As crazy as it sounds, on average at least 1 person puts the wrong type of fuel in their car every 3 to 4 minutes in the UK! Don’t feel bad if you fall under that category.
In this article, you will find out all the details regarding the process of what happens if you put petrol in a diesel car and the steps involved.
Recognising your error
As long as you realise your error at the service station, mixing petrol and diesel is not a catastrophe. Sure, getting your petrol tank drained will be a pain and expense, but the true harm could happen once you begin driving. If you’re unlucky, you can find yourself facing a payment in the thousands of pounds.
Around 95% of misfuelling events take place when petrol is accidentally injected into a diesel car. Because diesel pumps have larger nozzles that don’t fit into current petrol car filler necks, it is more difficult to misfuel when doing it the other way around.
If you notice your error as you’re filling up, you might be able to escape without severe consequences. 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.
There isn’t anything to panic about as long as you don’t turn the ignition key, apart from having to acknowledge your mistake to the garage attendant. Along with the typical fee for a breakdown van or equivalent service to visit and drain your tank.
The worst error you could do is turning the key because, even if you don’t really start the engine, turning on the dashboard lights may cause the fuel pump to begin to operate. It could be sucking petrol up the fuel lines when it should be priming the engine with diesel before starting. They will therefore require draining and cleaning, in addition to the petrol tank.
Petrol In Diesel Engine Effects
Modern diesel engines use sophisticated technology, such as pricey high-pressure fuel pumps and common rail injectors with extremely tight tolerances, to achieve their remarkable mpg numbers and reduce emissions.
Diesel fuel itself acts as a lubricant for the fuel pumps as it flows through. With petrol in place of that diesel, the lubricating effect is also reduced because of petrol’s solvent properties. Without lubrication, a fuel pump will soon start to experience internal friction as its metal surfaces scrape against one another. It will then start to break down, which produces swarf, which is essentially minuscule metal particles that could later cause even more harm to the engine of your car.
Petrol’s corrosive properties may deteriorate seals in a diesel engine, which could potentially result in additional misfuelling issues. Your garage should, at the very least, inspect the overall structure, analyze any damages, and flush it with a cleaning chemical.
The high-pressure injectors of the diesel engine are the next targets. They use a precision-engineered spray pattern and extremely small holes to drive fuel into the engine cylinders. Swarf will simply clog part or the entire holes if it gets to the injection system, and replacing the common rail injector system might cost upwards of a few thousand pounds.
Solution
If you are able to recognise that you have put the wrong fuel in your car, then follow these next steps, to ensure your safety and give your car the best chance of driving away efficiently.
Don’t start the engine
Ensure the car is in neutral and relocate it to a safe and secure area
Inform the petrol station staff
Call Fuel Hero – 0333 772 1724
Call your insurance provider
If you would like a more in-depth answer follow the link to OUR 5-STEP GUIDE