Adulterated fuel is very harmful to vehicle engines

EDITOR—On behalf of my other suffering Ugandans, I would like to bring to your attention the ongoing abuse of Ugandans! Those who normally use petrol in cars, generators, etc, might be already experiencing malfunctions.

Some colleagues have shared with me their disagreements with their mechanics, close pals and even spouses on issues concerning malfunctions of their vehicles’ engines especially in the morning accusing each other of either doing shoddy work or mishandling the engine.

This problem seems to be on the increase yet each of us might think it is peculiar to our car engine! Many fuel dealers seem to be mixing paraffin with petrol in order to maximise sales. The risks are many:

The engine plugs are easily worn out so one might have to replace them even before the car is due for service.

The engine becomes much weaker in performance.

Many motorists are already experiencing failure by the engine to start especially in the morning and even when it does one cannot easily drive away unless one first accelerates for some minutes or leaves the engine idling for some time.

The fuel seals within the valves, the injector nozzle/caburator, the pistons in the combustion chambers are all destroyed.

Ultimately all our engines might have to be overhauled. The Uganda National Bureau of Standards is mandated to enforce and monitor standards and should take this seriously.

Robert Ssewava
Kampala