Caltex Blames Contaminated E10 For Sydney M4 Breakdowns

Caltex has blamed excessive water contamination in one of its underground tanks for a bizarre incident that saw around 20 cars grind to a halt in Sydney’s morning peak-hour traffic today.

The M4 is busy at the best of times, but motorists had to endure additional pain with the morning commute as a string of stranded cars and subsequent recovery vehicles clogged city-bound lanes near the Sydney suburb of Prospect. 

Numerous drivers found their cars refused to run after refuelling with E10 ethanol-blended fuel at one of the Caltex twin service stations positioned midway along with motorway (east-bound), with some cars covering only a few hundred metres before stopping.

Caltex has admitted it is at fault, and the company has promised to reimburse motorists affected by the contamination for fuel, towing and repair costs.

Speaking with Radio 2UE, Caltex Australia’s Sam Collier said the company first became aware of the problem as news of the numerous stranded motorists filtered through to morning radio, television and social media.

Caltex