What to Do When You Put Petrol in a Diesel Car?

Ever heard of someone putting petrol in a diesel car? Maybe you have done it yourself? Well over 160,000 British motorists do it every year, that’s a shocking one every 4 minutes.

With this sort of problem happening up and down the nation there are now petrol in diesel car technicians who will drain your vehicles fuel tank and flush the fuel system while you wait. This service saves time and money for the motorist as the vehicle can be fixed on the spot instead of being towed to a garage for them to commence the work.

If you happen to find yourself putting the wrong fuel in a car, we have highlighted important steps to follow to reduce the damaged to your vehicle.

Step one
Do not start the vehicle as this will end up circulating the fuel around the vehicles system and will cause damage.

Step two
If you have started the vehicle, turn it off as soon as possible.

Step three
Call a wrong fuel recovery company to drain the contaminated fuel from your cars fuel system.

Step four
Wait for the petrol in diesel car technician to arrive and follow any safety advice they give.

It can be quite a scary experience putting the wrong fuel in your car, the most important rule is to stay calm at all times. Stressing about the problem usually only makes it worse.

The cost of the service usually is around £150 to completely drain and flush the whole fuel system, but this price will vary depending on the vehicle make and model and also how much of the wrong fuel was placed into the vehicle along with weather or not is has been driven or not.

With diesel cars becoming more popular, this has lead to more people putting the wrong fuel in their car. In the UK, there is roughly a 50/50 divide on petrol and diesel cars. With more people switching from petrol to a diesel every year, it is causing mass confusion on the roads with a motorist filling their car with the wrong fuel every 4 minutes.

If you have only put a small amount of petrol in a diesel car, you may be able to get away with just filling up the vehicles fuel tank. However if this is more than 5% of the full tanks capacity a fuel drain is needed. If it is less than 5% you may be able to fill the vehicle up with the correct fuel and be on your way. In either case we recommend seeking expert advice before making such decision.

If the wrong fuel is put into a vehicle and the vehicle is run, extensive damage may be caused to the fuel pump, injectors and other major components of the fuel system. Under no circumstances should a vehicle be run, if the wrong fuel has been placed into its fuel tank.