New Car, Faulty Spark Plugs

Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 12:17
Last edited 19/07/2018 - 13:23

I've been having some trouble with my car that has gone roughly 8000km

Took them two weeks, but they figured it was damaged spark plugs.

The dealership wants me to pay around $200 to have them replaced as apparently they think it is because of poor quality fuel. However, they have no proof of that.

Is this reasonable to do so? Are there any other factors that can lead to damage in a new vehicle?

Cheers

Edit:
In response to queries, it is a 2017 Mustang GT which only has ever been fueled with 98 octane. No mods

Edit 2:
They literally have been calling me every 3 days saying they are trying new things. First call was about changing in known good parts as process of elim, second they thought was bad fuel so drained it and replaced but still ongoing, and todays call was as above.

The initial problem was that the acceleration felt rough and jerking back and forth

Automotive

Comments

  • Cluster on 19/07/2018 - 12:23
    +5

    They have to provide evidence it's poor quality fuel and could not be any other cause. It's a common excuse by dealerships. 'You're doing it wrong'. 'We have never seen this problem before!' (yeah right).

    They may play this game: 'Where do you buy fuel?' You name a retailer. 'Oh, they have crap fuel!' The better way is to be ambiguous and say you buy from a variety of retailers, consisting of the major oil brands, so they can't pin a fast one on you.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/07/2018 - 12:26
    +3

    Lol. Ask them to put that in writing.

    Tell them you're paying but you'll publish their lame excuse. $200 for a whole lot of bad press and a potential audit of their practices.

    $400 to buy back their own excuse.

  • Scab on 19/07/2018 - 12:27
    +6

    Sadly in this country you have more consumer rights buying a toaster than a car.

    Anyway, don't take their crap and stand your ground.

  • Ocker on 19/07/2018 - 12:33
    +2

    I fail to see how "poor quality fuel" would damage the spark plugs - maybe foul them in which case they would only need cleaning.
    If indeed you had used "poor quality fuel" then there would have been other symptoms.

    • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:39

      I've edited the initial post a bit more. The problem was rough/surging acceleration that felt jerky. Engine light came on for 30secs then went off. Mechanic said OBD reader showed some engine misfires

      • HighAndDry on 19/07/2018 - 13:41

        Oh. That actually might be (very, extremely) poor quality fuel then. Either that or you've got bigger issues than just bad spark plugs.

  • HighAndDry on 19/07/2018 - 12:46
    +2

    Politely decline to pay. Mention that it's a new car. Mention ACCC. Ask when you can pick up your repaired and functional car.

  • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:10

    Thanks for the advice guys. Ill make sure to ask for proof, and if none provided, will stand my ground

    • Scab on 19/07/2018 - 13:20
      +1

      If they give you crap ask to speak to the workshop manager and if that fails contact the manufacturer.

  • JohnnyB.Cheap on 19/07/2018 - 13:13
    +1

    What car is this? How old is it? Did you put low-octane fuel in it when the OEM specifies premium only? I can't imagine how a dealership can hold onto a car for two weeks and only just realise it's the spark plugs. Could you provide the whole story?

    • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:24

      I've editted as above.

      They literally have been calling me every 3 days saying they are trying new things. First call was about changing in known good parts as process of elim, second they thought was bad fuel so drained it and replaced but still ongoing, and todays call was as above.

      Nothing in the story I have left out

  • phillay on 19/07/2018 - 13:14

    what car is this?

    • Scab on 19/07/2018 - 13:21

      Ozbargainmobile.

    • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:24

      2017 Mustang GT. Only 98 octane ever gets put in

      • HighAndDry on 19/07/2018 - 13:42

        Don't know why you got negged. Here, balanced again.

        Edit: Oh very droll.

        • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:46

          Lol balanced

    • PinzVidz on 19/07/2018 - 13:25
      -4

      Like a broken record, posters both here and at WP start a thread about some issue in a car, but fail to mention what the car is. Generally it turns out to be a shitbox they should never have bought anyway, lol.

      ^edit: shitbox it is.

      • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 13:28
        +3

        Your reply is neither helpful nor needed. No matter what car it is, when bought new, it should not break within the first 4-5 months

        • HighAndDry on 19/07/2018 - 13:44

          It's actually not a bad car, just common/popular (which isn't a bad thing - see Corollas) and have a worse reputation than they deserve because of its looks.

          And honestly, V8 RWD that comes in Manual? They're a dying breed and could use all the help they can get.

  • EightImmortals on 19/07/2018 - 14:32

    What brand of fuel are you using? I always use 98 as well but I found that the car just doesn't like some brands for some reason. Shell and Caltex work fine, BP a little less and Mobil actually run pretty badly.

    • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 14:33

      It's PUMA, which is the new BP I think for the NT. I wouldnt think that it would not like the fuel to that degree tho

      • EightImmortals on 19/07/2018 - 15:27

        Well you'd think so, but I tried some Mobil (7-11) 98 in mine last year and was running really rough and even backfired so who knows?

        Not involved with BP as far as I can tell.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_Energy

        https://www.choice.com.au/transport/cars/maintenance/article…

        Might be barking up the wrong tree but if you don;t get any luck with the dealership try a different brand of fuel for a while and see if it runs any better?

      • tomsco on 19/07/2018 - 15:30

        In saying that, if the service/owner's manual don't specify a specific brand of fuel to use, I don't see how they could hold you liable for using poor quality fuel.

        • HighAndDry on 19/07/2018 - 15:32
          +1

          It wouldn't be the brand of fuel - the issue would be, if a petrol station had a bad batch (adulterated with water, other stuff), then it would be the petrol station's liability for the damage and not the car dealer's responsibility to fix.

          It's like if you had a new car and it didn't drive anymore because someone poured sugar into the tank. You'd go after the person who actually caused the damage.

        • tomsco on 19/07/2018 - 15:33

          @HighAndDry: Yep, good point.

  • Cluster on 19/07/2018 - 14:39

    The modern mechanic plugs in a diagnostic computer to the car. The car reports everything is good but there's an obvious problem. What does the mechanic do? Blame the user. It can't be a faulty sensor in the car, or a condition the car's computer is not designed to detect. Nope, it has to be the user's fault.

    It doesn't surprise me that it's a Ford at the center of this issue. Have a look at how Ford treated Focus Powershit transmission owners. The standard response when people had severe problems with their cars was: 'you're not doing it right'. It took a court case for Ford to be dragged kicking and screaming to provide a solution.

  • Ocker on 19/07/2018 - 14:55

    a) Did the OBD reader say whether it was a "logged fault" and is a "logged and current fault"
    b) Ask the dealer for the fault code number and then do some research as to the exact meaning of the fault code.
    b) Did they change the plugs, and on the assumption they did what difference did it make to the OBD reading?

    • Tech5 on 19/07/2018 - 15:09
      +1

      I will check with them tomorrow. What is the importance of 1.?

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