A mechanic caught the attention of internet users after sharing that a gasoline-powered Ram pickup truck was accidentally filled with diesel and brought to his shop.
Mike Pfeffer posted a video on his TikTok profile explaining what happened. According to him, his client came to the shop with his Ram to explain that it had been fueled with the wrong type of fuel.
“He says, ‘My wife put diesel in my [gasoline engine] truck. My wife said she put in about a quarter tank of diesel and drove 6 or 8 km, then stopped,'” Pfeffer said in the clip.
The client explained that he received a $4,000 bill from the dealership to fix the issue. So, he decided to take his truck to Pfeffer to see what he could do.
At the beginning of the video, the mechanic was shown walking to the shop’s parking lot to examine the vehicle more closely. “I’m curious to see how much fuel is actually in it,” he said.
As he walked to the truck, Pfeffer began explaining how he planned to fix it. “I know it has the rollover valve. He can’t just patch something and siphon it. So, we’re going to have to drop the tank,” he said.
According to Pfeffer, the dealership had told his client that he would need to replace the fuel pump, injectors, and other components to fix the problem, which is why the estimated cost was so high.
While admitting that this work might be necessary, he said he would “try other things first.” He then checked the fuel door to see how it was possible to insert a diesel nozzle into the truck.
“This is exactly how she managed to put diesel in it,” Pfeffer said, showing how the fuel cap has a deep opening that would allow a long diesel nozzle to fit.
“The nozzle opening is way down there. I mean, way down there,” he explained. Most modern gasoline vehicles are designed so that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to insert a diesel nozzle.
“I’m going to call this a design flaw,” Pfeffer commented, emphasizing that there is nothing on the dashboard warning drivers that the vehicle should only be fueled with gasoline. The fuel cap also has no warning.
After his assessment, Pfeffer shared how much the repair would cost with him. “If we have to do exactly what the dealership quoted, it’ll be $1,200 cheaper than them,” he said.
“I kind of just hope we can drain the fuel tank, add some real gasoline, clean a few things up, and save them some money.”
In a follow-up video, Pfeffer revealed that his plan was successful. After draining the diesel from the fuel tank, he refueled the Ram with gasoline, and it started normally.
After taking the truck for a drive and confirming it was running, Pfeffer concluded the video by saying he would give the vehicle one more check to ensure everything was okay before returning it to the client.
Photo and video: TikTok @autotechmike. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
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