Dealer Service Dept States Unleaded Gas Found In Fuel Tank

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Goose55

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My 2019 3500 6.7 High Output with only 5,200 miles on it was yesterday found to have unleaded fuel in the fuel tank and the service advisor brought me a plastic bottle with about a cup of what they say was found in the tank. He asked me to smell it and I was not sure what I was smelling. They state it will be about a $900 repair to disconnect and clean out the tank and fuel system including 2 new fuel filters. My most worrisome thought is this will show up on any Car Facts search of the vin and if I were to ever sell the vehicle, resale value will take a HUGE hit.

A little history:

1) They let me keep the bottle and later in daylight this fuel they say was from the tank has a light green-ish amber color.

2) vehicle 1st started running rough with periodic hard starts the day after I topped off the tank on 2/18/21 with about 15 gallons from our only local Shell Mart (my go to place for fuel because they just had new tanks installed a couple few months ago). My 2019 Ram tank holds 32 gallons. Though there were no messages being displayed and the engine data cluster screen showed everything normal, I though this, at 5,200 miles, might a DPF regen. So, I drove at a constant 2,000 rpm for about 30 miles. When I returned home, I still had the same performance issues.

3) So, my next thought was maybe I got GAS from that Shell diesel pump. I immediately went back to the same exact pump, entered my card and squeezed out $0 worth of the fuel into a paper towel. Unmistakable diesel smell and feel.

4) By the time I got the truck into Larry H Miller Avondale Ram, it had been showing these symptoms, and driven approx 200 miles.

Question: I always smell the fuel in a paper towel before I fill my tank. How could that same Shell Diesel pump have had Diesel at the start of my refueling on 2/19 and then unleaded for the remaining 15 gallons? And more unbelievably, have diesel in it the very next morning ??

I take great care and pride in maintaining my 2019 5th gen. If what the Dealer Service Dept is telling me is true, how in the world did that Bosch PP4.2 fuel pump hold up for 200 miles with what they are saying was as much as a 50:50 mix of diesel and unleaded ???

* As what may be an all important "side note," at the advice of a Ram Cummins Diesel Tech friend back in Mississippi, I do always add 2 ounces of Lucas Cetane Power Booster to every single gallon of diesel I purchase. The Service Manager at Larry Miller confirmed that this is a very good product for not only the Cetane boost but also the effective lubricants in it. Did Lucas save my butt ??

MYSTERY QUESTION: Where in the world did the gasoline they say was in my tank come from ???
 
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retired

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I would see if there was any other people who filled up with diesel that day that had an issue. I know there have been incidents where people filling with gas have gotten diesel due to some malfunction. If there was a malfunction at the pumps you won't be the only one.
 

Gr8bawana

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I think it's very unlikely that you got gas one day and diesel the next day. I would have to say it was probably user error.
 

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Do you have the fuel receipt so you can check it ti see if you put gas in by mistake ?
 

GrumpyOleMan

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Do you have the fuel receipt so you can check it ti see if you put gas in by mistake ?

When I drove a diesel, I made it a point not to go the gas stations that had both diesel and unleaded nozzles at the same pump. All because I caught myself about to insert the wrong nozzle into my truck. Fortunately I did not but from that point on, if I could, I avoided the possibility.

It can (and almost did) happen.
 

Rado

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When I drove a diesel, I made it a point not to go the gas stations that had both diesel and unleaded nozzles at the same pump. All because I caught myself about to insert the wrong nozzle into my truck. Fortunately I did not but from that point on, if I could, I avoided the possibility.

It can (and almost did) happen.


They are common up here.and very easy to do !
I have seen a few people grab the Green Diesel nozzle and almost inserted it till I said something ! The Oh Crap look on their face was priceless :O
 

retired

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isn't the fuel nozzle different for diesel?

technically diesel nozzles are slightly larger and should not fit in a gas vehicle but a gas nozzle will fit in a diesel. But who knows what happens maybe who ever services the pumps messed up and put a wrong nozzle on.
 

MyTruck

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I thought unleaded gas can't run on diesel engines at all. The compression ratio is too high causing detonation.
 
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Goose55

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When I drove a diesel, I made it a point not to go the gas stations that had both diesel and unleaded nozzles at the same pump. All because I caught myself about to insert the wrong nozzle into my truck. Fortunately I did not but from that point on, if I could, I avoided the possibility.

It can (and almost did) happen.

Here, in Arizona, the diesel nozzle handles are green. And, I ALWAYS 1st squirt a bit into a paper towel and smell it, before filling up. Problem is, now I am realizing that what I am smelling in the paper towel can still be contaminated w/ unleaded because of the distinct smell of diesel in it.

Albeit, now I have an almost brand new Laramie 3500 with a maintenance/ service record that is marred with fuel contamination. If ever I wanted to sell the truck, the info is public record with Car Fax
 
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Goose55

Goose55

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I thought unleaded gas can't run on diesel engines at all. The compression ratio is too high causing detonation.

I received no messages from my truck after that fill up at Shell, until I arrived at Larry H Miller Service for my appt on Tuesday (about 200 miles of driving on that tank with contaminated fuel). There, as I was handing off my key fob to the service advisor, the screen read "exhaust maintenance required." The truck was likely trying to do a Diesel Particulate Filter regeneration but could not, because my fuel was contaminated with some portion of unleaded. If it did do a regen w/ the gasoline mix, it would likely have completely destroyed the entire exhaust system.
 
