Whether you’ve put diesel into a petrol vehicle or petrol into a diesel vehicle, putting the wrong fuel in your vehicle doesn't need to be a disaster.

 

​If you realise at the pump that you’ve filled up with the wrong fuel, don’t start the car. Please contact our technicians – it’s when you start driving, that the damage will be done to your car. If you have started driving, pull over to a safe place at your earliest opportunity and call us.

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​Petrol in Diesel vehicle

Modern diesel engines have high-pressure fuel pumps, and common rail injectors with very fine tolerances.

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Those fuel pumps are lubricated by diesel fuel itself, as it passes through. Replace that diesel with petrol, and its solvent properties mean the lubrication effect is eliminated too. A fuel pump running without lubrication will soon begin to create internal friction as its metal surfaces grind together. It will then begin to disintegrate, and that in turn creates swarf – potentially microscopic particles of metal that can do even more damage to your car's engine further down the line.

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It’s the diesel engine’s high-pressure injectors that are next at risk. They force fuel into the engine cylinders through very fine holes, and with a carefully engineered spray pattern. If swarf gets as far as the injection system it will simply block some or all of the holes, and a replacement common rail injector system which would usually be costly.

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Further misfuelling problems can be caused by petrol’s corrosive qualities, which may degrade seals in a diesel system. 

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It's possible if you have driven your vehicle only a short distance that it has not damaged the vital components as described above, but is essential to stop the engine at your earliest opportunity to limit such damage.

 

With our specialized equipment we can drain off the wrong fuel, safely and environmentally dispose of it, flush out the car’s fuel system to ensure there’s no residue of the contaminating fuel left in the car.

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Please contact us for further details or to book in your vehicle.​​​

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