Fuel in Mexico

Jmolan

Active member
I took my 2016 into Mexico. I did not put on the miles I thought I would (we got hit and had to get repaired) The few tanks I ran were no problem. I owned and ran a VW TDI for 10 years in Mexico, we have a winter home there, I never had a problem finding diesel. I would never trust a pump to have ULSD even if it says so, but I would not worry about it after all my research. But that is me, I cannot say the same, as it is a real individual thing. Interesting it is ONLY trucks, no diesel cars in Mexico. I did a bunch of reading, including a few very helpful guys who posted here, and actually ask the service dept. in Tucson if they have EVER had a van limp home. I figured they would see them if they were coming across the border. Here is his answer:

In the last couple weeks we have had 4 Sprinters returning home from Mexico, they only came in for services, no issues with dsl fuel at all, no DEF issues either, 2 came all the way from Cabo San Lucas in Baja
I would say have fun !
Eric Foster
Shop Foreman
Mercedes-Benz of Tucson
6350 E. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ. 85715
(520) 886-1311 xt. 5039
ericfoster@chapmantucson.com

IMG_1711.jpg
San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

I tried to learn from only "those who have been there" it is so easy t get spooked by a guy saying he heard of a guy who ruined his engine and it got robbed by bandits and was left alongside the road....:)

Ted shot me this email before. I also gave him my findings when I returned: This guy is REALLY into it. Here is front page, feel free to email him.

http://bajamary.com/media/Mexico-Diesel.php


Ted is a guy who logs and keeps track of all Vehicles going in and out of Mexico. This is his rather long email to me. From his advise I made sure to keep it "wound up" rather than dog it, trying to keep up the stack temps.

This will be a long reply to your questions about your 2016 Mercedes Sprinter.

First let me say that all of my usable data comes from people with first hand experience driving their own vehicles in Mexico, and not from opinions, theories, or third party horror stories. (I attempt to follow up on any and every "horror story" that crosses my desk and have almost always found them to be third party inaccurate or fabricated stories from folks who have often never been to Mexico and/or don't even own the type of vehicle being discussed).

Up until recently, my standard response to ALL Sprinter owners making enquiries was to say that LOTS of people bring Mercedes Sprinters in to Mexico and never have any sulfur-in-fuel related problems while using Mexican diesel fuel. This is because Sprinters, just like the big diesel pushers, have engines that are under constant load, in order to move a fully loaded vehicle along the highway. This typically keeps exhaust gas temperatures high enough (above 400 degs C) to prevent sulfur compounds from depositing in the DPF or DPF/SCR.

In the 8 years that I have been collecting data I had never received a report of a Sprinter, irrespective of model year or engine, suffering problems due to sulfur in the fuel until March of 2015. It was at that time that the owner of a 2014 Sprinter reported a bad experience with Mexican fuel. His situation may not necessarily apply to any other model years, and appears to have been a one-off situation, but should be kept in mind when owners of DEF equipped Sprinters consider taking their Sprinters in to Mexico.

Prior to traveling in to the Baja, this particular owner was told by his local Sprinter technician that he would have no problems with the higher sulfur Mexican diesel, but shortly after refueling in the Southern Baja the DEF warning light came on for a while. He was worried about that development, but a short time later the light went off again, which is consistent with the vehicle having completed a regeneration cycle. (The regeneration process would have burned the sulfur compounds out of the emissions system).

Around 600 miles later the DEF light came on again, and shortly after that the Check Engine light came on as well. Things then deteriorated to a warning message that he had 500 miles and 15 starts until limp mode speed restriction, progressing over time to just 9 starts left as he used the vehicle on the Baja.

He then began the trip north to the border, and by the time he reached Tecate he was seeing a warning of just 6 starts until limp mode. After crossing back in to the USA he headed for San Diego where he had to turn the engine off while stuck in traffic. The next time he turned the engine on all of the warnings disappeared and things were back to normal. (This is again consistent with the vehicle having completed a regeneration which burned the sulfur contaminants out of the emissions system).

Based on this owner's experience, there is an ongoing risk that owners of 2014 and later model Sprinters who bring their vehicles in to Mexico could find themselves in a similar situation, even though I have never received any further reports of problems from Sprinter owners.

I did have several exchanges of information with the Sprinter owner mentioned above, and I believe at this time that there is reasonable evidence that a Sprinter will not deteriorate to "limp mode". It seems very likely that a regeneration will always occur, resetting the emissions monitoring system to normal.

