Range Rover TDV8 features idiot-resistant fuel filler

by Alex Nunez (RSS feed) on Oct 10th 2006 at 9:03AM

Land Rover TDV8The new Range Rover TDV8 is so powerful and so refined, the automaker says, that there is a distinct danger of the driver mistaking it for a gasoline-powered model and using the wrong type of fuel. The theory is that the drivers will simply be awed into delirium by the TDV8's sublime nature and that their memory of any event prior to their visit to the gas station will be effectively erased. We can just imagine the inner dialog taking place at the pump:

"Hmmm. My word... Did I buy the petrol or diesel Range Rover? It's just so splendid, I can't remember. Bah! Petrol it is!"

Moments later, a very expensive mistake transpires.

But never fear, Land Rover has come up with a way to (hopefully) eliminate the problem. The new TDV8's filler head incorporates a mechanical shutter that slams shut if a gasoline nozzle is inserted. It's quite clever, actually. The gas nozzles are thinner than the diesel nozzles, so they can extend further down the filler neck. If the nozzle passes a certain point, the shutter closes. Diesel nozzles can't engage the mechanism, all but ensuring mistake-free fueling.

We'd call the whole thing idiot-proof, but we've learned never to underestimate that particular demographic. Where there's a will -- trust us on this -- there's a way.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Land Rover]


PRESS RELEASE:
THE RANGE ROVER 2007: WORLD-FIRST SYSTEM PREVENTS MIS-FUELLING

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 9 October 2006 – The world's most complete luxury 4x4 just got smarter, with the 2007 model year Range Rover TDV8, on sale this week, pioneering an innovative world-first technical solution – the petrol fuel guard system.

The petrol fuel guard system helps prevent drivers filling their diesel vehicle with petrol – an increasingly common error in this age of the ultra-refined diesel engine. Land Rover's innovative new system is incorporated into the vehicle's diesel filler head and automatically activates the intervention of a mechanical shutter if a petrol nozzle is inserted, preventing petrol being dispensed into the diesel tank.

The system distinguishes between petrol and diesel nozzles because thinner unleaded petrol dispensers go deeper down the neck of the vehicle's fuel tank, activating the shutter.

Chief programme engineer for the 2007 model year Range Rover, Paul Walker, says: "The new TDV8 engine in the Range Rover is so powerful and refined we feel that there is a danger, more so with this vehicle than with any we have sold in the past, of the driver mistaking the vehicle for a petrol-powered derivative – especially if the driver isn't the vehicle's regular user. Mis-fuelling is an expensive and complex problem to fix, and we are delighted to be first to the market with this innovative solution."

The AA reports that in 2005, over 100,000 cases of mis-fuelling were reported, with diesel vehicles being filled with petrol in error. The associated costs are significant, often amounting to several thousand pounds if the incorrect fuel enters the engine upon starting the vehicle.

The Range Rover for 2007 comes with a host of other significant enhancements, on both the TDV8 diesel and V8 petrol derivatives, including the all-new V8 diesel engine, revised cabin design and new technologies including Terrain Response and the fuel protection system as standard. It is on sale now with prices ranging from £53,995 to £74,795.

Filed under: SUV, Europe, Technology, Land Rover

Tags: filler head, filler system, FillerHead, FillerSystem, fuel filler, FuelFiller, mechanical shutter, MechanicalShutter, mis-fueling, mistake-proof fueling, Mistake-proofFueling, range rover, range rover tdv8, RangeRover, RangeRoverTdv8, tdv8

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