Bad fuel or put the wrong fuel in your car?

It’s a problem none of us want to think about, but since most gas stations have multiple fuels available, it’s quite possible that you accidentally put the wrong fuel in your car. Maybe you weren’t paying close attention to what you were doing and put gas in your diesel engine, or maybe you accidentally filled your tank with diesel fuel when what you wanted was gas. It’s embarrassing, but anyone who looks at how fuel stations are set up can see how some people can put the wrong fuel in their car. Unfortunately, the wrong fuel can cause serious problems, diesel fuel is a propellant as well as a lubricant, so putting gasoline in a diesel can strip the engine of lubricant and cause metal components to mix. Gasoline in a diesel engine is obviously very bad news for the car as it can eventually seriously damage the engine.

Actually, the problem of putting petrol into a diesel engine is surprisingly common in the UK, especially now that diesel cars have become more popular. It is estimated that 150,000 people make the mistake of putting gas in a diesel car every year. However, the opposite problem does not occur as often. Diesel fuel nozzles tend to be much larger than other fuel nozzles and, as a result, do not fit in the gas tanks of most cars.

If you find that you accidentally put gasoline in your diesel car, please do not start your car. Most of the damage caused by this problem does not come from the act of putting the wrong fuel in your car, but rather from starting the car and driving away. Starting the car will circulate the wrong fuel and make the problem worse. If you found that you are filling your diesel car with gasoline but you only filled the tank up to ten percent full, you should be fine if you stop pumping gas immediately and fill the rest with diesel. More than ten percent will require a fuel drain. Most shops will perform a fuel drain on your car, but they can charge a lot of money to fix the problem. Fortunately, there are mobile phone companies that offer roadside repairs, which is especially helpful when you consider that you shouldn’t be driving when this happens. Most cell phone repair companies pride themselves on being able to reach their customers within thirty to sixty minutes and perform a fuel drain in around thirty minutes.

One thing to keep in mind if you make the mistake of misfueling your car is that you could void your car’s factory warranty if you start your car or try to fix the problem yourself. If your car is still under warranty, call your dealer or manufacturer and ask them what action you should take. Most of the time they will tell you to take the car to a garage or call a roadside assistance service as mentioned above, to fix the problem.