Service Station fill petrol engines with diesel

A Bulawayo service station on Tuesday wrongly fuelled petrol engines with diesel.

Scores of motorists who fuelled at Redan Service Station situated along Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo Street and 15th Avenue were yesterday trying to drain the wrong fuel.

Disgruntled motorists accused the service station of being unprofessional and complained that the wrong fuel was likely to affect the performance of their vehicles' engines.

Tauya Mujanji, a motorist, said he realised the problem when his car engine was having problems.
"They cannot make such mistakes. It has a serious bearing on our cars. I was shocked when I found many people complaining about the same problem yesterday," he said.

A kombi driver identified as Reward Sibanda: "I haven't worked since morning. This is affecting our business."

Other motorists said they were worried that mixing of fuel could affect their cars' engines in the long run.

"The station is still draining the diesel from our cars but this diesel can have  long term effects on our cars," said Ronald Sibanda.

A motor mechanic said use of diesel in a petrol engine could damage the engine.

"The diesel will not burn but it will affect the rubber components like injectors," he said.

Contacted for comment, an official from the service station identified as Munyaradzi requested more time to prepare his responses but was not reachable on his mobile phone later on.