Help please! Contaminated Fuel 2021 E300 Coupe

[dallman]

Hi All

My partners new E300 coupe broke down 4 weeks ago on the Motorway just 4 weeks after delivery. The Mercedes recovery service took the car to the nearest dealership where it has been ever since. Yesterday the dealership rang to say that the car needed an new engine and that they'd tested the fuel and it contained 19.6% diesel and as it had been 'misfuelled', the new engine was not covered under warranty and we would have to pay for the engine. After the initial shock we went back to find out how on earth this could have happened. Here's what we know so far:

• The car was last filled with petrol (full tank) 7 days prior to it breaking down at a Shell Garage. It was used daily on both A roads and Motorways between filling up and breaking down and had just under a half a tank when the car was recovered
• It is not possible to mis-fuel the car as the diesel nozzle can't fit in to the petrol cap...besides this we have never had diesel cars so would not have made the mistake anyway!
• We have evidence that the correct fuel was put in to the vehicle 7 days before breakdown
• We have contacted the petrol station to start an investigation in to potential contaminated fuel but 19.6% diesel seems like too much to be contaminated (is it?)

All of the websites that I go on tell me that the car would not have lasted 7 days with that level of diesel in - does anyone know any different?
If we can't find evidence of contaminated fuel from the Petrol station we have no idea where to turn as we have no idea where the diesel has come from...the dealership accused my partner of filling the car with a Jerry can...why on earth would that happen????

If anyone has any advice on what we might be able to do it would be greatly appreciated...something just doesn't add up and we feel like we are being treated really poorly by the dealership. They are now pushing us to agree to pay for the new engine and have removed the hire car they had provided to us whilst they investigated the fault. We really do not know where to turn and are questioning whether the diesel has been planted as we can't work out where the diesel has come from.

Thanks in Advance

 

[mioba]

other way round is more a killer for an engine (petrol in diesel).

I would be inclined to get the car to an indy and do a full drain of the tank, replace filters and refill with petrol and take it from there,

MB dont get involved in this nitty gritty taking things apart, its not thier model. Replace and be done with it, is how they go.

 

[tonysmb]

New, as in brand new? Mileage on delivery, how much fuel in tank when delivered? How 'delivered' , transporter or driven, ie did the dealer put any fuel in it?

 

[A.J.]

New, as in brand new? Mileage on delivery, how much fuel in tank when delivered? How 'delivered' , transporter or driven, ie did the dealer put any fuel in it?

Indeed, was the car new as in brand new. If it was used then there could be the answer the OP is looking for maybe. Error made by previous owner ?

 

[SpikyMikey]

Irrespective of how the fuel got in there ( if indeed it did) ,surely it would have smoked like crazy running on diesel?

 

[merc estate]

Jesus good luck with it

 

[dallman]

Indeed, was the car new as in brand new. If it was used then there could be the answer the OP is looking for maybe. Error made by previous owner ?

Yes the car was brand new, delivered by being driven by a delivery company as it is on a lease through Mercedes finance and ordered through Mercedes Edinburgh. The delivery company have been contacted but they are saying that its impossible for diesel to be added to a petrol vehicle due to the nozzle size.

 

[dallman]

Irrespective of how the fuel got in there ( if indeed it did) ,surely it would have smoked like crazy running on diesel?

No Smoke at all which is why Its so baffling.

 

[Teego]

Can you get an independennt RAC or AA report before any work is done?
What about error codes?

 

[dallman]

Can you get an independennt RAC or AA report before any work is done?
What about error codes?

The RAC went out to it yesterday and confirmed that there is Diesel in the tank. There were no errors or warnings on the Dash just making an almighty noise.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Sounds like a complete nightmare. Hope you get it sorted and keep us posted

 

[oldguy57]

One thing I would do is to contact Shell by phone. We had a problem when filling a diesel at a Shell station years ago and breaking down almost immediately. Shell monitor complaints about contaminated fuel at all outlets.
Have you retained receipts of all the fuel you have purchased - could provide a bit of evidence against misfuelling, particularly if you can show fuel usage is commensurate with mileage covered. 20% diesel is a hell of a percentage and could only have been introduced recently. What an awful predicament to be in.

