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This is the answer that keeps eluding me and Skoda refuse or are clueless to answer the question: Why can you not use 100% biodiesel in Skodas after 26 June 2006 and what can we do to make them compatible?

Oh, don't get me started on the nanny government!

Sorry I lied. I am on a roll. MJallday, you make good points too. VRS! You lucky bugger! I bet she is gorgeous!! I, personally, feel SO strongly about using BD that I am willing to take the risk and costs of something breaking so I can then get around the problem and share the information with the rest of you on here. I LOVE my car, don't get me wrong, if I could park her in my bedroom with a warm blanket over her I would. However, I have read far too much good information and tests on using BD that this outweighs the scaremongering and prolific lack of knowledge regarding BD in this country.

Sorry I lied. I am on a roll. MJallday, you make good points too. VRS! You lucky bugger! I bet she is gorgeous!! I, personally, feel SO strongly about using BD that I am willing to take the risk and costs of something breaking so I can then get around the problem and share the information with the rest of you on here. I LOVE my car, don't get me wrong, if I could park her in my bedroom with a warm blanket over her I would. However, I have read far too much good information and tests on using BD that this outweighs the scaremongering and prolific lack of knowledge regarding BD in this country.

Do you know what I would LOVE? I am not looking for freebies here. I would like to find ONE forward thinking, helpful Skoda / TDI mechanic to say this to me: "I admire your persistence to use BD and if you change the following parts in your 2007 Octavia 1.9 TDI you should be able to run it on 100% BD with no problems, but even if you do have a problem, we can sort it out for you." That would be SO refreshing! Is that too much to ask? Sorry, good night now.

Oh so YOU can use it. What year is your Fabia? My Octavia is 2007 and it says on the fuel flap NO BIODIESEL. You see I don't know what that means. To me it says, "There have been some idiots out there putting SVO (straight vegetable oil) in their cars thinking it is biodiesel and because we think that people are ALL idiots we will just say no to biodiesel". That sucks! I object to being treated like an idiot! They are not even trying to help - they just give a blanket NO - tarnish everyone with the same brush and I don't appreciate it. I am surprised they don't put labels inside the fuel flaps such as NO WATER, NO MILK, NO BEER, NO P*SSING. It is ridiculous!! I have done a lot of reading on biodiesel in books and on the Internet and I have used a 50% mixture in my old (2006) Ford Focus for about 5000 miles with NO problems even though Ford Technical only approve 5% and they say that their "highly sophisticated" engines (that cannot even officially run on BD - except the official government 5%) will die a horrible death if they sniff BD above 5%. Ask them to be specific and they can't because they don't have a clue! What is my point? Facts that I have read about BD as opposed to all the rumours and fiction that abound to scare us into making the big oil companies and this thieving labour government richer by the day: 1) Eats rubber fuel lines - should not be used these days so check. 2) Cleans fuel system out - replace fuel filter. 3) Higher NOX emissions but carbon neutral. 4) Using recycled oil reduces pollution - we do not need to demolish all the forests on the planet. 5) Food costs will not go up if we use Jatropha as D1 Oils and BP are doing, and no, not everyone will suddenly switch to 100% BD use tomorrow! OK? 6) At least 20ppl cheaper than normal diesel. 7) Exhaust smells great from 50% BD and up! 8) Dieselbob says TDI engines fine with 100% BD: Diesel Bob Tuning - Vegetable Bob and they have emailed me as well confirming this. Email them yourself and ask. 9) I am sure there is a conspiracy out there against using BD. Someone is very scared! I would like everyone on here to write / email their vehicle supplier and ask why their cars are not approved for 100% biodiesel use if the stuff has already been successfully tested over millions of miles in countries like the USA, France and Germany. Why do we have to reinvent the wheel? Look at this: BusinessCar - Morrisons launches B30 biodiesel into mainstream Perhaps us greenies (and money savers) should switch to Ford and Citroen? Ok I think that is enough from me tonight but you can see how I feel about this, right?

