Answers of all questions about putting petrol in diesel or diesel in petrol, also find out which is the best wrong fuel recovery in UK.
Putting wrong fuel in car mistake is more common than you might think. We have been facing many engine replacement inquiries where the engine gave up because of putting diesel in to petrol or petrol in diesel.
It is not necessary if you are grown up you don’t make any mistakes and don’t have any flaws in your work. Mistakes are done unintentionally, no one make mistakes with a purpose. Misfuelling is one of the most common mistake nowadays, we are facing. According to Automobile Association,
there are up to 150,000 people who put wrong fuel in their cars every year.
Which means in every three minutes this unintentional mistake is done by someone. So if you have done this don’t be ashamed of this innocent mistake, you are not alone. Even police force in Britain has faced a total bill of £ £600,000 since 2009.
Wrong Fuel in Car
This increase amount of queries have triggered us to do a lot of research for our readers. In this article we will answer all the questions and provide all the information there is available on this subject. We have also done some research to find the best company that they can use in case they face they misfuel their cars. At the end of this article, you can find out the service you need to call if you are stuck with wrong fuel in your car.
This is a serious mistake, which may seize your vehicle’s engine permanently and cost you up to thousands of pounds.
Reasons of filling wrong fuel in your car
Life is so much busy and complicated now a days, it is not as simple and easy as it was in early days. With busy routine and competition in daily life, everyone is in rush and want to finish his or her work in short time. Because of these hurries people make a lot of mistakes which he realize latterly. Wrong fueling is also one of those errors which are done by shortage of time or for being in a hurry to save the time.
Another reason of wrong fueling is, people change their vehicles time by time and they actually are addict with their previous vehicles fuel, so by mistake they fill their vehicles tank with wrong fuel and realize it later.
There are many cases in which drivers are on rented cars. They normally are used to filling petrol in ther cars but the rental is diesel or vice versa
Types of Vehicle Fuel available
There are different types of fuel available for different makes and models of vehicles. Some of them are
- Diesel
- Unleaded
- Super Unleaded
- Premium Unleaded
Every fuel station labels the pumps to avoid wrong fueling not only this but also differs the size of nozzles to distinguish them from each other.
Things to remember in case of Wrong Fuelling
- Most of the insurance companies do not cover you in case of wrong fueling your vehicle.
- You may face severe damage and may be problem of engine seizing because of intentional or unintentional wrong fueling.
- MBC (Mechanical Breakdown Coverage) may deliver the security you need.
Difference between Diesel engine and Petrol engine
There are many differences between Diesel and Petrol engines which causes a prominent differentiate in both of them by fuels they needed.
Petrol engines
- Petrol engine inject the air, after which it is capable to use plugs spark to burn it after piston reaches top head center
- Petrol burns with firm spark
- Petrol engines need High Octane and Low Cetane for their fluent performance
- Petrol engines relay on spark plugs.
Diesel engines
- Diesel does not ignite with spark but burns much better thoroughly.
- A diesel engine compresses air first and after that make a mixture of fuel with it. The compression and heat gives them combustion and as a result, they run hotter
- Diesel engines require Low Octane and High Cetane for its better performance.
- Diesel engines do not rely on spark plugs
What Damages can Wrong Fuelling cause to your car engine?
If you fill your diesel engine vehicles tank with petrol, it will dilute diesel in tank which luckily does not harm your vehicles engine much but it is better not to drive your vehicle and preferred even not to start your engine. It may circulate contaminated fuel in engine and flush small metallic particles towards engine and fuel pump.
While wrong fuelling of petrol in diesel engine may cause some serious damages. If car is started diesel may clog up spark plug and fuel system. Which may cause misfire and stop running your vehicle as well.
Filling Petrol into a Diesel car
This is a common type of problem in fuelling cars. Because petrol nozzle is small and can easily adjust into the fillers neck of Diesel cars fuel tank which causes some severe problems.
Do not drive your car not even start its engine in case of wrong fuelling. Diesel performs as a lubricant and petrol works as a solvent in the diesel tank. It starts diluting diesel immediately and if you start your car, polluting fuel start circulating in the whole engine with all the contaminated fuel and small metallic particles of fuel pump or engine. Which may cause serious damages in a fuel pump, injectors, oil filters and other small parts of your car’s engine.
Small Amount of Petrol in Diesel
This is not the worst situation you are facing in wrong fuelling problem because petrol just tends to finish the lubricant qualities of diesel and dilute it. Even though it can cause issues with diesel engines but if you cover it up by increasing diesels ratio it may help you to come over by this problem.