 

[dallman]

One thing I would do is to contact Shell by phone. We had a problem when filling a diesel at a Shell station years ago and breaking down almost immediately. Shell monitor complaints about contaminated fuel at all outlets.
Have you retained receipts of all the fuel you have purchased - could provide a bit of evidence against misfuelling, particularly if you can show fuel usage is commensurate with mileage covered. 20% diesel is a hell of a percentage and could only have been introduced recently. What an awful predicament to be in.

Thank you. We contacted Shell Customer Services and they told us to speak to the Manager at the station in question. My other half thinks that a receipt could be inside the car that is at the dealership. We have pinpointed the transaction on our bank statement so hoping that this can be tracked back. The high percentage is what I really can't get my head around as you wouldn't expect a 'contamination' to be anywhere near that high...also if this did come from the shell garage there should be numerous other vehicles in the same predicament! I've even looked to see if the diesel would float on the top of the petrol and somehow that is how the large percentage has come about however my research shows that the two would mix together.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Every single pump at most petrol stations has its own dedicated camera pointing at the car , mainly to log 'drive away's 'as staff are told not to chase them . These are obviously linked to a date time stamp.

The big questions are . How long do the recordings get stored for and what chance would a man in the street get at looking through the footage. ? You would need all of the receipts from all of the refuels since you had the car which would tie up with miles driven via a rough MPG calculation .

Mis fuelling from a Jerry can is a possibility , your word against theirs on that one I'm afraid.

Petrol stations have been known to put the wrong fuel in the bunker but it is rare and normally makes the news when 50 cars break down within a ten mile radius of the station.

An odd one for sure and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[KennyN]

Is it possible the delivery company had to put some fuel in it prior to delivery , being a brand new car they put the fuel in it from a can so as not to add to the mileage. They may have thought it was a diesel and stuck in a gallon or two ??

K

 

[SarahAnn200]

The delivery company have been contacted but they are saying that its impossible for diesel to be added to a petrol vehicle due to the nozzle size.

Charming how the delivery company can brush it off by saying the misfuel can't be done due to nozzle size but you can't say the same and MB are expecting you to pay for a new engine.
It's a nightmare. I hope you get it sorted in your favour.

 

[Bellow]

the car needed an new engine

What is the exact failure. Which parts failed/broke, eg piston, valves, etc?

The RAC went out to it yesterday and confirmed that there is Diesel in the tank. There were no errors or warnings on the Dash just making an almighty noise.

Can you describe the noise? Was it present at all times or only during certain driving circumstances eg, accelerating?
When did it appear, for how long was it driven thus before breakdown?
What were the symptoms accompanying the breakdown?

 

[KennyN]

Unfortunately there are only two realistic possibilities , if you haven't put diesel in it yourself , which you clearly did not :

The delivery company mis-fueled the car prior to delivery , impossible to prove.

There has been a mechanical engine failure and MB are passing the buck and blaming the diesel by "planting" some in the tank as the culprit , very unlikely and uber risky for the dealership should they get rumbled.

Sorry to say but it looks like a big bill looming , unfortunately.

If the car did arrive at the dealership with diesel in the tank , caused by the delivery company or from the Shell station , then i wouldn`t be expecting MB to be picking up the tab for the repair.

K

 

[dallman]

Is it possible the delivery company had to put some fuel in it prior to delivery , being a brand new car they put the fuel in it from a can so as not to add to the mileage. They may have thought it was a diesel and stuck in a gallon or two ??

K

unfortunately the car was delivered driven by a driver and he called en route to say he was refuelling at a services on the motorway and let us know an ETA. The car arrived with around 160 miles on the clock as it was driven from a port. The car arrived filthy and had a dent in the side panel along with a mark on the cream headlining! not a good start at all!

 

[KennyN]

unfortunately the car was delivered driven by a driver and he called en route to say he was refuelling at a services on the motorway and let us know an ETA. The car arrived with around 160 miles on the clock as it was driven from a port. The car arrived filthy and had a dent in the side panel along with a mark on the cream headlining! not a good start at all!

- when you mentioned delivery company i thought it may have came on the back of a transporter to keep the "new" mileage to a minimum.

K