Check fuel inlet

[letzleta]

My 2011 Explorer Limited was getting a "check fuel inlet" error all the time. I took it to the dealer. The dealer then called saying it was ready to be picked up. I have since found out that the "fuel purge valve" was replaced and I owe ~$106. I was never contacted about the repair or notified that this would not be 100% covered under the warranty.

I did a bit of research and it looks like the fuel purge valve is ~$15. I haven't found any instructions on how to replace it. Is this a hard part to replace? I would think that the service department should have contacted me to let me know what the issue was and get my approval to do the repair. I typically do all my own car maintenance work (that isn't covered under warranty).

 

[peterk9]

I'm sure the bulk of the cost was for labour. If your vehicle is still under warranty, I'm also curious as to why it wasn't covered. Did you ask?
Another member also had that warning message and it turned out to be spider webs. That is another issue that has been discussed here.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372006&highlight=check+fuel+inlet

Peter

 

[letzleta]

It's because I have the extended warranty. The Explorer has about 50k on it. The extended warranty has a $100 deductible (which also seems weird to me). Either way, if they were going to repair the vehicle and charge me for it, shouldn't they approve the charge first? I just feel like this is a repair that I could have and would have done myself and saved $90.

 

[peterk9]

It's because I have the extended warranty. The Explorer has about 50k on it. The extended warranty has a $100 deductible (which also seems weird to me). Either way, if they were going to repair the vehicle and charge me for it, shouldn't they approve the charge first? I just feel like this is a repair that I could have and would have done myself and saved $90.

They do have a $0 deductible option on the Premium Care.
I had the 48 month LeaseCare on my 2011 Limited and it was $0 deductible.
I agree that unless you specifically told them to repair it, I think they should have received the 'go ahead' from you first.

Peter

 

[dco43054]

It's because I have the extended warranty. The Explorer has about 50k on it. The extended warranty has a $100 deductible (which also seems weird to me). Either way, if they were going to repair the vehicle and charge me for it, shouldn't they approve the charge first? I just feel like this is a repair that I could have and would have done myself and saved $90.

Depending on where you live, there is probably a state law covering what the dealer is obligated to do.

In Ohio, repair shops can't make any repairs unless they have your authorization, they have to provide an estimate if you request one, and they can't exceed the estimate by more than a limited amount unless you further authorize the work.

So - I'd be talking to the dealer and asking for authorization for the work that was performed. If you didn't authorize it, even if you had an extended warranty, you shouldn't be obligated to pay, if the local law is anything like Ohio's.

 

[letzleta]

I believe I do have Premium Care. Also, it is Ohio. I will ask for authorization.

 

[letzleta]

I called the dealership, they told me they did not call to confirm because it was "covered under warranty." I mentioned that it was a 10-15 dollar part that I would have replaced myself he tells me that the cost was due to the $98 diagnostic charge. I explained that I could have taken it to autozone and had the codes read for free. He said that there was more work than simply checking the codes.

I am pretty angry at this point, am I completely out of line?

 

[dco43054]

I would be telling them to reimburse you because they didn't ask for authorization.

 

[182RG]

I am pretty angry at this point, am I completely out of line?

Yes. Pretty angry, over a deductible, and your vehicle is fixed? $106. I'd hate to see what a serious issue would do to you?

 

[letzleta]

Yes. Pretty angry, over a deductible, and your vehicle is fixed? $106. I'd hate to see what a serious issue would do to you?

So, we should all be ok with being charged $106 to replace a part that cost $11 and takes 5 to 10 minutes, without authorization?

BTW, if you understand how a deductible works it would only cost me ~$100 if it were a "serious" issue, and I would be totally fine with paying for that.


Update: After speaking with the service manager, he understands my concerns and I understand they did replace a part, so we agreed to split the cost. While $50 is more than it may have cost me to fix, I find that to be a reasonable charge for the service (even if unauthorized). I came away from this realizing that even though I do have a warranty, if I have a check engine light I should run by my local auto parts store to have the code read and if there is a cheap easy fix, do it myself because the dealer will charge at least $100 for labor and diagnostics alone.

 

[peterk9]

Or you can get an ESP with $0 deductible. The 'deductible' would apply to any warranty work, 'serious' or 'minor'. In the case you describe, I would be totally fine with what they did knowing that it would not cost me more than the deductible. It doesn't take much these days to run up a bill that includes, diagnosis, labour and parts.
I think the dealer was more than fair since you still would have been charged a diagnostic fee even without the part and labour.

Peter

 

[dco43054]

Yes. Pretty angry, over a deductible, and your vehicle is fixed? $106. I'd hate to see what a serious issue would do to you?

The issue is that the dealer is obligated to inform the owner of the cost of repair BEFORE work is done. It's the law in Ohio.

 

[ls973800]

If the dealer knew you had the extended warranty with a $100.00 deductible, would that serve as the estimate? You drop it off, he says you have a $100.00 deductible, you say OK. I would almost be willing to bet that if you look on the repair order when you dropped the car off there is something you signed about not needing an estimate, or that your deductible would be all you had to pay.

Ohio law if you are really interested

http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/...w-A-Guide-For-Busin/Repairs-and-Services.aspx

Upon an initial face-to-face contact with the consumer, the supplier must provide a form listing:

The date;
Supplier’s identity;
Consumer’s name and phone number;
Anticipated cost of the repair or service, if requested by the consumer;
Reasonably anticipated completion date; and
Disclosure of the consumer’s right to an estimate.