Blow the engine!? As in a nuclear explosion? Will your house blow up as well? Come on! I have done too much reading on the subject to believe that. That sounds like the dealer has not got a clue what biodiesel is or has been watching too many US movies. From the responses I keep getting from Ford and Skoda it sounds like these guys don't have a clue what biodiesel does to an engine, or at least, they don't want to tell us and just want to fill us with scare stories because they cannot be bothered to deal with us if something goes wrong. I am really not impressed with the feedback I am getting from Skoda so far.

Has anyone else had similar correspondence with Skoda about biodiesel?

This is the response I got from emailing Skoda: Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:47:53 -0000 From: "Skoda Customer Services" st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } Dear Mr X Thank you for your email. I am pleased to learn that you have recently purchased a Skoda Octavia Elegance 1.9 TDi PD. I can confirm that you are able to use 5% RME (Rapeseed Methyl Esther) in your vehicle providing that the fuel conforms to the standard EN590. The use of this fuel requires no modifications to the vehicle or changes to the vehicles’ maintenance schedule, and this does not affect the vehicle warranty. The use of 100% Biodiesel has not been type approved for Skoda vehicles that have been purchased within the United Kingdom, therefore, we are unable to comment on any damage this fuel may cause to your vehicle or the affect the fuel will have on your vehicles’ components. I can advise that we do not recommend using 100% Biodiesel in the Skoda Octavia model that you have purchased. I trust this information will be useful to you and I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us. Yours sincerely Terry Gallagher Customer Service Specialist SkodaAuto Customer Service Dear Mr Di Sciullo, You will be pleased to know that I have now purchased a 2007 Octavia Elegance 1.9 TDI PD. What you might not be so pleased about is that I am not happy running it on dinosaur diesel because it is expensive, it stinks and it is not very kind to the environment. I want to use biodiesel. I would therefore be very grateful if you could tell me what damage would be caused to the vehicle by using 100% biodiesel and what action a person who was determined to use 100% biodiesel in one of your TDI's could take to prevent such damage whether it be replacing rubber parts, fuel injectors, engine maps, etc. Thank you, Mr X

Decron, it is good to see that you are using BD20 in your car. What car is it? I have just bought a new 2007 1.9 Octavia TDI and put a 50% BD mix in it the other day. It ran fine for a few miles and when I stopped after about 10 miles it wouldn't start unless I pumped the accelerator during the start. That was a shock but it was about 4 degrees C outside so not sure if the BD gelled up. It now seems to do this intermittently when it is cold but always runs fine once started. The car has only done about 1,200 miles. I want to switch to 100% BD (not in winter though) but I am trying to find out from various sources what actual damage will be done to the car so that I can take preventative action but no one seems to know, or they don't want to tell me, not even Skoda themselves. That's not a surprise because Ford were not very helpful either even though I ran a 2006 Ford Focus on 50% BD with no problems for about 8,000 miles. This company, Diesel Bob Tuning - Vegetable Bob, say that 100% BD in the TDI engine would be fine. They said the Focus TDCi engine (common rail) was crap with BD and should not be used at all - that is why I sold it for the Skoda. I would be grateful to hear from someone else who is keen to try a higher ratio and has some good experience or knowledge of using BD.

Welcome! I am new here as well. I joined to find out more about using 100% BD in my new Octavia Elegance 1.9 TDI PD. This guy Diesel Bob Tuning - Vegetable Bob says that this car runs fine on 100% BD and this is why I bought it but the manual says no. Typical. You are just the person I want to chat to about this stuff because it is so difficult to find specific information about testing and conversions (if required) on the Internet in this country. Maybe we should set up a biodiesel forum for people serious about using more than a piddly 5%, as recommended by manufacturers and as supplied by Tesco. Good to have you on here - looking forward to trouble free 100% BD use!!

Hi everyone. I am new here. I have just bought a new Octavia 1.9 TDi Elegance in order to use 100% biodiesel (BD). I know "they" say you can't, please don't tell me because I do not want to hear it. I also do not want to hear what it does to the warranty because I am not interested in that either. What I do want to hear is: "This is how you can use it safely or this is what you can try." I desperately want to use it so I am not taking no for an answer. I joined this forum in order to share experiences of using BD in a TDi and to hear what other people have experienced. I am looking forward to some good positive banter on the subject.