Bad fuel destroyed entire fuel system!?

After having intermittent problems starting my car (as i describe here) I towed my car to the dealer for them to diagnose.

They told me they tested my fuel and it's bad diesel, which destroyed most of my fuel system, including the fuel pump, injectors, filter, etc.

They said the fuel in the tank failed the "residue test" and the "chemical imbalance" test.

They said that parts alone will cost over $3200, and suggested I make an insurance claim on it. And of course, they won't consider the buyback until the car is running.

It's a 2011 Jetta with 97,000 miles on it. Has anybody ever heard of a problem like this? Any suggestions on an alternate course of action?

Thanks

Your HPFP (High Pressure Fuel Pump) failed. very common. Its the weak point in the system. When it fails it sends metal fragments all through the system. The standard dealer response is that it was your fault. They have done this to many people and gotten away with it. Some have even speculated that dishonest dealers might charge you and charge VW for the warranty getting paid twice.

Tell them you want to see the test results. The dealer test is to put some fuel in a bottle or Styrofoam cup and say "see it looks funny" This is not a real test for fuel contamination per VW. You have a 10 year 120,000 mile warranty on the HPFP and if they want to deny warranty it has to be a real test. the test will take several days to get results back from a certified lab. If they told you within hours you had bad fuel that caused the damage they are using the Styrofoam cup test.

If you did get some bad fuel then you might get some insurance relief if you have full coverage. If not you can get the work done much less expensive from your own shop outside the dealer. Find the trusted mechanics list on the top of the 101 section.

You might have to push them to get the results you deserve. Sometimes just showing you know all about the HPFP problems and warranty will back them down a bit on trying to bully you into believing this is your fault.

Good luck.

They have been covering HPFP failures under a goodwill warranty extension, which your car should fall under. 10 years, 120k miles.

There are several TSBs about this, nothing new, although the newest TSB is only about a year old (# 2317-06).

Call VW customer care. No idea why dealers screw with people, but they do. Sad.

Thanks guys. I showed up at the dealer shop today intending to stick it to them. I insisted that this is a HPFP failure, and that it is covered under the extended warranty.

They denied it, and told me "I would love to have VW cover this repair, but they make us test the fuel first, and your fuel failed the test so they won't cover it."

I stayed persistent, and eventually got them to take a sample and test it right in front of me. He pulled out a testing kit that apparently VW supplies them with, and just as he had told me, the fuel failed the test which uses a sensor to test for gasoline contaminants. (After it passed the particulate and density tests). (see picture)

I still don't trust that they didn't simply add gasoline to my tank, but there's no way I can prove it. (Nor do I trust the VW testing mechanism). They suggested making an insurance claim or contacting the gas station.
It doesn't seem like I have much leverage with either the dealer or the gas station, so I'll probably try for an insurance claim and eat the $1000 deductible unless anybody has any better suggestions. I hate to let them get away with this....

Call customer care. Seriously, they have been covering this no questions asked. I know of two people that came through here that VoA covered, without any issues. Well, one was an Audi, but still...

If I have a HPFP failure.... #1) I keep fuel log and keep all my fuel receipts.#2 I take my own sample before bringing it to the dealer and also
DEMAND they use it or take the sample in front of me when I drop it off. If it fails I will take that fuel and have independent lab test it.

I just changed my oil after my emission MOD in February. 3 of the 12 screws were missing in the belly pan. I am very picky, do my own
oil changes and know all fasteners where in when I brought it in. Some of them were loose. Ridiculous poor workmanship of dealers.

I don't trust dealers. They told me my 2010 JSW engine was bad 4.5 years ago and they'd replace it with a used engine for $12K-$15K
(and they keep the old engine). That was late 2013 and the car was not worth that. I took the car from the dealer, got my own used very
low miles replacement engine (1000 miles from a 2013 TDI), had it installed by a independent VW shop, and once old engine was out,
I tested compression and found all 4 jugs good! WHAT? I removed head and sent it to shop. It was good! it was not damaged from timing
belt fouling by accessory belt, so they assumed there was valve damage. I sued and won. I now have a 2013 engine with 50K miles less
than my original engine in my 2010. It cost me about $6,500. I sold off the original long block and accessories and came out a little ahead,
but spent 100's of hours of dealing with it, including getting a lawyer and paying him. They never tested it. Also the car was still under
extended CPO warranty (by a month and 1000 miles). They denied it. Bottom line I had to sue them. Now with the settlement payout of
$1000 plus $5000 and extended warranty, I am pretty happy.

