Fueled My Diesel Car with Petrol, What to Do Now?

With the refined and advanced diesel engines, misfuelling is a growing issue these days. People tend to get confused with the quietness of the diesel power mills as there is hardly a difference between the sound of petrol and diesel engines. Although, it seems to be a small mistake from the owner’s perspective but it can certainly cost you thousands of dollars to get the issue fixed. You need to be careful while fueling your car and know what exactly you need to do if in any case this faulty scenario comes up. We here at CarBay have listed few points of what you need to do if you pour in wrong fuel in your car.

Don’t Panic

If you have committed the mistake of pouring in petrol in a diesel engine, just be calm and don’t panic. Panicking won’t help flushing out the wrong fuel rather would build on your stress quotient. It’s not only you, this issue has been spotted several times in the recent past so don’t blame yourself for everything.

Do not turn the ignition on

If you have fueled your diesel car with petrol or vice-versa already then don’t panic and DO NOT start the engine, not even till the point when light illuminates inside the cabin. Doing this would ignite the fuel system that would start sucking petrol up the diesel tubes. Turning the engine on could damage the fuel system and its various parts that aren’t compatible with petrol. The mix of petrol and diesel solvent can reduce the lubrication process inside the system resulting in damaging the metal parts when they rub together. Further contamination can be caused to the system with the flow of this mix solvent, hence it is advised to get rid of the wrong fuel as soon as possible.

Stop as soon as you notice

Doesn’t matter if you have poured in a few percent of wrong fuel in the tank, precisely 5% of it, stop filling immediately. Experts say that you can get away from the real damage if you haven’t filled the wrong fuel more than 5% of the tank capacity. As soon as you notice the wrong pipe is inserted in the tank, STOP!

Contact pump incharge

Calling out for help would only help you to move the car in a right place. Make him aware of the situation so that he can ask the guys to help you move the car to a suitable location. REMEMBER, don’t start the ignition, just turn the keys to unlock the steering and make your car glide to side.

Contact experts

Call a breakdown service so that you can get professional help regarding the same. Ask for the service’s number from the filling station’s employee or incharge as they are likely to have the number of such a service. Wait for the professionals to arrive.

Let experts take charge

Once the professionals have arrived, wait for them to take charge of the situation. You'll need to brief the situation and how much fuel you might have poured in. They’ll ask you a list of questions? Make sure you brief them exactly what happened without complicating the scene. They’ll flush out the mixed fuel from your car, which would take around 40 minutes to complete the task. After which you can refuel the car with the right fuel and drive away.

What if I have driven with the wrong fuel?

Nothing to brag about as the mistake has already being committed. Don’t panic as short distance on wrong fuel won’t cost you much. The major damage is still under control. However, if you have driven far then it might call for an expensive affair as the wrong mix solvent will circulate through the fuel pipes damaging the essential components of the engine. The complete flushing and draining the fuel lines and engine is necessary to rectify the issue and draining just the fuel tank won’t help the cause.