Unusually, motoring companies say another unfortunate motorist in the UK fill the wrong fuel of petrol in diesel tank in every three to four minutes. If this never happened to you, you would be grateful, but pay attention to disgruntled drivers who accidentally put petrol in a diesel car. A moment of distraction, fatigue, stress or even a simple ignorance may be included in the statistics of your next visit to the filling station.
Adding petrol to diesel tank is not the end of the world until you realize your mistake at the pump. Yes, you will face the hassle and cost of filling your fuel tank, but it can cause real damage while you are driving. If you are unlucky, you can spend thousands of pounds for repairing bill.
Most misfortunes, about 95 per cent occur when petrol is accidentally filled into a diesel tank. Diesel pumps which do not fit into the neck of a modern petrol car filler have wide nozzles which is why it is difficult to fill wrong fuel in any other way.
If you realise your mistake instantly or on the spot, there is a great chance that you can save your car engine and save huge amount. Because 5 per cent of petrol can be added to diesel fuel without deadly results. If you do not have space in the tank to top up with diesel in the required 95 per cent ratio, you need the services of someone who can drain the tank.
As long as you turn on the ignition, you have nothing to worry about except confess your error to the fuel pump attendant. It will cost you about £ 200 or more, usually it depends on the vehicle, its model, and the amount of wrong fuel you mistakenly filled in the tank.
Turning the key is the biggest mistake you can make, even if you don’t start the engine, turning on the dashboard light can also be harmful for your car engine. It allows the diesel to flow towards the engine, though it doesn’t happens in petrol engines but still it may be a hazard for your vehicle. That means they need drainage and flushing along with fuel tanks. If you stay away from starting the engine, there is a lot more likely to go wrong.
Modern diesel engines use a lot of technology to capture their impressive MPG figures and reduce emissions, including expensive high pressure fuel pumps and common rail injectors.
Those fuel pumps are lubricated as they travel through diesel fuel. Replace that diesel with petrol and its solubility properties i.e. lubrication effect will also be eliminated. It starts to break down, and this creates tiny particles of metal that can cause further damage to your car’s engine.
It is the high pressure injector of a diesel engine that propels along the firing line. These are refuelled through very fine holes and carefully engineered spray samples into the engine cylinders. If the swarf goes as an injection system it will clog some or all of the holes and cost thousands of pounds for a simple rail injector system to replace.
The corrosive properties of petrol then lead to wrong fuelling problems, which degrade the seals in the diesel system. At the very least, the entire system should be inspected and assessed for damage, as well as flush and drain with the cleaning agent through your roadside wrong fuel assistance.
It should be noted at this point that driving your car over a short distance on the wrong fuel will not cause damage to critical parts by the methods described above. Many drivers mistakenly fuel recovery specialists driving the forecourt without recognizing the dangers, asking for help only when their engines stop after few miles down the road without long term adverse effects.
However, driving a diesel car with petrol in the tank can cause serious and costly damage in very short order and the cost of extensive repairs is not worth gaming.
Even if you drive the engine away without damage, the event is more expensive. This is because draining and flushing fuel from fuel lines and engines is a more difficult process than draining and flushing tanks.
Stop refuelling immediately, some experts say that if you put in petrol, you have a chance to get out of it – unless you have more than 5 per cent petrol in your diesel tank.
Tell the Filling Station attendant, drivers will take it to their stride as it happens often. If they want you to move your car, ask them to help you to push it, turn the ignition key to unlock the steering. Do not turn on the dashboard lights or start the engine.
Call your wrong fuel roadside assistance service or specialist wrong fuelling service, if your breakdown service is unable to assist, the filling station will have contact details for the appropriate company. Since you can find well-known operators across the country using Google and smartphones, do not bother using the operator even if you are not comfortable with it.
Wait with the car as long as it is safely parked, the tank will be drained, dried and put in the place, usually within 30 to 40 minutes. Then you’ll be able to refill it, hopefully this time with the right fuel, and you may drive then.
