on and off for a couple of weeks.

Hooked the car up to the comp, turns out it was crap in the fuel causing the issue. The car senses the problem and will switch to limp mode until it has purged out the problem then reverts to normal and let's you continue. I guess you don't see a fault code on the dashboard because the car is doing what it should, protecting the engine.

New fuel filter for 30£ and the problem is solved, fingers crossed but I think it solved the problem.
Just thought I would share my findings.

Has anyone had issues with fuel from Shell?

In your area.
Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Essar and all other refiners belonging to the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) are subjecting diesel sold in the country to additional filtration tests following a spate of breakdowns this winter and last.

The British Standards Institution is investigating claims from fuel traders that additives to Russian diesel imported into the country are reacting with biofuels to clog up car engines.

The RAC says that it has attended thousands of breakdowns caused by the blockages and estimates that 9,000 cars may have been affected so far.

Any type of diesel-powered vehicle is potentially at risk and any brand of fuel may be involved but the greatest incidence has been recorded in the northeast of England and Scotland.

Britain imports 40 per cent of its diesel, most of which comes from Russia, a UKPIA spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on reports from Platts, the specialist fuel agency, citing traders as saying that Russian fuel was to blame.

Traders claimed that additives to Russian fuel to help the diesel withstand sub-zero winter temperatures were reacting with the biodiesel content, turning monoglycerol molecules into waxy globules.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/ind...026950.ece

Scary!!

Seems to be the same issue I'm having at the moment. When you say you hooked it up to to the company, was it sdd? If so how did you get the result of it being the filter?

I'm surprised this isn't a bigger reported issue in general though.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. No sdd diagnostics, just a friends fancy diagnostics machine, not sure of the brand but it is big and red. I was impressed at how clear it tracked the problem though, never used/seen one before. It showed a three stage sequence of events, from sensing the issue, shutting down and then controlling the accelerator pedal.

Having known of similar issues in the area we took a risk and replaced the filter. I imagine the old filter must get so full of gunk that it will occasionally allow waste to slip through?

Planning a few big trips soon and wanted it fixed asap.

The 2 times I've had the issue appear seems to coincide with when I've filled up from from empty using a local station that is currently branded Gulf ... but its changed hands a number of times in the last few years. Was originally BP, then independent then Esso and now Gulf.

I think I'll make more of an effort to fill up from other places, but there isn't really any main brand names in the routes I travel regularly. Most are smaller stations, and the bigger, busier places are supermarkets.

New filter has arrived this morning, but I still have half a tank of the crap stuff in it. Just wondering whether to fit filter now, or let it run down, fill up with new fuel, then replace filter ... to stop clogging up the new one.

I'm no expert but I would run the tank down until your light goes on, change to a new filter (pre fill the new filter with good diesel), then when you go fill up put half a bottle of red x in before the fuel.

I'd like to do that, but she has decreed we need to tow tomorrow so I've filled it back up, will change the filter, run it for a few tanks then maybe change it again. It already has 2 bottles of redex in it...

I'm going to strip apart the filter to see what's inside.

ad210358 wrote:

Britain imports 40 per cent of its diesel, most of which comes from Russia, a UKPIA spokeswoman said.

Yes, the price is already creeping up on the strength of it, at work we get an update of the price of fuel for the coming week on Friday, beginning of Feb we were paying 131.564 per litre for BP, then the trouble with Russia kicked off, it went up 3p a litre, it's risen for us every week since.

Plus our Gas will be effected also.

Government will make extra on the VAT on fuel too. Plus the UK imports quite a lot of coal too from Russia, it could all go Pete tong for energy supplies. Black MY2013 SD4 GS Auto, Wood Company Armrest, Freel2 sticker.
Gone MY2010 Freelander 2 Manual TD4.e S, Alaska White.

Well, new filter on ... still have the reduced performance error, even after multiple cycles of the engine and short runs. Points back to the EGR ... even though I replaced one half of it ... now wondering if its the other half.

I cut open the old filter. Didn't look that bad. Its half empty inside, and has a canister type filter paper filter plugged into the centre of it which is about half the volume of the unit itself. No reason why it couldn't be a canister type device.