A motorist has taken petrochemicals giant Sasol to task after his engine broke down when an attendant filled his car with petrol instead of diesel.

What was meant to be a 10km cruise to the Mall of the North in Polokwane, Limpopo, turned out to be more than a year of horror and frustration for Rantsi Tlale after his car was filled with the wrong fuel at a garage in Seshego.

He has since been unable to drive his car for months after the December 2022 incident and it remains parked in his yard.

He wants Sasol to replace his 2014 Ford Ranger bakkie.

He said the company had offered him R82,400 to repair the vehicle but he declined it. 

The mishap happened when Tlale was taking his family to the mall. He stopped at his usual garage to put in fuel. 

"I told the attendant to put in diesel and I even stood outside the vehicle with him but I wasn't aware that he was putting the wrong fuel until I left the garage. I noticed that the car was losing power as I was driving uphill and the engine wanted to cut off. I drove until the mall.

“I stayed in the vehicle and didn’t switch off the engine for about an hour while my wife was shopping. 

“We then drove home and I started smelling petrol coming from the exhaust. Nothing was showing from the dashboard,” said Tlale.

He said he went to the garage and the manager viewed its CCTV camera and noticed that the pump attendant had put petrol instead of diesel into the car.

According to Tlale, the manager accepted the mistake and suggested the petrol be drained from the vehicle.

“After draining the petrol, he [the manager] then poured a full tank of diesel to dilute the petrol and also clean the engine. He suggested I drive the vehicle for a week to wash out the petrol in the engine. I did so but the car was not regaining its power and it would sometimes take time to start,” said Tlale.

He said he contacted Sasol’s head office and reported the problem.

He said he was advised to take the vehicle to a Ford dealership, where the engine was further washed out and fuel pumps and tank cleaned.

But that did not help as the engine failed again, he said. 

He said Sasol covered the cost.

Tlale said the company then  offered him money to replace the engine but he declined it.

"I've been driving my car all these years with no problems and I feel that if I accept their offer, I will be left with a troublesome vehicle with a fault. I just want them to replace this vehicle,” said Tlale.

Sowetan Consumer reached out to Sasol last week and the company said it was still trying to resolve the issue with Tlale and its franchisee.

Sasol said they had their own policy when it came to wrong fills.

“The franchisee provided reassurance of the commitment to resolve the matter and provided evidence to this regard, which includes repairs to the vehicle as a consequence of the wrong fill,” said Sasol spokesperson Matebello Motloung

“Regarding the policy in relation to customer queries/dissatisfaction with service and related matter, there is a retail agreement that governs the relationship between Sasol and its retailers/franchisees.

"According to the agreement, matters such as incorrect fills must be managed by the retailers. We will continue to monitor the matter."