You might be surprised to know that in old days and even in present, in winter petrol is intentionally mixed in diesel cars to avoid freezing of fuel. But we do not recommend this practice.
Like, if you fill your 60 litre diesel tank with 10 litre’s of petrol, there is no need to be worried for it. In that case fill rest of the tank with High Lube Diesel and keep your fuel level high for some time. It takes 2000 miles to use this petrol, which will not be harmful to your engine.
But in case of larger amount of petrol in diesel tank, it is highly recommended to drain polluted fuel to save your engine and to avoid damages to the high pressure injector pump.
Damages you may face by Petrol in Diesel tank
You can face many damages by this mistake of yours, following are few of them
- Engine may stop working
Diluted diesel or contaminated fuel damage the seals on the plunger, which helps to deliver the proper amount of fuel to the engine. If this seal is damage or fails in proper work the fuel will keep flowing towards the engine. Because petrol dilutes the fuel that is why it is easy for it to flow by plunger’s seal and keeps engine start. - Powerless performance
If contaminated fuel causes any flaw or error in fuel injector and fuel pump you may face the problem of powerless performance at high speed or maybe right after few minutes of driving.
Signs of Petrol in Diesel tank
If you do not realize your mistake of wrong fuelling in your car, it will be judged by such kind of indications by your car
- It could not be easy to start your vehicle if you put petrol instead of diesel in your car’s tank especially if your engine is warm.
- Engine starts making noises under load.
- If you succeed starting your car and start driving, there could be a big chance of excessive smoke from engine and exhaust pipe while driving.
Filling Diesel into a Petrol car
This is a rare but serious problem because mostly nozzle of diesel pump does not fit into the fillers neck of petrol fuel tank. But unfortunately if you commit this serious mistake, do not start your engine. Diesel is heavier and sticky fuel as compare to petrol so it is not easy to start a petrol car with wrong fuel of diesel, and God forbid if you start your engine somehow, be ready for some big engine repairing bills and even for an engine replacement.
Diesel doesn’t directly harm the fuel tank, but it may cause some serious damages if it circulates once in your petrol engine. This is mostly true with direct injection (GDI) engines. So problem won’t be start by wrong fuelling until you start your car.
As diesel is much dense and heavier than petrol it is hard that diesel is allowed to work in petrol engine longer. The only solution in this case is just to drain all polluted fuel from petrol tank on immediate basis.
Signs of Diesel in Petrol engine
In case you do not realize your error, your car start realizing you the mistake you commit. Following are the signs your car start doing
- Engine starts misfiring if you put Diesel in your Petrol tank.
• In case of wrong fuelling of diesel in petrol tank, engine won’t start easily.
• Engine cuts out.
• You may face a lot of smoke not only from exhaust pipe but also from engine as well.
What to Do if You Have Put Wrong Fuel in Your Vehicle?
Always keep in mind these few steps in case of wrong fuelling in your car.
- Not to start and drive your car at all. Not even to move it for aside.
- Inform the staff of service station about your mistake. May be they can help you in this problem of yours.
- Do not on the ignition
- Disconnect the battery before moving your car side ways
- Contact your roadside assistance to move your car and make it well
- If you realize your mistake after time and you start or drive your car, stop it immediately to avoid bigger disaster.
No matter you fill Petrol in Diesel tank or Diesel in Petrol engine car. Do not start your engine at all to avoid severe damages. If you realize your mistake in early stage of filling wrong fuel in your car tank immediately stop it. Try not to move your steering and do not start your car engine. It will keep the contaminated fuel in car tank instead of its engine.
You may save your car’s engine along with its fuel pump, injector and filters as well, by not starting and driving your car. But unfortunately if you realize it after time, stop your car on the spot. Contact your roadside assistance in both cases and keep yourself calm.
Potential damages by Wrong Fuelling
It is not possible to talk about cost of damage before facing damages of wrong fueling in car. But it is much easy to understand what damage can wrong fuel cause to your vehicle and its engine. Following are few potential damages which may happened by wrong fuelling.
- Fuel Pump can stop working or may show bad performance
- Wrong fuel can damage severely fuel injectors
- Catalytic converters may be damaged seriously by putting wrong fuel in car tank
- Carburetor service surely be disturbed
- Valves and seals of valves may be damaged or blocked by contaminated fuel
Insurance policies and vehicle warranty against Wrong Fuelling
No matter your vehicle is new and under warranty or you are paying a heavy amount for its insurance, you are not eligible to claim this problem if it is not in any insurance policy to assist you in this mistake nor you recover your loss against warranty of your vehicle.
