Hello everyone. Hope I can rely on you all to perhaps help me with a discussion regarding a warranty issue and the handling of the following.
So I am a longtime Grenadier follower and have been interested in being an owner for many years before the car was finally available. I had to renew some of the vehicles in our fleet and my old hilux was the first to go.
So I purchased a brand new Diesel Trailmaster with all the bells and whistles. My dream car, rough pack, roof rack and contrast chassis etc.
I took delivery of it on the 27th of June 2024. Delighted with the car and more so with the capability of it for use in and around estates in here in Southern Scotland.
After about 3,500 miles in a few months, some small green laneing adventures and some big trips through Europe and to Iceland now planned for spring 2025, I had a problem.
I left home on the 29th of November heading north on a short weekend trip, only 400 miles or so, when at about 6.30pm the car lost all power on a rural road. There was a thud from what sounded like the front end and the dashboard lit up with every light known to man.
Eventually after having roadside recovery arrive and a few hours in the snow and rain it was decided that the best thing was to recover the car to the nearest dealership. At 10.30 am on the 30th Nov the car was recovered approx 50 miles to nearest dealership.
The following week I contacted the dealership about what had happened and had they looked at the vehicle yet. On the 3rd of December I was informed that the diesel may be dirty and that the injectors may need cleared. That immediately sounded unlikely to me as we have a private Diesel tank that is supplied direct from PETROINEOS grangemouth and there is 12 fleet vehicles that fuel from that bowser exclusively as its 30 plus minutes to the nearest filling station. Not one has had fuelling issues before nor since.
So begins a months long saga.
I immediately contact our fuel supplier on the 3rd December, for reference we use over 70,000 litres of diesel a year through our tanks. The supplier confirms the manifest for delivery and immediately takes a sample of the tanker diesel to confirm that there was no contaminants.
On the 4th of December fuel samples are taken for evidence. An independent firm arrives and tests the diesiel for any water content or impurities, no indication of water in the fuel.
Between the 4th and the 20th December I recieved no updates other than a frequent " it'll be ready for next week".
On the 7th of Jnauary 2025 I was told that the tooling to remove the fuel pump would arrive in the coming days.
At this point I was still completely stranded with no way of commuting as all of our fleet vehicles where out on jobs or in getting serviced or repaired. On the 9th I was informed the dealer was working on getting me a courtesy car.
On the 15th of January 25 I raised a formal complaint with INEOS regarding the wait time and the lack of information regarding the delays.
17th January I spoke with dealer, they where advised to replace the whole fuel system to the injectors.
20th January, they called to inform me that they where looking to replace the common rail etc now too.
21st January. Collected a courtesy car.
Radio silence...
I made several more inquiries to INEOS customer services and only once recieved an email back stating they where looking into it.
Meanwhile we are down a vehicle and incurring rental fees for a replacent tow vehicle as the wait was only to be a few weeks. At this point I made the decision to cancel my planned trip to Iceland in May 25.
On Feb 27th I made the bold decision to contact senior level executives at INEOS. Immediately i had a reply from a senior member of customer support.
On march 14th a development.
I recieved an email outlining the following.
The pump was removed at long delay from the drained car in mid February 25. Almost a full 3 months after the car had the fuel emptied as per dealerships timeline.
The pump was sent to a 3rd party for inspection. The inspection was carried out on the 3rd of March.
The pump in question was The Infamous BOSCH CP4...
They claim that the found rust inside the pump and this was responsible for the catastrophic failure of the pump and the contaminated fuel system, to which I am not so convinced the rust did not occur in the many months of inaction on the repairs.
Therefore after four months the rug was pulled from under my feet. With an apparent £9k estimated repair bill.
I immediately replied with evidence of fuel purity and requested samples of the fuel that was put into the vehicle, the report for the failure of the pump and a request that I have the pump sent for a second opinion at another BOSCH specialist.
I have recieved a very brief inspection report with images that shows rust not just on the inside of pump body but all over the outside of the pump body too including the interfaces between the motor block and the pump itself which matches the rust evident from air exposure, I believe the part has corroded from being left in unsuitable conditions opposed to water ingress. No intent to allow a second opinion has been offered. I was informed that the fuel that they removed from the vehicle had been disposed of after I had requested some be kept in December 24.
They have decided to offer a partial refund for the vehicle, however as the vehicle was less than 6 months old I deem the offer highly insulting considering the length of time the vehicle took to be inspected.
To add insult to injury. I visited the dealership only to find the vehicle had been moved outside four weeks with no weather protection for the exposed engine bay below the windowwipers. Images attached.
The discussion regarding a replacement vehicle was put on the table but I would have to pay the difference, £18k.
I found out that the engine had been removed from the car at an earlier date on the 25th of march, I had not consented to the removal of the engine nor was made aware of the intention.
In short my experience has been absolutely dreadful from start to finish, Regardless of the apparent outcome on their end, I should not have to go 6 weeks running a rural buisness without provision for a replacement car. I would 100% at this stage not reccomend anyone in the Agricultural or rural sector to rely exclusively on these cars down to the disappointment I have had from how they handled this whole affair.
I feel so embarrassed and let down not that the car had a failure, these things happen, but the months of obfuscation and lack of information has left me with sleepless nights.
Has anyone here had a similar experience that they can advise their experience. Given the apparent issues surrounding the CP4 pump and its associated failures in the past i do not believe that the pump has failed in a way associated with alleged "contaminated Fuel".
