Yardie
Active Member
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For background, I've owned 8 diesel vehicles throughout my life (GMC, Chevrolet, Mercedes, Volkswagen) and never once had a problem with "water in fuel," until now on my 2020 3.0D. I also try to only use "top tier" fueling stations. To my knowledge, of all the diesel vehicles I've owned, Jeep is the only one to have a supplemental preventative maintenance procedure for periodically draining water from the fuel/water separator (10k mi). I don't know why that is, is it overkill, or does this system have a limitation that other manufacturers don't?
Last week, my wife got the WIF light. In order to get home (about 1/8 mile, I was out of town), she attempted to start the vehicle, but it wouldn't initially start. Eventually, it started and she drove around the corner to home. We didn't drive it again, until I drained the separator (drained it twice, first cold, and then again warmed up). I didn't notice any water in the fuel when draining, but I also didn't let it sit and settle. After draining twice, I primed the pump, started it and let it idle for a minute, with no WIF message. The next day, the first attempt at driving since draining, the WIF message came back on. At that point, I decided to change the water separator filter (early, vehicle has only 18k+ miles). I changed the filter, the old one didn't look too bad, didn't appear to need changing and took it in the next day for an oil change at the dealership. When leaving the dealership, the engine wouldn't start after many, many attempts. There was no WIF indication, sometimes it wouldn't even attempt to turn over, other times, it would crank for a fraction of a second. Eventually, the WIF message come back on, around the same time it decided to start. After start, the message was gone again.
Anyone else having trouble with WIF? Is it perhaps a bad sensor? Why does it not start sometimes, even without the WIF message, and other times it will start, even with the WIF message. Why does it keep coming back, after draining multiple times and replacing the filter, and what else can I do? I'm about to take it to the dealership under warranty and tell them to sort it out. We just refueled, but the Jeep is hanging out in the airport parking lot until we get home, so it's too soon to tell if new fuel will resolve the problem.
Last week, my wife got the WIF light. In order to get home (about 1/8 mile, I was out of town), she attempted to start the vehicle, but it wouldn't initially start. Eventually, it started and she drove around the corner to home. We didn't drive it again, until I drained the separator (drained it twice, first cold, and then again warmed up). I didn't notice any water in the fuel when draining, but I also didn't let it sit and settle. After draining twice, I primed the pump, started it and let it idle for a minute, with no WIF message. The next day, the first attempt at driving since draining, the WIF message came back on. At that point, I decided to change the water separator filter (early, vehicle has only 18k+ miles). I changed the filter, the old one didn't look too bad, didn't appear to need changing and took it in the next day for an oil change at the dealership. When leaving the dealership, the engine wouldn't start after many, many attempts. There was no WIF indication, sometimes it wouldn't even attempt to turn over, other times, it would crank for a fraction of a second. Eventually, the WIF message come back on, around the same time it decided to start. After start, the message was gone again.
Anyone else having trouble with WIF? Is it perhaps a bad sensor? Why does it not start sometimes, even without the WIF message, and other times it will start, even with the WIF message. Why does it keep coming back, after draining multiple times and replacing the filter, and what else can I do? I'm about to take it to the dealership under warranty and tell them to sort it out. We just refueled, but the Jeep is hanging out in the airport parking lot until we get home, so it's too soon to tell if new fuel will resolve the problem.
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