The phrase “misfuelling” refers to filling your car with the incorrect fuel. Even while it will be a very frustrating error at the moment, it’s important to remember that it happens much more frequently than you might imagine and that it is possible to be fixed.
Around 150,000 drivers misfuel their vehicles each year in the UK. According to research, this frequently occurs when a motorist moves from a petrol to a diesel-powered car and, out of habit, selects the wrong fuel nozzle. Because a forecourt diesel pump’s delivery nozzle is wider than a petrol car’s filler neck will accept, it is also much more frequent to put petrol into a diesel tank. This implies it’s relatively simple to mistakenly put petrol in a diesel car, but it takes a lot of willpower to do it the other way around.
If you have added a small amount of petrol into a diesel car and noticed it straight away at the petrol station and haven’t started the engine, then you stand a good chance of fully recovering your vehicle without any permanent damages. That’s because it’s generally accepted that mixing up to 5% of petrol with diesel fuel won’t have a negative impact. If you don’t have enough room in the tank to fill it up with diesel at the necessary 95% ratio, you’ll need someone to drain the tank for you.
So generally speaking if you have added a small amount and petrol into a diesel car and recognise it instantly. You should be recorded in full. However, if you haven’t recognised it right away and decided to drive off, well that’s a bigger problem that could lead to major damages.
If you would like to find out more about What happens if you put petrol in a diesel car? Then click this link to read our article that goes in-depth about the damages, effects and solutions.