Fellow petrol heads, here is my story. In December of 2013 our in tank fuel pump died on our common rail diesel. We had the car towed to a garage who fitted a new pump. The same day we got it back the car began to 'run on' after the key was turned off, this put the car into limp home mode. The garage could not read the fault codes and so sent me to their diesel experts. the experts said that my rail pressure was incorrect and this was due to a worn pressure regulator and that sometimes these problems simply happen. I had a new regulator fitted at a cost of $880. 3,800 k's after this the car died. It had simply run out of gas, this was because the float arm on the new pump was broken and sent a false signal to the gauge. The pump was removed and replaced by the 1st garage. Drove the car away and on it's second journey it ran on again after it was turned off, same fault codes, same limp home mode. The garage power said it was nothing to do with him replacing the pump despite me saying this was exactly what happened last time. He told me to go back to the experts, they checked over the whole car and found no reason for this problem, then as a last resort the removed the pressure reg' and found it to be totally contaminated, with wear and tear on it that would match a unit that had travelled hundreds of thousands of k's. They charged me a further $330 to sonically clean the unit and everything seemed ok. The car was never 100% reliable after this where it had been in the past and there was an odd noise from the tank. I tried replacing relays, cleaning the earths, everything except the pump. TBC
djrandomguy,
Sep 24, 7:36pm
The past few weeks the car became unusable, would not start most times and began cutting out randomly too. I could hear that the pump was not priming so I called the 1st garage back and told him what was going on. He basically sad tough luck it's out of warranty so I took it to another garage to get the pump replaced [53,000k's it lasted]. The garage phoned me to say two things - 1. the pump had never been properly secured and 2, it had been fitted without the gauze filter on the intake, NO FILTER! . This explains how it was able to send large amounts of muck to the rail pump on the motor and ruin it. Do you think I should go to small claims court with this. It has been proven that the pump was not fitted correctly and had no been fitted complete. What say you TM?
franc123,
Sep 24, 7:44pm
Hell yes. The incompetence of one garage has caused secondary damage to the vehicle. One does wonder about the quality of fuel you have been using though, and what may have been caught in the main fuel filter.
djrandomguy,
Sep 24, 7:55pm
There were many fuel filter changes along the way in an effort to stop the problem. Keep in mind that the vehicle is almost 15 years old. We use diesel from a wide range of service stations and there was once small amounts of plastic found in the filter housing.
mooy,
Sep 24, 7:57pm
Make sure you get everything in writing.
djrandomguy,
Sep 24, 8:04pm
I have kept every receipt from beginning to end including 2 x $100 tow truck rides. I have written statements from those who have carried out the new work on the condition they found the old pump in.
blue35,
Sep 24, 8:25pm
Have you informed the original garage of the results from the new garage and asked what they will do about it and your intention of going through small claims/dispute tribunal if a resolution can not be agreed to?
djrandomguy,
Sep 24, 8:53pm
When the job was originally done and the car went back for another $330 repair I mentioned my dissatisfaction and bought up small claims. When I spoke to them on Monday they mentioned back to me my 'threat' of small claims, however this was before finding out why everything had happened. I will be having dinner with a friend of my wife who happens to be a lawyer and she will let me know the best way to proceed. It is my intention before moving ahead to give the garage one last chance to make this right.
djrandomguy,
Sep 24, 8:55pm
Keep in mind this is a man who said the fuel system problems I was experiencing were in no way possibly related to the "work" he had done and it was simply coincidence. Very quick to blame the other garage, my car or myself, basically anyone but him was at fault. On monday he asked why I had not been back to him and I said that he had already had enough of my money to not fix the car, why on earth would any sane person return for more punishment.
captaink,
Sep 24, 9:08pm
I wouldn't get too carried away with an off the cuff discussion with a lawyer unless that is an area they are familiar with and have handled claims of a similar nature. From personal experience I know they can send you down the wrong path if it is an area of law they don't normally deal with especially in this day and age of specialisation. To me the most important thing Is, is the second garage prepared to back up their claims regarding the first repairs for a tribunal or court because they are the cornerstone of your 'claim; .If they will, then you need to get everything that happened down on paper, every time you think of a conversation or point made get it down and build a 'timeline of events' as they happened. Preparedness is everything., as blue35 mentioned approach them again with a brief explanation of what you now know and gauge their reaction.
countrypete,
Sep 25, 6:08am
Has someone at some point inadvertently put petrol in it, instead of diesel?
kazbanz,
Sep 25, 6:42am
could you give some indication of what the vehicle actually is?
gwimweeper,
Sep 25, 8:32am
These days the Small Claims Court is called the Disputes Tribunal.
tamarillo,
Sep 25, 8:38am
Is mechanics who last touched it and said it was fitted without filter etc willing to put that in writing official. If not its heresay and first party will simply deny it. Then it's lap of gods with claims tribunal.
djrandomguy,
Sep 25, 8:52am
Yes, mechanic who removed pump is willing to put this in writing. I have explained my situation to them and shown them the paper trail. Vehicle is a 306 Hdi. 2.0 8v Common rail diesel, turbo non intercooler.
djrandomguy,
May 7, 8:00pm
RESOLVED - Mechanic has agreed to pay me back the cost of the first job. We don't have to go through the courts & we can get on with our lives.
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