Finding Acceptable Diesel?

[switz]

The big 3 (Love's, Flying J and Pilot) have placards saying up to 20% bio-diesel on their pumps. There is a growing industry in decontamination of the big rig fuel systems and the injectors on the engines.

My 2012 Cummins manual says up to 5% bio-diesel. I go to Chevron, Shell, Circle K for diesel with pumps with NO bio-diesel even though I have a triple fuel filtration system on my Cummins. With my 3.0L V6 diesel powered 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI, I avoid bio-diesel too as the Mercedes service folks say to never use it. That is the same displacement engine as used in the Airstream vans but with a different power chip.

[HowieE]

I think you would be well served to find a Forum that relates to the engine in your rig rather than here. If this is your first diesel there are things you need to know. Lubricity, algae, water. The government took a lot out of diesel and you may want to consider adding it back for the life of the high pressure pump and water removal.

I fill at truck stops regularly for a couple of reasons. You want fresh diesel as unlike gas it can go bad so volume is a safeguard. The truck pump will fill you in a 1/4 the time. And if your rig has a DIF system they will have that.

As far a B5 I would never use it.

Originally Posted by llleimer

I am a newbie, so excuse the question. Just picking our 2016 AI, so if I understand correctly, if I can't find B5, I can use regular #2 diesel. And fill up were the big rigs fill up. Thanks in advance.

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by llleimer

I am a newbie, so excuse the question. Just picking our 2016 AI, so if I understand correctly, if I can't find B5, I can use regular #2 diesel. And fill up were the big rigs fill up. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum!
Generally avoid all Bio fuels, even B5! The Sprinter is very susceptible to fuel contamination, and B10 and upwards is considered contamination. The outcome of using fuels that are not recommended or contaminated will be Check Engine light, and an eventual expensive trip to the dealer.
Always look carefully at the pump before filling!

[switz]

Fuel contamination repairs are not usually covered by the warranty. So they get expensive quickly.

[NOLA_russ]

Originally Posted by llleimer

I am a newbie, so excuse the question. Just picking our 2016 AI, so if I understand correctly, if I can't find B5, I can use regular #2 diesel. And fill up were the big rigs fill up. Thanks in advance.

You can use ultra-low-sulphur highway diesel with no biofuel. In some locations with boating or offroad activities you might run into pumps with low sulphur diesel, not legal for highway use. Do not use this.

You can use B5 diesel but don't need to seek it out. You should avoid B20 diesel whenever possible. Many of the truck stop chains use B20 in some or all locations.

Again, you can read the Mercedes Benz guidance here.


regards/r

[slowmover]

I wouldn't buy a vehicle that couldn't be operated on the most commonly available diesel. Or DEF.

I buy an average 100-gals of diesel daily. And haul 5000-gals of DEF to truckstops with each load.

I've yet to run into, or even hear about, the scare stories I see on vehicle forums. Since my original post I've travelled the country for work without issue. Problems with fuel or DEF are related to freshness. Oil changes on big trucks are 30k miles, and filters even greater.

If a Mercedes won't run on truckstop fuel, buy a good vehicle instead.

A 2012 Dodge will be fine. See early thread comment about risk. There's no failure rate of any note. It's standard advice to upgrade Cummins pickup filtration past what Dodge recommended. Bosch has a higher standard. That said, plenty of them last 250k miles on OEM injector set with factory filter only.

[Titus]

I doubt that the Mercedes high pressure common rail fuel system and/or filters are any more sensitive to biodiesel than any other HPCR system. Difference is most likely due to manufacturer conservative-ness or paranoia. And it may not be a problem at all; instead related to their perceived emissions liability associated with B-whatever.

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by slowmover

I've yet to run into, or even hear about, the scare stories I see on vehicle forums.

I think the biggest concern, at least for me, is having the check-engine-light-of-death come on and after taking it to a MB service center have them tell me it was due to "contamination" and denying a warranty claim (which apparently is far too common). So far I've not had an issue finding "pure" diesel (no bio content), but the topic is on my mind when it's time to fill up.

Given the current state of competition in the van market here in the US (Dodge ProMaster, MB Sprinter, Ford Transit, and Nissan NV), I would like to think that MB USA will start to see enough loss of sales to warrant a redesign of their engines (or at least the emission control systems) in order to stay competitive. I've seen several articles recently by fleet managers stating they were switching away from MB for the reason of failed emission components and denial of warranty claims, and I would like to think MB is paying attention to a declining public perception of their quality, reliability, and customer service. Time will tell if they do anything about it....