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Goose55

Goose55

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I thought unleaded gas can't run on diesel engines at all. The compression ratio is too high causing detonation.

When I filled up that day at Shell, I still had about 16 gallons of 100% diesel in my 32 gal tank. And then I filled up w/ about 16 gallons of unleaded contaminated diesel. Lets say that contaminated diesel was 50:50 unleaded. That would then mean I had full tank 25:75 unleaded to diesel.
 

Zoe Saldana

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My 2019 3500 6.7 High Output with only 5,200 miles on it was yesterday found to have unleaded fuel in the fuel tank and the service advisor brought me a plastic bottle with about a cup of what they say was found in the tank. He asked me to smell it and I was not sure what I was smelling. They state it will be about a $900 repair to disconnect and clean out the tank and fuel system including 2 new fuel filters. My most worrisome thought is this will show up on any Car Facts search of the vin and if I were to ever sell the vehicle, resale value will take a HUGE hit.

A little history:

1) They let me keep the bottle and later in daylight this fuel they say was from the tank has a light green-ish amber color.

2) vehicle 1st started running rough with periodic hard starts the day after I topped off the tank on 2/18/21 with about 15 gallons from our only local Shell Mart (my go to place for fuel because they just had new tanks installed a couple few months ago). My 2019 Ram tank holds 32 gallons. Though there were no messages being displayed and the engine data cluster screen showed everything normal, I though this, at 5,200 miles, might a DPF regen. So, I drove at a constant 2,000 rpm for about 30 miles. When I returned home, I still had the same performance issues.

3) So, my next thought was maybe I got GAS from that Shell diesel pump. I immediately went back to the same exact pump, entered my card and squeezed out $0 worth of the fuel into a paper towel. Unmistakable diesel smell and feel.

4) By the time I got the truck into Larry H Miller Avondale Ram, it had been showing these symptoms, and driven approx 200 miles.

Question: I always smell the fuel in a paper towel before I fill my tank. How could that same Shell Diesel pump have had Diesel at the start of my refueling on 2/19 and then unleaded for the remaining 15 gallons? And more unbelievably, have diesel in it the very next morning ??

I take great care and pride in maintaining my 2019 5th gen. If what the Dealer Service Dept is telling me is true, how in the world did that Bosch PP4.2 fuel pump hold up for 200 miles with what they are saying was as much as a 50:50 mix of diesel and unleaded ???

* As what may be an all important "side note," at the advice of a Ram Cummins Diesel Tech friend back in Mississippi, I do always add 2 ounces of Lucas Cetane Power Booster to every single gallon of diesel I purchase. The Service Manager at Larry Miller confirmed that this is a very good product for not only the Cetane boost but also the effective lubricants in it. Did Lucas save my butt ??

MYSTERY QUESTION: Where in the world did the gasoline they say was in my tank come from ???

Something to think about.
Did you tell the service dept. that you suspected unleaded in the tank or did they discover it? If you told them; they found what you said and might just be guessing. This will be confirmed after the repair and the problem still persists.
 

Bob Macknight

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When I filled up that day at Shell, I still had about 16 gallons of 100% diesel in my 32 gal tank. And then I filled up w/ about 16 gallons of unleaded contaminated diesel. Lets say that contaminated diesel was 50:50 unleaded. That would then mean I had full tank 25:75 unleaded to diesel.
how is it that you allways put some fuel on a paper towel before fueling,that is not normal behavior unless at some time you make a mistake and now are gun shy
 

Norman Svarrer

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Keep it until it is no longer economically repairable. Then no one will care about the Car Fax. I sold my Ford F-350 6.4 with 300,000+ miles and no once checked it out on anything.
 

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I would check the Fuel receipt to see what you did put in ! It should at least give you a heads up if it was your mistake or the stations !
 
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Goose55

Goose55

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Something to think about.
Did you tell the service dept. that you suspected unleaded in the tank or did they discover it? If you told them; they found what you said and might just be guessing. This will be confirmed after the repair and the problem still persists.

They discovered it. Until then I did not know what was the matter. I picked the truck up today, after some additional warranty work and power module updates they had to perform. Service writer said they estimated I had about 30% unleaded in the tank, from which I had driven about 200 miles. But, since brand new, I have always used Lucas Cetane Power Booster; 2 ounces per gallon. This Lucas Product also contains very effective lubricants for the fuel pump. Came recommended by a Ram Cummins tech friend. It may have saved my butt and prevented the fuel pump from exploding.
 

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Off topic but relevant... you need to stop fueling up at that fueling station. When I was running diesel I would fuel up at the Loves or Pilot a mile from my house for no other reason than I was certain there was no contaminated fuel in the tanks. The rate they turn fuel also allowed assured me I was purchasing fresh fuel.
 

GTyankee

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Check your receipt as mentioned above

If your tank did have indeed have gasoline in it
There are only 1 of two ways that it could happen

Either you made a mistake & pumped gas into your tank
or
The tanker truck & driver that supplies the fuel to the stations in your area, pumped the wrong fuel into the stations diesel tank
It happens much more often than you would believe.
Usually the trucker makes a mistake & puts Regular gas into the Premium tank or some variable of that.
They are suppose to report the mistake immediately to the Station Attendant so they can shut of any pumps that draw fuel from the contaminated tank. Then the driver reports it to the owner of the trucking company.
The trucking outfit then comes out to the gas station & suction all the fuel out of that stations tank & purge the pipes.
 
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