Diesel was pumped into my gasoline engine 2016 Subaru outback. I’m being told that the entire fuel system needs to be replaced including the tank. Is this correct?
First question. Who did it?
Normally I see “I did it”. But not here
Told by who ? The shop that you had it towed to after it quit running or just ramdom people .
Normaly the wrong fuel is just drained from the fuel tank and the fuel lines flushed and the proper fuel put in .
1 Like
The Subaru dealership that I had my car towed to. It’s where I purchased my car and where I’ve done all of my service and repair work.
A dealership is going to replace those parts because they do not want a return complaint . An independent shop will be more willing to clean the tank and lines so the choice is yours.
Who put the wrong fuel in ?
1 Like
It was a mixup at the Sam’s Club. Diesel fuel was pumped into the unleaded tank. Consumers pumped diesel into their tanks from Friday night till Monday morning a week and a half ago. Right now I’m fighting with Walmart claims to pay for the repair. They’re telling me it’s an exuberant amount and I don’t wanna pay.
1 Like
Which means that nothing anyone says on a web Forum will have any bearing on the outcome of this problem.
1 Like
In most cases the fee to remove diesel fuel from a vehicle will cost $500 to $1000. Your dealer wants to collect $6,000 to replace the fuel system, that is excessive. Tow the vehicle to a different repair shop.
5 Likes
Sams club admits fault. But won’t fix car. Hmm. I bet they weren’t exuberent.
3 Likes
I doubt if Sams Club is refusing to solve the mistake fuel . But they also know that the repair this dealer wants to do is unessasary replacement.
2 Likes
What were the symptoms? In other words, how did you discover this problem? If the engine stalled soon after the fill-up and car had to be towed to a shop, pretty unlikely the entire fuel system will require replacement. I’d start by draining the tank, fill half-full of gasoline, then run the fuel pump to pump gasoline through the fuel line to the fuel rail, and out to a container. Then replace the fuel filter. This should eliminate most of the diesel fuel in the system. I expect at that point the engine will run normally. This could take 4 to 5 hours of shop labor, so expect a pretty hefty bill, but much less than replacing the entire fuel system.
There is one more consideration however. If unlucky this could have damaged the cat. So make sure part of the process is a shop assessment of the cat function.
1 Like
My opinion is that getting the fuel system cleaned out should be sufficient. (This wouldn’t be the case if things were the other way around with gas being put into a diesel car.)
2 Likes
Did you try starting the engine after the diesel was pumped in?
Makes a big difference.
https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/what-happens-if-you-put-diesel-in-a-gasoline-car
Tester
The car was actually ran for two days before I found out there was diesel pumped into the tank. The car was smoking and sputtering.
Ya better have good justification for replacing things like injectors, pump, tank etc. I can’t see it myself. Otoh, it will be hard for Walmart to argue in court that a dealership is wrong and they are right.
Back in the early diesel days my dad worked part time at the olds caddy dealer. It was very common for people to put gas in their diesel caddy. The result was very expensive repairs to the fuel system since gas is not a lubricant. Diesel in gas is another matter though and outside of the car stalling, should not need more than purging the diesel.
Tester
The station tank probably had a mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel in their tank, you would not have been able to start a cold engine on diesel fuel.
I have drained diesel fuel from many gasoline cars, when they are driven on diesel fuel until the engine stalls, it is usually because the spark plugs are fouled, diesel fuel is oily.
Replacing the spark plugs in your car should take about 2 hours.
Not to argue with mr injector but I have had the on car injector cleaner done and seemed quite satisfactory. Like I said though it would be hard for Walmart to argue with what the dealer said was necessary but I would certainly question the need for replacing the whole system. It will be on you dime though while you argue the case. Hard to argue with nevadas experience.
What does Sam’s Club propose to solve this problem?
Seems like they already accepted responsibility but are just arguing over the price. One guy takes it to joes garage and the other takes it to a dealer. So they want to argue that Joe knows better than the dealer. Maybe unnecessary parts but how ya gonna say Joe knew more than the dealer?
As two old lawyers told me when we were discussing a $50 increase in my salary, they told the prostitute story. You know, we’ve already determined what you are, just haggling over the price. Yeah, no sale. Bye guys, find someone cheap.
1 Like