I recently purchased a 2017 F-250 Lariat from Grapevine Ford here north of Dallas. When I purchased the truck the check engine light was on. They assured me it was a bad diesel cap. I was under the impression that everything else was working properly. I came back two days later for them to replace the diesel cap. This did not resolve the check engine light issue. Also my heated/cooling seats were not working and one USB port. This leads me to believe that they did not do a thorough check of the vehicle before selling it to me. 10 days after the purchase date my truck spontaneously catches on fire while driving. After reading online I had the same experience as others did due to faulty wiring off of the engine block heater. The recall did not affect my Vin number but I do believe it was the same issue. Ford in the dealership say that my insurance should handle it, I think insurance is irrelevant in the situation due to it only being 10 days after I purchase it from the dealership and it being a Ford malfunction. What do y’all think my best course of action should be from here?
Personally I think it would be an easy lawsuit but would like to avoid court.

 

Caveat Emptor. Was it sold under a warranty of any kind? Unfortunately, you bought the truck knowing it had a problem. Who knows now what the stored code was and what that problem was. There looks to be no applicable recalls on your F250. .Your choices are to take legal action or the insurance settlement and purchase another vehicle. The F250 cannot be repaired, so Ican't see any other options.I doubt they are not going to give you a refund or another truck.What else would you be expecting?

 

This is just an opinion based on some knowledge.
The engine block heater is powered by house current 110 volts and is no way connected with any other wiring in the vehicle, usually.

I have seen fires caused by turbocharger drain problems.

Sometimes a dealer will throw in a 30 day warranty. Did you get a chance to look carefully at the paperwork you received at the time of sale.

Can you describe the series of events as this event took place? Did you notice any loss of power, unusual noise , anything unusual. Owning it just 10 days doesn't allow a lot of time to get to know your vehicle. Can we ask what was the mileage at the time of purchase and also at the time of mishap? Thanks

 

Nice posts hanky and raski!

 

Thanks, Bismic.
As a diesel expert, what are your thoughts regarding how something like this might happen?

 

I'm still wondering about a loose fuel tank cap causing a CEL on a 6.7L! Maybe they meant the DEF cap.

Leaking engine oil can certainly catch fire, and so can diesel fuel ..... especially if the oil/fuel saturates something flammable, and a high temperature in an exhaust manifold, or even the turbo, causes the ignition. Oily rags or diesel soaked rags/towels or even rodent debris left in an engine compartment have been known to ignite.

He didn't talk about the engine revving up uncontrollably, so a secondary source of fuel to the engine is probably out of the picture (diesel fuel over-filling the crankcase and then getting into the intake from the crankcase vent system). A diesel run-away is a memorable event.

Talking about the CCV system, there is a Ford TSB for 2017-2019 6.7L Diesel, Chassis Cab/Drw Pickup Only..... TSB-19-2142. This TSB talks about a clogged CCV system, excessive idling tends to make it worse. High crankcase pressure, as a result of the crankcase ventilation filter element becoming restricted, will cause oil to leak. To correct the condition, follow the service procedure steps to replace the crankcase oil separator. The new crankcase vent oil separator appears different from the old crankcase vent oil separator as it no longer includes a serviceable filter element.

There is a youtube video somewhere about this starting a fire, but it certainly doesn't burst into flames rapidly. There should be a lot of nasty smoke first.

All that said, it might also be that something electrical started it (but not on the block heater as you said!).

Edit - I found a couple of incidences documented about a low fuel pressure alarm preceding a fire in the engine compartment (ie fuel leak).

https://www.powerstrokenation.com/th...ground.494578/

 

Somebody might have an insurance vehicle accident investigator check your vehicle to possibly come up with what might have caused the fire.

At one time a gov . agency offered me a job to do that and my boss at that time convinced me a defense attorney would pay much more, not sure which to consider,I declined both.of them.

 

With such heavy damage, the exact cause probably will never be determined and is moot at this point..TSB's are not recalls and really don't mean anything. They are just internal memo's for service personel.
An adjuster will likely look at it and confirm a total loss. They are not going to spend all kinds of time trying to determine the cause. It's not like a house burning down.The insurance company will want to settle and clear its books of this and move on. You need to do your homework and make sure you get a fair settlement before signing anything.
You could open a civil case but by the time you figure expenses and time, I doubt you will be ahead. Now if you don't have insurance, that's a different story.

 

I really hope you have insurance... this looks crazy