 

[HughCares]

I called the dealership, they told me they did not call to confirm because it was "covered under warranty." I mentioned that it was a 10-15 dollar part that I would have replaced myself he tells me that the cost was due to the $98 diagnostic charge. I explained that I could have taken it to autozone and had the codes read for free. He said that there was more work than simply checking the codes.

I am pretty angry at this point, am I completely out of line?

What makes you think that Auto Zone would have been able to identify the specific part that needed replacing just by reading the codes??? I agree with the dealer's response back to you. You had to have known that there was going to be a diagnostic charge....that's just common sense...how else would you have expected them to investigate the cause???

Even if you took it somewhere else to get diagnosed for another issue in the future and it turned out to be an expensive fix that you wanted to put through on your ESP, the FORD dealership would still perform their own diagnosis regardless.

I have the Premium Care on mine with the $50.00 deductible (only cost me$75.00 more when Ipurchased the plan)....they can diagnose all they want on mine for all I care....

But to answer your question....yes, you are over-reacting on this a little bit IMHO.
Yes, you have a $100 deductible and perhaps they should have called you, but THEY STILL HAD TO DO THE DIAGNOSIS FIRST which costs more than just the $15.00 for the part....relax already........As Peter stated, you coukld have purchased the $0 deductible....you chose not to....

 

[dco43054]

http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/...w-A-Guide-For-Busin/Repairs-and-Services.aspx

Upon an initial face-to-face contact with the consumer, the supplier must provide a form listing:

The date;
Supplier’s identity;
Consumer’s name and phone number;
Anticipated cost of the repair or service, if requested by the consumer;
Reasonably anticipated completion date; and
Disclosure of the consumer’s right to an estimate.

You forgot to quote this part:

The disclosure form must use substantially the following language:

Estimate
You have the right to an estimate if the expected cost of the repairs or services will be more than twenty-five dollars. Inital your choice:
___Written estimate
___Oral estimate
___No estimate

Without seeing the dealer's service form, we're all assuming - but if a request was made for a written or oral estimate was made, and no estimate was provided, the dealer is out of line, and I'd be asking for my money back.

From the original description of the service drop off, it seems there was no estimate provided.

If they provided an estimate initially, or if no estimate was requested, then there is nothing to complain about.

 

[letzleta]

Full disclosure, I called the dealer prior to scheduling service to ask about my issue. The service department told me that the issue could be as simple as some debris in the capless fuel filler and that they might be able to fix that while I sit in the vehicle. However, there were a couple other issues we presented to the dealer (that they were ultimately unable to reproduce), so they didn't attempt any fix prior to taking the vehicle. I was hopeful they would fix more than just the one issue.

Hugh,
I never said Autozone would diagnose anything. Simply said they could read the code. I am familiar with working on vehicles and have taken them to Autozone to have codes read in the past. Then, using that code, found the source of the issue. Codes do not tell you specifically what is wrong, but narrow it down to a specific area. I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but I took the code from the dealership documentation and within 5 minutes was able to find the top 2 issues were faulty gas cap and purge valve. Being that the purge valve is a $11 part, I would have replaced it without troubleshooting.

As for the different deductibles, I was unaware there were options on that. When we purchased the vehicle, the dealer presented one offer without the warranty and one with. The one with the warranty had a lower interest rate and ended up costing a little less monthly, so it seemed like a win/win. If the upgrade would have only cost me $75 initially, I would have jumped all over it.

We have taken the vehicle in to the dealer multiple times for many different issues. For whatever reason, each time they can only reproduce 1 issue. Also, one issue that was previously fixed has started to happen again, but never at the dealer (shift to park issue). I am not going to get into all the details, but this has added to my frustration as it is $100 each time when they fix these issues one at a time.

I appreciate the feedback and I am happy with the service managers response to my inquiry.

 

[Hammertime3]

Hi all...haven't been on this site for a long time, sorry to say. Still have my '13 Explorer with 120,000 plus miles on it and plan on keeping it for a while longer. I'm now 84 so maybe we'll both retire from driving together. However, it has recently developed the "check fuel fill inlet" problem, and I'm wondering if someone can direct me to a realative thread that discusses this problem and any solutions. It's not uncommon, I believe, and there are several "fixes" on Youtube you can try, but I'm not sure if any of them work. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks....

 

[Turdle]

Thread 'Check fuel inlet' Check fuel inlet

Thread '"Check Fuel Fill Inlet" light' "Check Fuel Fill Inlet" light

 

[Hammertime3]

Thanks...thought there would be a bit more discussion on this than what appears.

 

[peterk9]

Hi all...haven't been on this site for a long time, sorry to say. Still have my '13 Explorer with 120,000 plus miles on it and plan on keeping it for a while longer. I'm now 84 so maybe we'll both retire from driving together. However, it has recently developed the "check fuel fill inlet" problem, and I'm wondering if someone can direct me to a realative thread that discusses this problem and any solutions. It's not uncommon, I believe, and there are several "fixes" on Youtube you can try, but I'm not sure if any of them work. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks....

Your thread was merged with this one also identified as 1 of 2 existing ones above.
This really hasn't been a big issue here. Have you checked that the little metal flap in the filler is closing properly?

Peter