Biodiesel, in theory, can go into all diesel engines as the diesel engine itself was designed to run on plant oil.
However it is the parts attached to the diesel engine which could potentially cause problems – although the vast majority of diesels on the road are fine running on 100% biodiesel.
In reality, the rule of thumb is you can use 100% biodiesel in any diesel built between 1990 -2004, but be aware that a one-off fuel filter change will be needed after you first make the transition (and any mix of biodiesel and fossil diesel is OK too).
I would recommend that cars built after 2004 should run on a 50% blend not 100%. Be aware too that biodiesel made from waste cooking oil will freeze in winter and so from November to April one should blend that kind of Biodiesel at 50% as well.
However, Biodiesel made from a Rapeseed crop (RME) will not freeze and can be used at 100% all year round in the UK.
Please note that it is advisable to purchase biodiesel with EN14214 specification, which gives you some guarantee of quality. In short – to be safe, use RME Biodiesel at EN14214 in a car built between 1990 and 2004 and then you can be carbon neutral all year without problems!
In terms of official compatibility, despite the majority of diesel vehicles on the road being fine on 100%, only a handful of companies will officially approve their vehicles for 100% use.
The companies that have approved 100% biodiesel are VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda. They have approved all their cars built between 1996 and 2004 on 100% use of “RME” Biodiesel (Biodiesel made from Rapeseed) providing it meets the specification DIN41606 (which was later replaced by EN14214).
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