E20 Fuel is a major issue on social media and news websites. Just like in any case, there are several fake news items circulating on the internet regarding the same. We would urge everyone to stay away from such fake news and do a bit more research if you find any such misleading content online.
Here we have one such post from a social media influencer where he is claiming that Indian Oil petrol pumps are secretly sticking E20 compliant stickers on his car’s fuel flap.
The image has been posted by Gaurav Taneja, who is a social media influencer better known by the name Flying Beast. On his X profile, Gaurav decided to write a long post with an image of a sticker on his fuel flap.
He posted the image with a caption:
“Beware of this SCAM by Indian Oil. I thought that my vehicle was E20 compliant and had no issues, because the fuel inlet had a sticker. Recently, while refueling, I got down for some work at the gas station and accidentally saw that the E20 sticker was placed by Indian Oil and it was not by the manufacturer. I usually don’t get out of the car when I refuel, so I had no clue when the guys at the Indian Oil pump placed the sticker. Just did some research and found out that my vehicle is NOT E20 compliant.”
We checked the image and, on looking at it, we couldn’t find anything unusual. The petrol pump staff often paste stickers on the inner flap of cars to ensure that they are not filling the wrong type of fuel.
In this case, the sticker pasted by the Indian Oil petrol pump only says Petrol. It is a sticker in a green shade. It doesn’t say anything about the fuel grade or compatibility. However, under the sticker, there is another sticker which has white-coloured text on it.
The transparent plastic sticker is from the manufacturer, and it clearly lists that the car is compatible with E5, E10 and up to E25 fuel. There is even a QR scanner right next to it which redirects to the manufacturer’s page.
So, to conclude, Indian Oil isn’t doing any kind of scam - but the social media influencer is. He is probably trying to gain attention on social media platforms by spreading such false news. The engagement under this post is actually evidence of the same.
Now, if you are wondering which car this is - we did a bit of research and found that this is his BMW X4 SUV that he bought back in 2021. He bought the X4 xDrive30i, which cost around Rs 70 lakh ex-showroom back then.
The luxury SUV is powered by a 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine from the B48 series. If you check the user manual, it clearly states that this particular engine is compliant with E20 or up to E25 petrol.
This means the vlogger was trying to mislead his followers, or was probably fed with wrong information which he decided to post online. The sticker pasted by the petrol pump staff is a simple fuel sticker, just to make their lives easier while refueling and to avoid mistakes.