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Mahindra Bolero Neo : Can contaminated diesel damage EGR & engine?

Mahindra is saying that since I as a customer have filled contaminated diesel, it is my fault which caused the engine damage.

BHPian Pokemon_2047 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello Members,

This is my first post on this platform. In case of any mistakes, please ignore them.
I want to share my ordeal related to my car and would seek your suggestions and opinions on this matter.

I had purchased Mahindra Bolero Neo N8 on December 2023. I have driven the car for ~7000 km. The first major servicing at 10,000 km is yet to be done. I had been refueling diesel from nearby pumps of Indian oil and Reliance.
In September 2024, I faced a problem with my car. There was noise coming from the engine on ignition. Next day, I took the car to the nearest Mahindra service center. They investigated the issue by opening the whole engine. They found the following issue

Issues

  1. Coolant was leaking in the Exhaust gas re-circulation (EGR) system via the EGR valve.
  2. EGR recirculates exhaust gas back into the gas chamber in order to re-burn the exhaust gas. This ensures that the remaining pollutants are burnt resulting in less pollution. Coolant leaked via EGR valve. EGR filter was also damaged and was leaking coolant.
  3. Since coolant leaked into EGR system. From there, the coolant entered into the combustion chamber. Because of this the piston connecting rod got bent.

The above issues were found. In order to find the reason of above issues, the diesel was sent for testing. In the lab report, following was found.

Root cause

  1. High chlorine content was found in diesel and the engine oil.
  2. Chlorine damaged the EGR system, causing the coolant to leak into engine via EGR.
  3. As per service center, many times fuel pump owners clean their fuel storage tanks using bleaching powder. This causes presence of chlorine in diesel.

Now the Mahindra is saying that since I as a customer have filled contaminated diesel, it is my fault which caused the engine damage. Mahindra is paying the engine replacement cost (since the car is in warranty) but the replacement cost of parts like EGR, turbocharger (which is pretty significant) will be borne by me.

After facing the whole situation, I have the following queries

  1. Can chlorine content in diesel severely damage a BS6 engine?
  2. How can chlorine be found in engine oil? As far as I know, piston rings don't allow engine oil to come in contact with diesel in the combustion chamber.
  3. My car is still in warranty. Although Mahindra is bearing the cost to replace the engine, should I be paying any repair cost for the remaining parts? As a customer, how would anyone know whether diesel from a certain fuel pump is contaminated or not!
  4. Has anyone else faced a similar issue? Because impurities in diesel raises serious questions on companies like Indian oil and Reliance.

I will take up the matter with Mahindra. If nothing fruitful comes out, then I have the option to go with insurance.

Thanks.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say in this matter:

A couple of thoughts. I think it is crucial to understand what happened here. How can chlorine cause the coolant to leak into the engine.

A bend piston suggests piston knock. That means there was a significant leak causing coolant built up on the piston.

Also bearing in mind that your car is very low mileage. Sure high chlorine content can do some damage. But your car has only 7000 km on it.

I find it hard to believe that chlorine could cause such a huge problem in such a short time.

Gut feeling, there is more to this case.

Jeroen

Meanwhile, here's an update shared by BHPian Pokemon_2047:

I am attaching the lab reports of both engine oil and Diesel respectively. The test was conducted at Mahindra Research valley Chennai. They haven't mentioned the type of test conducted. I will check with them and get back on this.

Engine oil

Diesel

I have insurance from Tata AIG. I didn't take engine protection coverage from Tata AIG. Because Mahindra was giving 3 years warranty on engine. In case of contaminated fuel, I am banking on the below clause of Tata AIG.

Quote from BHPian Jeroen:

I find it hard to believe that chlorine could cause such a huge problem in such a short time.


Yes, this is my exact concern. It is painful to believe as a first time owner of a car, that chlorine can damage engine parts to such an extent. The car is not even one year old. As per the service center, chlorine damaged the EGR. There was leakage in the EGR cooler, causing coolant to leak into the engine combustion chamber. I will get back with the video showing the leakage. This is what I know so far.

Are the engine parts so fragile, that they get damaged even before the completion of their first major servicing (which is at 10,000 km in case of Mahindra)! I searched online for similar issues related for chlorine contamination, but I could not find one. That's why I have come to this community for guidance.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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