Dealer claims diesel gas was in fuel tank

[HotdogThud]

@Ford Motor Company we all know there's no way a single social media account can keep tabs on everything, so no harm no foul, but this issue right here that OP is facing is exactly why I said this the other day:

This.

Ford also needs to crack down on straight up shitty dealers that can't seem to fix problems. The dealer I bought mine from didn't charge me markup, but refused to address a *safety* issue that was covered under warranty in under six weeks. Friends are out of their broncos for nearly 3 months due to dealership fuckery, with no loaners because Ford refuses to let dealers stock any spares due to "supply chain issues".

I adore my bronco, I really do. but fuck Ford corporate sideways with a cactus, my next vehicle is a Toyota.

Whether a gas station filled their unleaded tank with diesel or not, you've got a dealer playing games with customers for their own jollies.

Corporate can fix this if they choose to.

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[indio22]

Two things:

1) Yesterday I pulled up to a poorly marked pump and only noticed after sliding my credit card that it was biodiesel. Then had to wait several minutes for the transaction to time out, as whomever designed the pump software failed to allow for any manual cancellation at that point. Maybe the pump nozzle would not have fit the Bronco, but point being mistakes can happen, and I worry sometimes about my other household members messing up.

2) As a former victim of someone dumping oil in my CJ fuel tank, I now have a locking fuel cap on my Bronco. A minor hassle but peace of mind.

Hope you get the issue worked out soon.

 

[TrailRaider]

First thought that comes to my mind is if you had filled a nearly empty tank with diesel, It possibly wont even run for more than a few minutes. It would likely need at least 50% gas to even run, and then as it warmed up to operating temp it would probably smoke very badly due to the oils in the diesel. Just search youtube for "diesel in gas car" and you will see what I mean. A standard diesel nozzle will not even fit into a gasoline filler plate, in the USA anyhow. Cars newer than a few year old may mask some of the smoke due to the better cats etc. But you would nearly instantly get O2 codes and audible due to knocking due to improper detonation. Very doubtful there was diesel in your tank, but more probable some bad/old gas at the station, possibly with improper ratios of additives.
Video here is of an older truck, but similar situation for most gas cars.

 

[KABQ]

If they can drive it *264 miles* without diagnosing the problem, I think I'd risk picking it up and taking it home. If it breaks again on the way at least you'll be at a different dealership who may be more willing to help.

 

[sportcoupe]

Diesel nozzles are wider than gasoline nozzles, which means a diesel nozzle won't fit into your gasoline vehicle's tank.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

We were traveling out of state on vacation when our 2023 OBX (2.7L) engine suddenly died. We had just gotten the truck back from our local Ford dealer for engine failure three weeks prior (failed catalytic converter), so we hoped the issue had been resolved. We were 6 hours away from home, so we had it towed to the nearest dealership. The service department was great at first. We explained that we had a previous engine failure and they told us they would give us a loaner so we could enjoy our vacation that was still 80 miles away. Two days into the week, the service rep called to ask if they could drain the tank because the service tech smelled diesel fuel in our tank. I agreed to the service, sincerely hoping we would be up and running when we came back through to return the loaner. The next day I had a series of random vehicle alert messages from powertrain malfunction to a fault with the antilock breaks. I then began to become suspicious if diesel fuel was even a factor. They were never able to resolve the issue with the truck and we returned their loaner and rented a vehicle to get home.
This dealer has had the vehicle for 17 days while putting 264 miles on it. It is in the same state as it was when it was towed. I provided the service department with proof we put 20.86 gallons of unleaded gas, 5.4 miles from the dealership. I requested a copy of the results of the fuel test as well as the method used to test for contamination/diesel. I have not received anything from the service department (not even a bill) but I have spoken to the service manager about my doubts of diesel being an issue since it fixed absolutely nothing. The dealer says they can't ship the truck to my local dealer because they are waiting on Ford Co to ensure the transfer is covered under warranty. Ford Co says that the dealer is holding my truck ransom (not in those exact words) for an unpaid balance.

My question is One: Is there any formal protocol dealers must adhere to, and provide proof for contaminated gas, or is it a one-sided service they can arbitrarily claim? Two: Is this when it's time to get a lawyer involved because Ford customer relations is pretty much useless.

Good morning. Could you please send over a message with your VIN and the name/location of the Ford dealer you have been working with? I would like to look into your Bronco's engine issues on my end.

 

[CGCarolinaBronco]

If the truck died shortly after getting fuel, it is entirely possible it was bad. Actually makes sense. Hard to say without being there though. I would imagine the dealer issue would be that Ford will not cover bad fuel since that is not a factory defect. I would check the news reports from the area where you purchased the fuel to see if others had an issue. It does occasionally happen. I'm sure the distance makes this a complete mess for you. Hope it gets resolved soon.

Curious, how does a bad cat cause an engine to fail completely so that it needs replaced?

Could be an issue with Fuel Truck Delivery at that gas station you purchased gas. I definitely would look into it. Could have been an error there and that’s how you ended up with Diesel out of an unleaded pump. I would investigate further with Gas Station.