Yes, it could be a bit stressful, but the condition does appear to be self correcting. We won't know for sure until there is some more data available from late model Sprinter owners. In this regard, if you do decide to drive further in to Mexico I would greatly appreciate hearing about your experience. Sharing the knowledge helps owners to make good decisions.

As for the availability of ULSD in the areas you plan to visit, there is no ULSD except in Guadalajara, should you decide to go there from PV.

Bottom line, if it was my 2016 Sprinter, I would continue with my trip until a serious message such as 500 miles and 15 starts appeared. If that happened, I would immediately head back to the USA or the nearest source of ULSD, such as Guadalajara.

FYI, experiments I have run on several diesel pickup trucks indicates that a mixture of 50/50 ULSD and Mexican LSD never causes fault codes. Therefore, if you can occasionally use ULSD and/or a 50/50 mix I believe that there is good evidence that you will never see a check engine light or speed limitation warning due to sulfur in the fuel.

Over to you.

Ted
 
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bajaguy

Active member
Thanks JMolan. I did see your previous posts stating you didnt have any issue with your 2016 so I was stoked to read that before I made the trip. I did see some newer style Sprinters in Baja along the highway so who knows.

I hear you on third acocount stories. Add mine to the list as a true account from some one who has actually been down there and used Pemex LSD with a newer Sprinter. I plan to drive down to Cabo next year or following but definitely some shorter trips next year are planned. I am really not deterrred from my experience. I will probably bring a couple gallons of ULSD so I can mix it with Pemex LSD just in case unless I hear more from others and some Diesel Kleen.

Besides the Sprinter is a an awesome vehicle in Baja! Plan to upgrade the suspension though with some Fox shox for some of those nasty roads though!



 

krisinak

New member
pexex stations along the border, and half way down baja have ULSD. other than that, its all LSD. the mexican sprinters have an entirely different emissions system than nafta sprinters. btw i live in south baja with my '05 2500 sprinter.
 

Mrdi

Active member
pexex stations along the border, and half way down baja have ULSD. other than that, its all LSD. the mexican sprinters have an entirely different emissions system than nafta sprinters. btw i live in south baja with my '05 2500 sprinter.

Which town farthest south for ULSD?
 
hi to all the members. the information in this forum is very good, i am really happy to be here. i do not speak or write good, i am sorry. here in México my sprinter van never have problems with the diesel fuel, but is necesary do the oil changes with more frecuency because the fuel have sulphur and the manual have information of that. drain the water filter because 80 liters of diesel have 2 or 3 mililiters of water. The diesel of this country work good with may van the 80 000 miles i am driving it.
 

bajaguy

Active member
mexicocaravan.com/ulsd.php (dead link)

Here is a link I found with an Excel sheet provided by Pemex March this year on which stations have ULSD. You can open the Excel sheet and cross reference it with Pemex's station locator. Did some spot checking and like discussed earlier even the Pemex list confirms there is no ULSD in Baja Sur.

The station at Villa De Jesus Maria was thought to be the last station with ULSD but it looks like the station right before the Baja Norte/sur border just before Guerro Nuegro is ULSD as well. I just came back from a trip down to Loreto and brought 15 gallons with me so did not need to fill back up till I made my way back north and filled up at Villa de Jesus Maria. No issues this trip. Van ran great.

Pemex is saying all stations by December 2018 will be ULSD. On the excel list as well are plenty of stations on mainland Mexico that have ULSD.
 
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Niceguy12

Member
I am not clear
What is the problem with Mexican diesel if any?

What about the Promaster diesel
Do they work on Mexican Fuel?
Thanks
 

Mrdi

Active member
The Contention:
The sulfur content in Mexican Diesel is too high to burn in the new diesel engines.
Hi sulfur content clogs the emission control system and may leave you
with "limp home' mode, or leave you stranded. NO START.
Diesel #2 that is common here in the States is ultra low sulfur.(ULSD)
Diesels engines that are sold in Mx, may not have the same emission
requirements/components and can burn the higher sulfur fuels.
 
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DirtDogg

Member
http://www.mexicocaravan.com/ulsd.php

Here is a link I found with an Excel sheet provided by Pemex March this year on which stations have ULSD. You can open the Excel sheet and cross reference it with Pemex's station locator. Did some spot checking and like discussed earlier even the Pemex list confirms there is no ULSD in Baja Sur.