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I would appreciate any suggestions for anything I may be overlooking.
Thanks. L.
So I am a longtime Grenadier follower and have been interested in being an owner for many years before the car was finally available. I had to renew some of the vehicles in our fleet and my old hilux was the first to go.
So I purchased a brand new Diesel Trailmaster with all the bells and whistles. My dream car, rough pack, roof rack and contrast chassis etc.
I took delivery of it on the 27th of June 2024. Delighted with the car and more so with the capability of it for use in and around estates in here in Southern Scotland.
After about 3,500 miles in a few months, some small green laneing adventures and some big trips through Europe and to Iceland now planned for spring 2025, I had a problem.
I left home on the 29th of November heading north on a short weekend trip, only 400 miles or so, when at about 6.30pm the car lost all power on a rural road. There was a thud from what sounded like the front end and the dashboard lit up with every light known to man.
Eventually after having roadside recovery arrive and a few hours in the snow and rain it was decided that the best thing was to recover the car to the nearest dealership. At 10.30 am on the 30th Nov the car was recovered approx 50 miles to nearest dealership.
The following week I contacted the dealership about what had happened and had they looked at the vehicle yet. On the 3rd of December I was informed that the diesel may be dirty and that the injectors may need cleared. That immediately sounded unlikely to me as we have a private Diesel tank that is supplied direct from PETROINEOS grangemouth and there is 12 fleet vehicles that fuel from that bowser exclusively as its 30 plus minutes to the nearest filling station. Not one has had fuelling issues before nor since.
So begins a months long saga.
I immediately contact our fuel supplier on the 3rd December, for reference we use over 70,000 litres of diesel a year through our tanks. The supplier confirms the manifest for delivery and immediately takes a sample of the tanker diesel to confirm that there was no contaminants.
On the 4th of December fuel samples are taken for evidence. An independent firm arrives and tests the diesiel for any water content or impurities, no indication of water in the fuel.
Between the 4th and the 20th December I recieved no updates other than a frequent " it'll be ready for next week".
On the 7th of Jnauary 2025 I was told that the tooling to remove the fuel pump would arrive in the coming days.
At this point I was still completely stranded with no way of commuting as all of our fleet vehicles where out on jobs or in getting serviced or repaired. On the 9th I was informed the dealer was working on getting me a courtesy car.
On the 15th of January 25 I raised a formal complaint with INEOS regarding the wait time and the lack of information regarding the delays.
17th January I spoke with dealer, they where advised to replace the whole fuel system to the injectors.
20th January, they called to inform me that they where looking to replace the common rail etc now too.
21st January. Collected a courtesy car.
Radio silence...
I made several more inquiries to INEOS customer services and only once recieved an email back stating they where looking into it.
Meanwhile we are down a vehicle and incurring rental fees for a replacent tow vehicle as the wait was only to be a few weeks. At this point I made the decision to cancel my planned trip to Iceland in May 25.
On Feb 27th I made the bold decision to contact senior level executives at INEOS. Immediately i had a reply from a senior member of customer support.
On march 14th a development.
I recieved an email outlining the following.
The pump was removed at long delay from the drained car in mid February 25. Almost a full 3 months after the car had the fuel emptied as per dealerships timeline.
The pump was sent to a 3rd party for inspection. The inspection was carried out on the 3rd of March.
The pump in question was The Infamous BOSCH CP4...
They claim that the found rust inside the pump and this was responsible for the catastrophic failure of the pump and the contaminated fuel system, to which I am not so convinced the rust did not occur in the many months of inaction on the repairs.
Therefore after four months the rug was pulled from under my feet. With an apparent £9k estimated repair bill.
I immediately replied with evidence of fuel purity and requested samples of the fuel that was put into the vehicle, the report for the failure of the pump and a request that I have the pump sent for a second opinion at another BOSCH specialist.
I have recieved a very brief inspection report with images that shows rust not just on the inside of pump body but all over the outside of the pump body too including the interfaces between the motor block and the pump itself which matches the rust evident from air exposure, I believe the part has corroded from being left in unsuitable conditions opposed to water ingress. No intent to allow a second opinion has been offered. I was informed that the fuel that they removed from the vehicle had been disposed of after I had requested some be kept in December 24.
They have decided to offer a partial refund for the vehicle, however as the vehicle was less than 6 months old I deem the offer highly insulting considering the length of time the vehicle took to be inspected.
To add insult to injury. I visited the dealership only to find the vehicle had been moved outside four weeks with no weather protection for the exposed engine bay below the windowwipers. Images attached.
The discussion regarding a replacement vehicle was put on the table but I would have to pay the difference, £18k.
I found out that the engine had been removed from the car at an earlier date on the 25th of march, I had not consented to the removal of the engine nor was made aware of the intention.
In short my experience has been absolutely dreadful from start to finish, Regardless of the apparent outcome on their end, I should not have to go 6 weeks running a rural buisness without provision for a replacement car. I would 100% at this stage not reccomend anyone in the Agricultural or rural sector to rely exclusively on these cars down to the disappointment I have had from how they handled this whole affair.
I feel so embarrassed and let down not that the car had a failure, these things happen, but the months of obfuscation and lack of information has left me with sleepless nights.
Has anyone here had a similar experience that they can advise their experience. Given the apparent issues surrounding the CP4 pump and its associated failures in the past i do not believe that the pump has failed in a way associated with alleged "contaminated Fuel".
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I would appreciate any suggestions for anything I may be overlooking.
Thanks. L.
