Need help please

[tile]

Hi guys I need some input or info on a problem I have.


I have a 08 3500 chevy box van with about 13,000 miles on it.

I stopped and filled up my gas tank on fri. On the way home, about 26 miles the van start's running bad no power, bad idle and so on. The light in the dash comes on and stays on.

So today I take it in to the Chevrolet dealer and he calls me back to tell me that I have a tank full of junk & water and I know its not covered under Chevrolet warranty.

So its out of my pocket and its at a tune of $1,100.00
They have to drop the tank, flush the fuel system and clean the injectors.

Now can I go back to the store with proof of all this and try to get them to reimburse me for the money that I have to payout or do I go to small claims court?

And how do I prove the it was the stores gas? I still have the receipt.


Ron.

 

[EddieWalker]

Every gas station has an inspection or calibration sticker on the pump from a government agency. They make sure that the pumps are accurate and you are getting what you paid for. They are also in charge of the fuel that the gas station sells. The very first thing that I would do is to find out who that is in your state and give them a call. Tell them what happened and what are you options. I've found that it's just about a total waste of time to approach the business who is responsible for a problem, but it's always very beneficial to approach that business's governing authority. The business will probably complain about not being given a chance to fix it or make it right, but it's doubtful that they will if you go to them first. If you go to the government authority, it's likely that they will test that fuel before doing anything else. Once that's done, you have a very solid case in small claims court. Getting paid is another thing altogether, but at least you should be able to win the case fairly easily.

Document everything.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

First of all the dealer stuck it to you. The fuel filter should have stoped anything before it got to the injectors. If you have a 34gal tank and put 30 gal in it it wont be hard to argue the point however if you only put in 15 gal they will blame it on the previous station. You may also want to call your insurance company and see if they will cover it if you have road service.
Bill

 

[charlz]

I read a similar thread on another forum. Only it was with the guys boat. I am curious if the tanker truck there delivering gas or just leaving as you were filling up? Supposedly water builds up in the bottoms of the service station tanks, periodically they have this water pumped out. If the tanker is there filling the tanks and the water layer is high it can stir all of it together and you get water along with your gas. Not sure how true this is but sounds somewhat plausible.

 

[cowboy357]

I Would Check with the Station, I Doubt You Were the Only one that Received bad Gas from There . They Have Insurance for Such Things that Could help Cover Your Costs if there Were Enough Complaints .

They also Have Filters on Each Pump ( At least around here ) that Should Catch it Before the Fuel coming out is not contaminated . If There not replaced Frequentlly enough it can Cause the Contamination .

If You Get No Response from the Station & They said They have had No other Complaints Your Probablly out of Luck .

But I,ve seen People post Every once in awhile On Craigslist under the General Section , Asking Others if They Had the Same Issues at Said Station on a Specified Date & I Couldn,t Beleive how Many Replys They Received . No Clue If They Were all Legit or not, But it Couldn,t hurt as a Last Resort . Best of Luck. Bob

 

[Nat]

I'd have to agree with cowboy.
I filled the tank on my Dodge Diesel and with 20 miles the 'WATER IN FUEL' light came on. I drained the fuel filter and saw muddy water. I repeated the process several times that day and always got muddy water. I took it to the dealer who removed the tank, lines, and fuel filter. They got over a gallon of water out of a 36 gal. tank of diesel. I went straight to the station and told them what happened. The owner wrote me a check for the cost of repairs, say I was the 4th person that had water in the fuel' He had already called and had the supplier pump the fuel out , and had to have some regrading done because of drainage issues. Maybe yours has the same problem. later, Nat

 

[tile]

First of all the dealer stuck it to you. The fuel filter should have stoped anything before it got to the injectors. If you have a 34gal tank and put 30 gal in it it wont be hard to argue the point however if you only put in 15 gal they will blame it on the previous station. You may also want to call your insurance company and see if they will cover it if you have road service.
Bill

Would I not need a Fuel Filter/Water Separator or will a fuel filter alone stop water from getting into the injectors.



I pumped about 28 gal into my tank that day on the fill up and its a 32-34 gal tank.
Going to get the paper work Monday or Tuesday then go on from there.


charlz I did not see the tanker when I was there but they could of just left the station.

cowboy357 I will do the Craigslist thing can not hurt.

Thanks for the info guys.

Ron.

 

[George2615]

Would I not need a Fuel Filter/Water Separator or will a fuel filter alone stop water from getting into the injectors.



Yes, you would need an inline water separator. Fuel filter will stop dirt and various contaminants but not water.

Since you still have the receipt showing your purchase of fuel I would try and talk to the store manager about reimbursement for your damages.
The station filter should have stopped contaminants from entering your tank. If it did not and stuff got in your tank then your filter should have stopped it before the injectors. Probably just needs a tank and fuel line clean out. Replace filter, refuel with good fuel, bleed system and go.

 

[DieselPower]

Like has already been said, the only thing the filter is going to stop is solid particle type debris, not water. Once the water separator portion of the filter is filled with water it will just pass through the filter.

Having worked at truck dealerships over the years you would probably be surprised how bad fuel can look. I remember a situation like this once on a Ford diesel. The fuel actually looked orange like Tang orange drink (you know, the stuff they sent into space). I had never before and have never since seen fuel that looked so bad. It destroyed a set of injectors in the 7.3L Powerstroke. After removing the tank, flushing it and all the fuel lines, draining and flushing the fuel rails in the cylinder head and refilling with known good fuel it would start but ran horribly and failed the injector cut out test on most cylinders. The customer had to pay for it out of pocket since it wasn't something that warranty would not cover and ended up suing the fuel station to get reimbursed for the repair. He did however win the court case.