Thread: Oh ****, petrol in the D4!

I would be pursuing the faulty misfuel device warranty claim avenue. Either the misfuel device is there to stop misfueling and in your case it didn't - so it's faulty or the thing isn't fit for purpose - so then there is a consumer law avenue.
Also where in the warranty does it say warranty will be void on future failure of a component because it was misfuelled? Either the component has been damaged and needs replacing or it hasn't and is fit for purpose and the warranty needs to be honoured. Just my annoyed 2c worth. How can the fuel system cost more than the engine?

Originally Posted by Fitzy2011

I put 40 litres of unleaded to fill my tank in my D3 and it stopped within 12klms. I had it towed and had it drained, fuel lines flushed, new filter and it ran for about a month, but then the High Pressure Fuel Pump died. All up about $2200.00 and then no more problems. I ran it for another 30,000 before I sold it but it ran like a dream. Do more investigation before agreeing to that sort of money!

What's to say the misfuel lead to the hpfp failure? It may have been going to fail anyway?

Originally Posted by Bytemrk

Before I considered the pro's and con's of different solutions to the problem , I'd be seeking at least 1 second opinion to confirm the initial diagnosis.

Yep definitely get 2nd opinion if you can. Years ago I asked Subaru dealer about a bit of a noise the missus thought the wrx engine was making - $4000 later new big end bearings... Thing was it sounded the same to me when I got it back, and I'm not sure what they looked like new but I couldn't see any signs of damage on the old bearings .

Originally Posted by Meken

What's to say the misfuel lead to the hpfp failure? It may have been going to fail anyway?

The most damage will be to the HPFP because petrol does not lubricate the pump. The injectors are less likely to have suffered damage but may still end-up having to be changed.

Mojo,

You haven't said where you are with the vehicle. In most cases, the first step is to drain the fuel, flush new fuel through the system, and then replace the fuel filter. My D4 has had this occur twice. In the first instance, we realised what had occurred, and the vehicle was not run with the petrol in the tank. The second instance, the D4 made it to my driveway, and then wouldn't start. I quick question and answer with the wife, and a good sniff of the fuel tank confirmed the worst. We drained the fuel etc, as above, and have had no further issues. In discussion with the dealer, they indicated that they see it all the time, from VW's, LR's, BM's Mercs etc. Very rarely does it result in any serious mechanical issue. The modern diesel does seem to be more durable than we give it credit. It seems running the vehicle long term with a petrol diluted diesel in the tank will do some damage. If it stops it saves further damage.

Originally Posted by Fitzy2011

I put 40 litres of unleaded to fill my tank in my D3 and it stopped within 12klms. I had it towed and had it drained, fuel lines flushed, new filter and it ran for about a month, but then the High Pressure Fuel Pump died. All up about $2200.00 and then no more problems. I ran it for another 30,000 before I sold it but it ran like a dream. Do more investigation before agreeing to that sort of money!

We had a similar experience, except it was almost a full tank and the missus only got a kilometer down the road.

We had the fuel system drained and cleaned and thought we got away with it, but about 20,000 kms later the high pressure fuel pump died. Our spanner twirler is pretty sure the pump died prematurely as a result of the mis-fuel. Fortunatley we were due for a major service changing all the belts etc, so doing it at the same time meant the repair didn't cost as much (relatively speaking).

Originally Posted by Graeme

The most damage will be to the HPFP because petrol does not lubricate the pump. The injectors are less likely to have suffered damage but may still end-up having to be changed.

I agree with Graeme. During the redesign phase of the Euro IV HPFP front bearing on D3 - the outcome is that there are shards of metal sent from the HPFP - through to injectors... and there is also a fuel return line to tank, where the metal returns. I had HPFP replaced several times... the last couple included replacing injectors. The very last repair replaced the whole fuel system - tank to injectors, both pumps, cooler, etc. That was a $17k warranty job about 6 years ago!

Good luck Mojo!

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

If the only issue is it's hard to start ..... Just drain the sucker, change the filters and bleed fresh fuel through ..... Why replace anything unless it's proven broken

yep - do this first - the BIL just done something similar and he drained the whole system changed the filters put some new diesel in it , started it up and it sounded like a bag of nails , took it for a drive and it settled down.
cheers,
D