The station at Villa De Jesus Maria was thought to be the last station with ULSD but it looks like the station right before the Baja Norte/sur border just before Guerro Nuegro is ULSD as well. I just came back from a trip down to Loreto and brought 15 gallons with me so did not need to fill back up till I made my way back north and filled up at Villa de Jesus Maria. No issues this trip. Van ran great.

Pemex is saying all stations by December 2018 will be ULSD. On the excel list as well are plenty of stations on mainland Mexico that have ULSD.
Bajaguy, thanks for this information. Is there any concrete confirming all Pemex will carry ULSD by 12/08?
 
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Just back from Baja 1-1-18. Driving a 2016 4x4.

At current, ultra low sulphur (ultra bajo) is available south to Villa Jesus y Maria. Just north of Guerrero Negro.

As stated above, most fuel in Baja Norte comes from the US. In Baja Sur, It's sourced from mainland Mex.

South to Cabo is only low sulphur. I have anecdotal reports of running that with no problems.
I however, took 25 gallons with me from VJM. I mixed 50/50 while south of there.

No problems at all.

All other reports of US spec vehicles having any issues come from extended low speed, low temp operation. (poking around town, sitting in traffic, etc.)

For extended trips, take your own DEF. I saw none for sale in Mex.
 
1st hand experience with a 2013 Sprinter: 3rd Year in a row in Mexico... This time the van was in southern Baja from November to April. I will post on this thread if we have any DPF or SCR/emission related issues. All we use is Diesel Power Solutions Cetane Boost on the tank about every month or so. I could be doing everything wrong, but so far the van runs great at 55K miles on the engine. There was a rumor around town that there was ULSD at a station in La Paz but I never confirmed it or fueled up at the station. It seems there are a LOT of stories but few recent 1st hand experiences from members about fuel in Baja causing issues.
-ryan
 

EvanS

Member
Gotta love it. If they're able to do it by the 5 year deadline they'll be 16 years behind schedule. Even by Mexican standards that is late.
 

NMmonkeyman

Active member
Just got back from a trip to Baja in 2017 Sprinter. Most Pemex gas attendants did not know what type of diesel they had. But the one in Jesus Maria did say that diesel in Baja California Sur did have higher sulfur then Baja Norte but he could not quantify it. Was able to make it as far south as Loreto with no issues. I put 10 gallons of Baja Sur Diesel with 10 gallons of Baja Norte Diesel to chase it with. I was likely too conservative but didn't want any issues down south. I think if you went all the way to Cabo you would have to risk the higher sulfur diesel.
 

dilit

2007 Dodge Sprinter 3500 (NCV3)
Oh man, all sorts of information here, but no definitive answer.
I am thinking of driving down to La Paz in January.
Thinking of just bringing 20 or 40 gallons of diesel from States to mix.
Wondering if they are going to say anything at the border.
Is this an overkill?
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
I sold my 2007 E320 bluetec to Mexican guy in the neighborhood and when car did have slight vibration at idle from time to time, he says it loved Baja diesel fuel.
OM642 engine with no DEF.
 

Mr. Bills

Raconteur Emeritus
Oh man, all sorts of information here, but no definitive answer.
I am thinking of driving down to La Paz in January.
Thinking of just bringing 20 or 40 gallons of diesel from States to mix.
Wondering if they are going to say anything at the border.
Is this an overkill?
Don't try to carry full jerry cans over the border. You may get away with it, but if you don't where are you going to dump 40 gallons of fuel when you are sent back over the border to the U.S.?

Empty fuel containers only. Its Mexican law.

On my last trip in December 2019-January 2020 one in our group didn't listen and was sent back. The rest of us filled our jerry cans in Mexico at the first Chevron station we encountered. Our friend didn't catch up to us until the next day - with a horror story to tell about trying to get rid of the fuel in his jerry cans.

The current word is that ULSD is available throughout Baja California Norte and at non-Pemex stations in Baja California Sur (i.e., ARCO, Chevron, BP, sometimes Repsol). Pemex stations in the south may or may not have "Ultra Baja Azufre" depending upon the source of the fuel because Mexico has extended the 2018 deadline for the national changeover to ULSD in all but specified urban regions and the northern border areas.


See: https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/auto-parts-industry-holds-up-18bn-pesos/
 

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