Sierra 1500 AT4 Duramax (mini) Fuel contamination / Transmission codes

Baker 5 · October 21, 2022

Had an issue where my truck was making a horrible grinding noise from under the cab. Pulled over and had codes P0700 and P281B. I had filled up with diesel fuel about 50 miles of freeway driving earlier. Had the truck towed to my dealer and they said there was gas contamination. My first question is, can you drive a diesel truck 50 miles with contaminated fuel? Saw no black smoke, no performance issue with freeway driving. The grinding occurred 50 miles after fill-up while taking the exit off the freeway.

Dealer then told me that the grinding and the transmission issues were not connected. I am positive I did not fuel with gas and confirmed that with the station as they had video of me utilizing the green nozzle and hose. No other reports of issues with the station.

Secondly, is there any way a contaminated fuel situation would cause the transmission issues? The dealer did find fluid burnt and "lots of metal shavings on the transmission pan".

The dealer went through the protocol of draining and cleaning the fuel issue per document # 5207114. They said that did the trick and there are no other fuel related problems.

Spent over 3K for the fuel issue and the transmission was all covered under warranty. Not quite sure if all this sounds legit.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Grover67 · October 22, 2022

How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

-grover67

Dirk13 · October 22, 2022

Tough spot to be in, I feel for you.

12 hours ago, Baker 5 said:

My first question is, can you drive a diesel truck 50 miles with contaminated fuel?

Sure, the level of contamination obviously matters but it’s certainly possible.

12 hours ago, Baker 5 said:

Secondly, is there any way a contaminated fuel situation would cause the transmission issues?

I think that would be highly unlikely. Given the fact that they warrantied the transmission, the dealer didn’t think it was the cause either. If they thought your transmission had issues because you allegedly put gas in your diesel it wouldn’t be a warranty repair.

What proof were you given that the fuel was contaminated with gas?

KARNUT · October 22, 2022

My have times changed. I put gas in my 97 Ford diesel all those years ago. The pinging was unmistakable. Luckily back then they had two tanks. I drained the gas, diesel mixture and put it into our 500 gallon tank at the shop. End of story. I got bad diesel at a truck stop in my 91 dodge diesel all those years ago. I was out of town. Other than changing the fuel filter way more often for awhile no harm. Either these diesels are way more sensitive. That’s advancement for you. Or they took you for a ride.

Baker 5 · October 25, 2022

On 10/21/2022 at 5:50 PM, Grover67 said:

How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

-grover67

40K

Baker 5 · October 25, 2022

On 10/22/2022 at 3:20 AM, Dirk13 said:

Tough spot to be in, I feel for you.

Sure, the level of contamination obviously matters but it’s certainly possible.

I think that would be highly unlikely. Given the fact that they warrantied the transmission, the dealer didn’t think it was the cause either. If they thought your transmission had issues because you allegedly put gas in your diesel it wouldn’t be a warranty repair.

What proof were you given that the fuel was contaminated with gas?

I took the fuel sample provided by the dealership to a 3rd party testing facility (QUINN Cat).

jboyle0128 · October 26, 2022

I have a 2021 Chevy 1500 Duramax LTZ and tow a lot, usually around 7k lbs. The truck does great but the other day it was really windy and I had a MIL pop up. I checked the codes on my CTS3 monitor and it showed a P0700 and a P281B. I cleared the codes and all was good. Almost a week later I pulled onto a 50mph zone and cruised for about a mile when I came to a stop light. As soon as I let off the gas pedal it sounded like baseball cards in bicycle spokes. I wasn't towing so I immediately pulled over to the shoulder. The noise was coming from under the cab/dash area. Sounded like rod knock but at a faster speed. It drove normal, just embarrassingly noisy. I dropped it off at Molle Chevrolet in Blue Springs, MO. They've had it for 6 days and claim it's an engine wiring issue. He's had two techs look at it. I don't believe a word he is saying. My vehicles, like a lot of people in this forum, don't go to the dealer unless it's a warranty issue. Both codes are transmission codes so how can it be an engine wiring issue. He told me on the phone it runs rough. It doesn't run rough, just loud. I'll give him another chance to redeem himself or prove me wrong. Otherwise I'm taking it somewhere else. I posted this because my symptoms match Baker 5 to a T.

Thanks for letting me rant

Jamie

Baker 5 · October 27, 2022

On 10/26/2022 at 2:00 PM, jboyle0128 said:

I have a 2021 Chevy 1500 Duramax LTZ and tow a lot, usually around 7k lbs. The truck does great but the other day it was really windy and I had a MIL pop up. I checked the codes on my CTS3 monitor and it showed a P0700 and a P281B. I cleared the codes and all was good. Almost a week later I pulled onto a 50mph zone and cruised for about a mile when I came to a stop light. As soon as I let off the gas pedal it sounded like baseball cards in bicycle spokes. I wasn't towing so I immediately pulled over to the shoulder. The noise was coming from under the cab/dash area. Sounded like rod knock but at a faster speed. It drove normal, just embarrassingly noisy. I dropped it off at Molle Chevrolet in Blue Springs, MO. They've had it for 6 days and claim it's an engine wiring issue. He's had two techs look at it. I don't believe a word he is saying. My vehicles, like a lot of people in this forum, don't go to the dealer unless it's a warranty issue. Both codes are transmission codes so how can it be an engine wiring issue. He told me on the phone it runs rough. It doesn't run rough, just loud. I'll give him another chance to redeem himself or prove me wrong. Otherwise I'm taking it somewhere else. I posted this because my symptoms match Baker 5 to a T.

Thanks for letting me rant

Jamie

When they got into my transmission, they noted "burnt fluid and metal shavings / chips" were found. Apparently not the first time GMC has seen this as they approved the replacement as soon as the Service Manager sent in the request.

Have your guys dig a little deeper.