Cars on LPG need TLC too
As approved LPG technicians, we get a lot of calls along the lines of: “My car runs well on petrol but cuts out on LPG and does not run properly.”
Unsurprisingly, they have never had the LPG serviced and the engine had also been neglected.
On this occasion, the customer booked the car in for an LPG service and agreed the price. However, halfway through the LPG inspection, it was noted there were many faults with the LPG - the most worrying being an LPG leak. The car also failed the emissions test.
We stopped the service as we needed authority to check the engine, which was a big V8 from the USA.
The customer authorises two to three hours for us to check the engine but was then annoyed when I explained there was a misfire on petrol, the compression was low and the engine was probably BER - beyond economical repair.
There were also many other issues with this vehicle but the customer only heard what he wanted to hear as the pick up had recently passed the MOT at another garage. The steering was dangerous, but I was informed: “I only want it to run on LPG!”
There was a list on our diagnostic computer relating to many components, and the EML (engine management light) was illuminated, which is a MOT failure point. I put all the LPG issues on the UKLPG database and the customer was advised not to run the vehicle on LPG.
With a vehicle that will probably return six mpg, and with a 200 litre LPG on the bed of the pick up he is driving, this was, in my opinion, dangerous.
His departing comment was that we had taken a lot of money and the pick-up was not fixed!
Remember a poorly maintained vehicle is a breakdown waiting to happen, come to the experts at Worcester’s Mobile Mechanic.