I just changed engine oil/filter, DSG oil/filter, fuel filter, rotated tires and about to go on a road trip of about 2000 miles. The Sportwagen
is so nice for camping or sleeping in the back in a pinch... I am looking forward to it. Before VW came out with fix, I bought a used 2015
Nissan Leaf to commute to and from work and run errands late last year. I had the VW fix done in February and have not driven my TDI
much since I got the Nissan. It will be fun to get Heidi back on the road and let her run free... which is what these cars do so well. Since
the car is paid for, under warranty and my Nissan is only good for about 90 miles before charging, I'm keeping my TDI indefinitely or at
least the foreseeable future.

The last time I drove this vacation trip I got +50mpg both ways. However I suspect with the modification I will not get that. However even
mid 40's MPG is still pretty awesome.

Went back and forth with customer care for a few days, they assigned a regional case manager on it who just contacted the shop where the car is at and stuck with their story that VW won't cover the pump since I have "gasoline residue" in my fuel. They won't budge.

I think I'm screwed.

Don’t know that my thought process will help you but here’s what I got - I took my new to me fixed 2013 to my dealer and told them I wanted to know everything about the “test” they do after a HPFP failure. They declined to elaborate too much but it checks out with what’s been said here. My next question was how can they offer the dieselgate warranty to me (a downstream purchaser) and then potentially deny it because of the actions of the initial purchaser? He looked at me funny and said it made no sense. I said well, say the prior owner contaminated the fuel tank and then I get screwed later - answer was that couldn’t happen. The recovering attorney in me said that would only be a silly fear IF VW checked every single tank the day each fixed car left the giant lots and came to find their respective new owners - there is absolutely no way they did that - they fixed the emissions as best they could, slapped a big fat new warranty on the whole fuel system, and then put them back into the stream of commerce. Sounds like you aren’t a new (as in newly fixed but not original purchaser) purchaser, so maybe this reasoning may not apply to you, but it sounds like you’re bummed and I thought maybe this could help. Hang in there and fight it. Tweet at VW - often.


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I can't see the picture posted with the sample results.

That VW testing device was originally only intended to be used to determine which samples should be sent off to a certified lab for definitive testing. I'd insist that they have a sample tested at such a lab.

cliballe said:

I can't see the picture posted with the sample results.

Click to expand...

I just updated the picture url - hopefully it works for you now.

turbobrick240 said:

That VW testing device was originally only intended to be used to determine which samples should be sent off to a certified lab for definitive testing. I'd insist that they have a sample tested at such a lab.

Click to expand...

Is the fuel testing procedure written in the HPFP warranty? I guess I could ask for a 3rd party test, but it seems like they could easily add some gasoline into the sample they send out in order to match their results if they haven't already...

The techs at the dealership really don't have any incentive to doctor the sample- but I suppose nothing is impossible. There probably is language somewhere citing a certified lab analysis is required to deny warranty coverage.

turbobrick240 said:

The techs at the dealership really don't have any incentive to doctor the sample- but I suppose nothing is impossible. There probably is language somewhere citing a certified lab analysis is required to deny warranty coverage.

Click to expand...

A mechanic I know suggested that the shop possibly tested a sample of good diesel, intending to use that to collect on the VW warranty, and then contaminated the diesel so they could also collect from my insurance company.

Who knows...

ooopie said:

A mechanic I know suggested that the shop possibly tested a sample of good diesel, intending to use that to collect on the VW warranty, and then contaminated the diesel so they could also collect from my insurance company.
Who knows...

Click to expand...

That's imposable. A salesmen once told me that VW techs are VW certified and of such high integrity they they would never even dream of falsifying a CPO inspection checklist. This was after I asked for the maintenance records of a car because the CPO checklist indicated that all scheduled maintenance had been performed. The only record they could come up with was that in 68K miles, only one oil change had been performed.

So as you can see, that they your assumption that they bent you over and drove you all the way to Cincinnati is just preposterous.