 

[CGCarolinaBronco]

We were traveling out of state on vacation when our 2023 OBX (2.7L) engine suddenly died. We had just gotten the truck back from our local Ford dealer for engine failure three weeks prior (failed catalytic converter), so we hoped the issue had been resolved. We were 6 hours away from home, so we had it towed to the nearest dealership. The service department was great at first. We explained that we had a previous engine failure and they told us they would give us a loaner so we could enjoy our vacation that was still 80 miles away. Two days into the week, the service rep called to ask if they could drain the tank because the service tech smelled diesel fuel in our tank. I agreed to the service, sincerely hoping we would be up and running when we came back through to return the loaner. The next day I had a series of random vehicle alert messages from powertrain malfunction to a fault with the antilock breaks. I then began to become suspicious if diesel fuel was even a factor. They were never able to resolve the issue with the truck and we returned their loaner and rented a vehicle to get home.
This dealer has had the vehicle for 17 days while putting 264 miles on it. It is in the same state as it was when it was towed. I provided the service department with proof we put 20.86 gallons of unleaded gas, 5.4 miles from the dealership. I requested a copy of the results of the fuel test as well as the method used to test for contamination/diesel. I have not received anything from the service department (not even a bill) but I have spoken to the service manager about my doubts of diesel being an issue since it fixed absolutely nothing. The dealer says they can't ship the truck to my local dealer because they are waiting on Ford Co to ensure the transfer is covered under warranty. Ford Co says that the dealer is holding my truck ransom (not in those exact words) for an unpaid balance.

My question is One: Is there any formal protocol dealers must adhere to, and provide proof for contaminated gas, or is it a one-sided service they can arbitrarily claim? Two: Is this when it's time to get a lawyer involved because Ford customer relations is pretty much useless.

Could have been an error on delivery to Gas Station.Delivery Driver may have filled up unleaded with diesel. I would investigate that Gas Station and see if there were other customers getting wrong gas out of unleaded pumps. Could possibly be the culprit. Can’t say Truck Tanker Delivery is 100% fool proof with a new driver.

 

[flip]

Tried to digest this but not having a lot of luck. Yes, you can definitely have fuel contamination from the station from diesel being put in the incorrect tank to problem with the fuel itself having run into both of these situations. Getting a gas sample analyzed is not something usually done on a local level as there are few labs around that test gas. Diesel is a little easier to do and many of the larger fuel suppliers have their own equipment. Ford has a few things out about field testing fuel for contamination which is mostly looking for water or high bio content in diesel. There's an ethanol test but it involves a graduated cylinder, adding water, freezing and some other stuff but it's more of data gathering.

Bad fuel, can take out the converters and oxygen sensors especially if the fuel has a high silicon or sulphur concentration. I would definitely get some glass containers and keep some samples in the event this is where the problem ends up being the cause. If this happened shortly after filling my gut would say it's probably a bad load of fuel and would diagnose with that in mind.

I haven't seen Ford pay for a tow from one dealer to another if it's over 50 miles or so. This, unfortunately, is probably going to be on the owner's dime unless this gets escalated way up the GCCT chain. Cheapest option is to find a friend with a car trailer and just go get it. Your local dealer may have be set up for this if they do many dealer trades.

 

[Jms1]

Two things:

1) Yesterday I pulled up to a poorly marked pump and only noticed after sliding my credit card that it was biodiesel. Then had to wait several minutes for the transaction to time out, as whomever designed the pump software failed to allow for any manual cancellation at that point. Maybe the pump nozzle would not have fit the Bronco, but point being mistakes can happen, and I worry sometimes about my other household members messing up.

2) As a former victim of someone dumping oil in my CJ fuel tank, I now have a locking fuel cap on my Bronco. A minor hassle but peace of mind.

Hope you get the issue worked out soon.

Where did you get the locking fuel cap?

 

[indio22]

Where did you get the locking fuel cap?

I'm using this locking cap bought off Amazon (says F150 but fits the Bronco):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C42XPXQV

Here's a link to some forum discussion about it:
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/found-a-locking-fuel-cap.90628/

The cap is not going to stop a motivated person from prying it off with a crowbar or something, and that's fine with me. I got it to protect from mischief makers, like the sort of person who poured a quart of oil I had in my CJ, into my gas tank. It's some insurance from jerks like that.

The cap fits reasonably well and doesn't protrude into the fuel filler flap. When locking the cap, I use my finger underneath to assist the locking tab into the locked position. For the price I'm happy with it, and if busted off I'll at least know someone was messing with my fuel.

Now I just need some way to lock the hood!

 

[MayhemMike]

Here is my guess. The first time the engine died and the Bronco was at the dealer, someone came at night and stole the catalytic converter. The dealer replaced it and after scanning the system somehow got it to run. Gave you the vehicle back with the claim the converter was the issue. Then, some time later, the same engine failure occurs while you are on a road trip. In other words the real problem was not corrected. Again, just an absolute spit ball of a guess.

 

[C6ZZGT]

@Ford Motor Company we all know there's no way a single social media account can keep tabs on everything, so no harm no foul, but this issue right here that OP is facing is exactly why I said this the other day:




Whether a gas station filled their unleaded tank with diesel or not, you've got a dealer playing games with customers for their own jollies.

Corporate can fix this if they choose to.

with no loaners because Ford refuses to let dealers stock any spares due to "supply chain issues".

What do you mean by this ? What spares ?

 

[HotdogThud]

with no loaners because Ford refuses to let dealers stock any spares due to "supply chain issues".

What do you mean by this ? What spares ?

Local dealership service manager (I know, 'my dealer said...) let it slip when I was talking to him about the fact that it took them two tries and four days to replace a vacuum hose that they used to have 72 vehicles available as loaners that were allowed by Ford to be used as such. Since the dealer doesn't sell them, yet sorta doesn't list them as stock either, most dealerships would get an allocation of spare vehicles to use as customer loaners for repairs that take longer than normal. For this dealer in particular, that number had been dialed back from 72, to 4.

Four.

He mentioned that most dealerships (at least in Arizona) got their units cut back by Ford itself. So this problem of their dealers not having anything for customers, is of their own making.

Maybe you've got a decent dealer where you are, but here and in most places, you drop your car off and wait weeks with no option to even get your kids back and forth to school.

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