Fuel Additive Negates Engine Warranty; District Exploring Options
Last updated Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:44 PM CDT in News
By THE MORNING NEWS
The Bentonville School District’s transportation department is not using the X-1R fuel additive even after the school board approved a contract in August.
Miguel Rivera, a board member who also is an attorney, said he researched some issues and discovered using X-1R would void warranties on bus engines.
The district needed two barrels of X-1R each year for its fleet of 120 buses. The additive was to cost about $9,000 but save the district $100,000, about 10 percent of the annual fuel budget.
However, an invalidated engine warranty could cost much more, said Mike Fotenopulos, transportation director. It costs from $10,000 to $20,000 to rebuild or replace a bus engine, he said.
Most Bentonville bus engines are made by the Cummins Corp., which does not honor warranties if X-1R is used because Cummins representatives don’t know what is in the fuel additive, Fotenopulos said.
Bentonville school officials are exploring options to see if they still can use the fuel additive and have its bus engines covered.
“We are trying to see if X-1R will cover the warranties,” Fotenopulos said.
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justalocal wrote on Sep 11, 2008 3:08 PM:
BCR wrote on Sep 11, 2008 4:27 PM:
Not already registered?
django wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:58 PM: