I still don’t buy it…I‘m calling bullshit on their diagnosis. I don’t understand how the dealer is going to Holden for a warranty claim if it’s dirty fuel. They put the bad fuel in! When I spoke with them, they were pretty vague about the whole thing. I’m just worried that now they will f$#k something else when replacing everything else. So mad.
Dirty fuel isn't uncommon. I've had it occur twice but luckily it was in my non Holden daily which is easy to pull the pump out and look into the tank, also easy peasy to remove injectors and DIY clean them. Still it was a PITA to have occur
But for the dealer to say it's dirty fuel would require that they've taken a representative fuel sample from the vehicle's tank and then checked for any layering or separation of different liquids within the sample, checked for any excessive solids within (the pump sock filter can cope with some rubbish within the fuel but eventually will clag up) and also do a water and ethanol test (though ethanol shouldn't be an issue for e85 capable vehicles but can cause issues in normal vehicles if >> 10%).
In a VF you can't just look into the tank because Holden removed the access hatch under the rear seat just above the fuel pump. So i'm not sure what they've done and "just observe the pump and tank" doesn't provide details.
However, if they determine it's contaminated fuel they should be saying you need to drain all fuel from the tank and use a cleaning fluid to flush the tank clean before replacing the fuel pump and filter. Doing such requires the tank be dropped from the vehicle. Draining fuel also requires they also charge you a disposal fee (which costs more than the fuel itself). But again, to me it's not clear what they've done and what they are doing though they sound dodgy...
In any case, I don't understand the logic that they blame the problem on contaminated fuel and then want to put in a warranty claim to presumably cheat Holden? Guess that says all about their honesty.
May be leave it with them to see what Holden will say but i'd have problems with them doing further work. May be if Holden say they'll repair it, have it taken to another deealer?
As
@lmoengnr said, fuel pumps can fail due to an overheated connector pin which is a known defect within VF's . If that's the cause it must be repaired under statutory or factory warranty or good will (whichever way Holden wants to spin it) since it's a known defect. Whether that's your problem, a quick look would suffice but with no access hatch thats a PITA to do...
Here's one pic of the burnt connector
As i said, I've had 2 fuel contaminations. One was handled through car insurance who paid for the tank to be emptied and flushed and new pump and sock filter provided along with the pipes and injectors flushed. I paid no excess since i had all fuel receipts from teh one petrol station going back for years and stated that that petrol station did malicious damage to my car. The other case I just flushed the tank, pipework and injectors myself as it was the easier road... However, I may need a new O2 sensor as fuel consumption has been a little worse since that second contamination.
Good luck with it all.
