Warning: Skipped Rows for Data Extension Due to Unexpected Column Separator

Issue

Data extension records are missing from the destination. The following warning appears in the Fivetran dashboard:

Skipped <count> row(s) for data extension: <table_name>, due to unexpected column separator.

Environment

Connector: Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC)

Resolution

To resolve this issue:

1. Export the affected data extension using Automation Studio and FTP, then check whether the export conforms to the RFC 4180 CSV standard. For more information, see the Salesforce Data Extension Extract in Automation Studio documentation.
2. If the export contains malformed data, contact Salesforce Support to correct the formatting at the source.
3. As a temporary workaround, block the columns that cause the formatting issues. For example, blocking a column that contains JSON data may resolve the issue. For instructions, see Configure Data Blocking and Column Hashing.

Cause

This issue occurs when SFMC returns malformed CSV data for a data extension, such as improperly escaped quotes or unexpected column separators. We can't parse these records, so we skip them. For more information, see our Data extensions documentation.