Do I have any recourse for getting a tank of bad gas?

[IcedCoffee]

@Hedgehog_Mom - thank you - very informative post. I figured that we were not the only ones who got bad gas at that time but wasn't sure if the gas station would EVER admit to it - but it sounds like they may be decent about it, from what you said. I'll head down there this weekend, paperwork in tow, and see what they have to say.

[Jay_F]

If the gasoline was truly bad (not doubting you), BP or the station will take care of the repair. Most/all major brands have an explicit warranty for the quality of their fuels, and state in writing that any damage done because of their fuels is covered. Email BP and let them know what happened, then call them to file a complaint.

Another option would be to contact weights and measures for the county. Not only do they make sure you get the correct amount for the price paid, they can also investigate quality issues. I think it would be well worth a call to them to get the ball rolling.

Allegheny County Controller' s Office - Weights and Measures Division

Good luck!

[IcedCoffee]

@Jay_F - thank you. i guess the real mystery is if the dealership was correct in telling us that it was bad fuel. i mean, the receipt we got said so, but for all we know, they could be lying. although i don't know what their motivation would be for doing so...

[greg42]

Well, the dealer's motivation for lying would be that they did not want to cover the cost of repairing your fuel pump. (which was presumably otherwise under warranty if the truck is that new)

It is interesting, though, that if it were bad gas last weekend it hasn't made the news somehow. Usually issues like that get some play, but maybe not. If people contact the station, and the station says okay and works with them, maybe that's enough.

It doesn't really make sense to me that bad gas would damage the fuel pump though. It makes a lot more sense that the fuel pump being bad is why your car didn't start. But. I am of course not an expert on the possible damage of bad gas so there's nothing really conclusive to be made of my thoughts along these lines.

So if the dealer actually wrote up the receipt with saying the stuff was replaced due to bad gas, I suppose we can take them at their word. (Pretty brazen if they actually put that on the receipt when it's false.) Which means take that down to the gas station or maybe call them and find out who you should talk to. Because the likelihood that there's a manager on site that can do anything useful may be pretty small, especially on a weekend. So calling during the week and finding out someone to talk to might be best. Or call BP corporate and maybe they have a procedure for this.

Good luck.

[Jay_F]

Originally Posted by IcedCoffee

@Jay_F - thank you. i guess the real mystery is if the dealership was correct in telling us that it was bad fuel. i mean, the receipt we got said so, but for all we know, they could be lying. although i don't know what their motivation would be for doing so...

Welcome.

Bad fuel vs dealer honesty/competency might be an issue. Not that I have seen it all, but I was a multi brand dealership service manager, vehicle technician, and service writer amongst other auto related employment, and I exclusively repair/perform maintenance on every car I have ever owned to include clutch replacement, major engine repair, brakes, water pumps, AC/HVAC, timing belts, struts, bearings.... So, here is my take from someone I think people who I served, would say I was 100% upfront and honest with them.

Depending on the fuel pump, there is a fine mesh screen that is over the intake of the pump. This is only a basic debris/sediment screening device, not an actual filter which is very far up the lines, usually in the engine bay. The filters job is to protect the injectors who have extremely fine holes where the fuel is metered; the fine mesh screen on the pump is to prevent damage to the pump by debris introduction. Prior to injectors, the filter helped to prevent very fine orifices "jets" in a carburetor from becoming clogged. Now, since the actual in tank pump used with a lot of fuel injected vehicles actually relies on the fuel to cool, and lubricate the pump, severe blockage of the intake screen can cause failure, or cause an already weak pump to fail. FWIW, Your engines lubrication system is very similar with regard to a screen on the oil pickup tube going from the oil pump, and an actual filter doing its job before the oil goes on its way to the critical engine parts.

It would take a lot of gunk to plug up this fuel pump screen at one shot, and the effect could be cumulative (like plaque buildup over the years, then one day (((BAM))), Myocardial infarction). Water itself if briefly in the tank and not in huge quantities should not cause pump failure, and for years, a product called "HEET" was expressly made to help with water in the fuel situation:

Amazon.com: HEET 28201 Gas-Line Antifreeze and Water Remover - 12 Fl oz.: Automotive



Unfortunately, some dealerships/garages will pad the bill out of greed, and some will change out everything failure related, simply because experience has taught them that it seems a curse that sure enough when they decided to keep the pump, a week later it fails. Now their reputation is tarnished, and they have an angry misinformed customer telling everyone you are a crook, even if the pump failed because of reasons totally by chance/unrelated to the initial problem. It can be a balancing act where you want to do the least possible because the customer truly can not afford it, but you also don't want to have an angry customer cussing you/your business out because a part failed that was not a result of repair negligence, and they wanted to save a few $$$.

After awhile, it becomes a matter of it will take "x" to do the repair with everything written out upfront, simply because of what I have mentioned above. I leaned my lesson early fixing friends/family cars who wanted to go cheap say with timing belts and clutch jobs... If I am going to be removing your transmission/tear down the end of your engine to replace the timing belt, every wear related part is replaced, or their is no warranty. Sounds harsh, until the well used throw out bearing goes on the clutch job, and now the whole transmission has to be removed again. One last thing I wanted to make sure I asked, does the bill mention removal/complete flushing of the tank with the pump replacement? If not, they truly did rip you off and it must be addressed, especially considering the situation at hand, and reason for replacement.

Did not meant to write a book, and vehicle repair is truly one of the most frustrating parts of human existence for the people needing it, and the people who perform it. Please feel free to PM me if you think I can be of service concerning your problem; be glad to help.

Good luck!

[IcedCoffee]

@Jay-F

Wow, thank you again! I really appreciate you taking so much time to explain the fuel filter and car maintenance in general. What happened was the service manager did not tell Ford that the fuel pump had to be relplaced due to bad gas, just that it needed to be replaced. Therefore it was covered under warranty. The $200 bill was for removal of the fuel tank and flushing of the system. All of this, including the fuel pump replacement, was included on the bill. At first, they just flushed the system, and the truck did run (improvement over it not even starting up) but according to the service manager it was still having issues on their test drive. So they replaced the fuel pump at that point.

I figure if something else goes wrong we can always take it to a different Ford dealer because it's still under warranty (it's only 4 mos old!) and see what they have to say.


You're right, vehicle repair is frustrating for both parties involved!

[Jay_F]

Originally Posted by IcedCoffee

@Jay-F

Wow, thank you again! I really appreciate you taking so much time to explain the fuel filter and car maintenance in general. What happened was the service manager did not tell Ford that the fuel pump had to be relplaced due to bad gas, just that it needed to be replaced. Therefore it was covered under warranty. The $200 bill was for removal of the fuel tank and flushing of the system. All of this, including the fuel pump replacement, was included on the bill. At first, they just flushed the system, and the truck did run (improvement over it not even starting up) but according to the service manager it was still having issues on their test drive. So they replaced the fuel pump at that point.

I figure if something else goes wrong we can always take it to a different Ford dealer because it's still under warranty (it's only 4 mos old!) and see what they have to say.


You're right, vehicle repair is frustrating for both parties involved!

Very welcome, and I hope you are able to have the the party responsible for the tainted fuel, pay the $200 you had to spend to flush the tank.

[frogpond5]

I just put 3/4 tank I bought from BJ's today and it's having severe issues. I filled the rest with high octane from a different station to dilute it and it seems to have helped. I read online that BJ's suffers from overly high ethanol content. Could that cause issues of sputtering and stalling?