Even this problem is not covered by your roadside assistance. They will charge you heavily for their fuel draining service because it is not in their policies either to assist you in this hectic phase.
How to avoid Wrong Fuelling
It is obvious that no one commit mistakes with intentions. If you fallen into a situation of wrong fuelling try to save yourself form suffering it again. Followings are few precautions with whom you may save yourself to fallen again in such kind of situation.
- Don’t rely on just color of nozzles
- Read pumps trigger label before filling your car tank
- If you buy a new car with different fuel consumption to your previous car, leave yourself reminders for it
- Avoid filling fuel in your car when you are in hurry or stressed
- Try to avoid all kind of distraction when you are about to fill your cars tank
An alternative way to avoid Wrong Fuelling
There is an alternative way to avoid such kind of hectic situation, which not only save your time but also save a lot of money of yours as well. By fitting a diesel cap on filler neck of your cars fuel tank, you can save yourself by this wrong fuelling problem.
This cap can stop petrol nozzle to enter in fillers neck and you will realize the upcoming problem before time. By spending £15 or £30 you can save yourself by paying thousands of pounds.
These caps are designed to fit into different makes and models. So be careful to choose the right one for your cars tank.
Types of repairs required in case of Misfuelling
In case of wrong fuelling, it could be included a new fuel tank and connecting pipes, new fuel lines, new filters, new fuel pump and sometimes there will be two fuel pumps to replace and injectors.
A normal or local garage will drain and flush polluted fuel from your cars tank and suggest a new fuel filter to your car. A lot of roadside assistance normally does not have facility of flushes and draining contaminated fuel from your car on the site but some will offer a fuel stabilizer as an alternative. This will help to clean and make its part lubricate while disposing of any remaining contaminated fuel left in engine and its part.
How much will wrong fuel in car cost you?
For those motorists who realize their mistakes on early level and does not start their cars nor even turn their engines on just need to drain polluted fuel from their cars tank, cost start from £120 to £250. Cost may vary depending on the car and its tank size.
But sadly if you are unlucky enough to drive your car away from fuel station and realize your mistake laterally the cost to a business can be meaningfully higher. If you are lucky even in this bad condition it may cost you approximately £1000 to £2000 including major repairs needed to be done from the resulting damages. But unfortunately if your problem is big enough then a big list of repair works and heavy bill of up to £5000 to £6000 is waiting for you. There was car owner who actually had to face a repair bill of £15000 due to wrong fuel. These rates are not official but are average cost of services provides by best roadside wrong fuel assistance in UK like RAC fuel drain and AA wrong fuel assist.
Roadside Assistance Services & Wrong Fuel Recovery
Here is a thing you should keep in mind. None of your roadside assistance covers this wrong fueling mistake of yours by default against your annual or monthly payments for their services. These type of problems are not in their policies. Even though they will help you in your this problem but they will charge you heavily.
Even well known and most famous roadside assistance in UK like RAS and AA fuel assist will charge you against their fuel assist service because they do not cover you for your mistakes.
The Best Wrong Fuel Drain Assistance
In UK, there are many companies, that offer wrong fuel drain services on roadside. We have analysed many of them. First there are two main companies that are the biggest names in roadside car recovery, AA and RAC. If you have cover from any of these, you should know that when it comes to recovering after misfuelling, this cover you rely on the most becomes useful. Putting wrong fuel in a car isn’t covered under your normal deal.
Their prices are much higher than other small companies who offer the same service. Even if you choose one of these, it is most likely that the job is sub contracted to a third party which is a small company in the area you are. So at the end you end up getting wrong fuel drained from the same company which if you would’ve chosen yourself will have cost much less. So there go the biggest names in recovery.
We have analysed, a few companies in this regard who offer their services in London and surrounding areas. However, we wouldn’t want to name the ones who aren’t offering up to the mark service. The factors we considered were:
- Price
- Turn-around time
- Ability to do a job in late night hours
- Online Reviews
- Customer Service
In this little quest, we have found GMM1 to be the best in their competitors. Their prices are the cheapest, starting from £99. It only took a little less than an hour for their van to turn up, do the wrong fuel in car drain. The time was after midnight. The technician who attended was very courteous and explained everything in layman terms. The next day on claiming about a made up problem with the car engine. They offered not only to come and have a look for free of cost but also offered a refund if the problem is to be found because of their fault. To be honest this is the part where every other company failed.
When your insurance company is not accepting your claim, where your roadside assistance charge you a lot, GMM1 is the only one standing with you in your problems to make it over in short time with the standard and quality of their services.