StevethePilot

So here's what happened; the wife was on the way back to Phoenix from Long Beach, and as she crested the hill east of Palm Springs on I-10, the check engine light illuminated and the cruise control disengaged. She started to pull off on one of those exits to nowhere when the engine shut down, leaving her with no power steering or power brakes (had she waited, she'd have been in this position in traffic). She waited, counted to ten, said a prayer and re-started the car. It was on about 1/8 tank from me filling it up at the Shell in Fountain Hills (marked ULSD #2 Diesel - important).

The following morning, with the check engine light still on, I went to Starbucks (as this is much more important than my Mercedes) and after getting back in the car with the coffee, the check engine light went out. Must've been the caffeine? Anyway, I called Sam over at Schumacher and brought it in yesterday morning first thing to take care of the check engine light as well as the seat and rear door panel squeaks I've been having (discussed in another thread). He called me near the end of the day and told me that what they decided is that either LSD or BioDiesel had been put in my car, they had a sample of it and he was sure it was the fuel that was the problem, not under warranty and by the way it's $700.

Here's my problem; first, if the sample of fuel is bad, it's the fuel from the Chevron station at the Patton museum in California, not the Shell in Fountain Hills. Second, if the sample of fuel he has is bad, how did that fuel (which was put in after the incident causing the error code) cause the error?

Sam talked to me again today and said the fuel filter was really bad, and he still thinks the fuel was bad. He said maybe it wasn't the fuel in the tank at the time, maybe it wasn't even the fill up before then, but at some point someone put LSD or BD in the tank. I have to say, with my slightly limited experience, I have no reason not to trust Sam or Schumacher. They make plenty of dough off of me for routine maintenance, they don't have to invent things to make money, and certainly could've come up with something much better than a $700 repair were that the case.

So at this point, I don't know what to do. Sam says he has a sample of the fuel that was in the tank; I don't know what use it will be to me. The system's been drained and cleaned and the filter has been replaced (HEY! GREAT TIME TO GO 100% BD!) so I know at least that's taken care of. But how in the world would I figure out a) if it wasn't just bad fuel and b) where the heck the bad fuel came from, and c) who, if anyone, is responsible to pay me back that $700? (Which after extras is probably more than $700, and the answer is probably 'nobody, you dolt, it's a risk you take and you can't prove who had the bad fuel,' if I know my life.)

Anyone else have an opinion to chime in?

Thanks,

STP

PS I put that "Doctor ***" face on before I knew about this, but man is it appropriate now! -S

lkchris

Fuel filter replacement is, of course, never a warranty procedure, and there's really no such thing as a defective filter.

It seems pretty reasonable for the dealer to charge you for fixing this problem.

Now, if you had damaged injectors, fuel pump, etc., you might be more inclined to argue the "bad fuel" diagnosis, but when the fix is a new filter there's really nothing to argue.

Plus, seems a little difficult to track down the source, but that's who's responsible.

Brocktoon

Right... they do spectrometry at MB dealers. They are on a fishing trip to see if you'll cop to something stupid. Do stand your ground, neither would cause any damage to anything but the particulate filter, which I doublt would trigger a CEL. By paying, and agreeing their homemade diagnosis, you now may void your entire engine warranty.

If they have a sample, and have tested it, they know what it is. If they (Booga, Booga!) "have a sample", and it is either biodiesel or LSD, they have not tested it. They are trying you on.

If it's a clogged filter, OK. If not, why are they making up stories about what they found in your tank? (and/or what caused the bad filter. How could they know that? It's not a sulphur filter...idiots!)

Call MBUSA.

BlownV8

Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking too.

Kaumajet

Here's the aviation accident investigator in me coming out...

Get the sample.

Ask for the old filter.

Bring them to Shell, Exxon, Chevron, or better yet - Caterpillar or another independent Diesel purveyor or OEM, and ask them to analyze both.

You'll find out two things:

a) If the fuel in your tank was the culprit, which makes it easy to make the decision on whether or not to pursue it with the last vendor.

b) If the filter was actually clogged / degraded, and with what.

Hurry up.

StevethePilot

My apologies, Kent, I wasn't trying to imply that I thought they were ripping me off, rather trying to head off someone else suggesting it.

The whole procedure is a pain in the ****, and having that on my mechanical record for the vehicle isn't something I'm looking forward to. Should the engine fail at any point now, no matter the cause, it could be denied due to apparant improper fuel use.

STP

StevethePilot

Okay. Tomorrow I pick up the vehicle, I ask for the filter and the sample. They clearly stated to me that they do not have a lab and so don't know what the fuel is. What they had is a code of bad fuel, combined with a clogged filter.

I will get it tested. Unfortunately, I'm out of town for two weeks starting Sunday.

STP

Stumblefoot

Hang in there Pilot. It's certainly always discomforting when something goes awry, but even more so when it happens to one's wife. I imagine it gave Barb quite a scare since she went through the turbo hose issue too as I remember.

Have a safe trip wherever your headed for the next couple of weeks!

StevethePilot

There was a full bar drop in fuel pressure from before to after the filter.

They've sent in the fuel "sample" for testing, their expense. At this point, I consider it "fixed." I can't tell who had what for my "contamination" and I probably never will.