The AA has invested £1.7 million in establishing Fuel Assist to deal with the increasing malaise of drivers pumping the wrong fuel into their vehicles.
Fleet drivers, predominantly using diesel cars, will be the major users of the service, which involves draining, flushing and replenishing vehicle fuel systems.
The process, claimed the AA’s technical performance manager Donald McSporran, gets 99% of affected vehicles back on the road within 45 minutes with an average call-out time of one hour.
He said the annual incidence of wrong fuelling had doubled to around 150,000 cases during the past decade, partially because of the rising number of diesel cars and multiple use of different cars.
McSporran added: “Business drivers are the biggest users of the service at more than half of those assisted during the scheme’s one year pre-launch trial. There is also the phenomenon of unfamiliarity with pool cars.”
The AA said that while there was “some weekend availability” Fuel Assist would operate only between 8am and 8pm on weekdays, due to gaining access to disposal sites for the contaminated fuel, which is recycled.
Available to AA members and non members the service costs £176 and £200 respectively and is provided by a team of Fuel Assist specialists, using 20 Mitsubishi LT200s and LDV Maxus.
