Unleaded in Diesel Engine

veronica

Hi, Help Please, Went to get Diesel today at local garage young attendant came out told him fill with Diesel and to my horror he started to put in Unleaded stopped him at €1.40 so he was very sorry for the mistake and said he would fill it with €20 of his own money and said this should solve the problem. Is this correct anybody?

eamon234

It'll be fine with that small an amount - just fill the tank with diesel.

ciarsd

At todays prices, I can't see 1L of unleaded causing any trouble in your diesel car.

Just top it up with diesel and away you go

kikel

It's only a small about of diesel. should be no problem. the other way round is more serious.. fair fecks to him for filling out of his own pocket

eamon234

Did it myself a few weeks ago put half a tank in the Missus' Ford Fusion worst thing about having a petrol and a diesel!

DirkVoodoo

Yeah, my old man has filled two diesel cars up with petrol in the last month. A bit pricey, but as mentioned, diesel in a petrol engine is bad!

BeardyGit

Fill it to the gills with Diesel, and keep topping it back up as soon as it's convenient, to dilute the petrol content.

And if I were you, I'd make a bit of a fuss in the filling station about this. That attendant made a mistake, but it shouldn't leave you at risk of having further trouble with your car,

Gil

veronica

Thanks everyone, put my mind at rest that it should be OK, just caught him in time. In future will fill myself gave it a good drive afterwards and appears fine, should I Let it go to near empty or keep filling up?

ballooba

Aren't the nozzles different to stop you filling a petrol tank with diesel?

testicle

ballooba wrote: »

Aren't the nozzles different to stop you filling a petrol tank with diesel?

Yes. But they do allow you fill a diesel tank with petrol.

veronica

so many conflicting reports on various websites even the smallest amount of petrol can damage the engine.Even using the key fob or starting the engine is not recommended if wrong fuel is put in.I am sorry I read this information now any Mechanics out their with help please?

martinr5232

Im a mechanic about a litre of petrol will do absolutely no damage.
You could have a lot more than that in it once its diluted with diesel it would be grand.
Dont be worrying about it.

eamon234

Seriously don't worry about it I did the same thing and I spoke to several mechanics about it first to confirm it was ok - if anything most of them said it would do the engine good - that small an amount will not make any difference whatsoever. The car's been driven every day since with no noticable change.

veronica

Thank u so worried about this only have the car about a month my whole bank holiday Monday has been ruined over this! Thanks everyone.

peasant

veronica wrote: »

so many conflicting reports on various websites even the smallest amount of petrol can damage the engine.Even using the key fob or starting the engine is not recommended if wrong fuel is put in.I am sorry I read this information now any Mechanics out their with help please?

This is essentially correct.

Modern diesels with their very high pressure injection pumps rely on the greasiness of the diesel to lubricate these pumps. Petrol is a detergent, it will wash away the lubricants from the pump and cause it to seize very, very quickly.
Furthermore, modern diesels already run their fuel pumps before you start the engine (when you open the door) to allow for quicker starting.

So, IF you fill your tank full of petrol instead of diesel, it is recommended not to start the car or even touch the key fob.

In your case though, with one miserly liter of diluted petrol, there is no reason to worry.

ballooba

testicle wrote: »

Yes. But they do allow you fill a diesel tank with petrol.

I know that. It's just that the former is more serious. Hence why the nozzles are arranged that way rather than the reverse.

veronica

Thanks everyone for putting my mind at ease u have all been a great help!

Eoin

ballooba wrote: »

I know that. It's just that the former is more serious. Hence why the nozzles are arranged that way rather than the reverse.

What will it do a petrol engine? I was under the impression that it was worse for a diesel car to have petrol in it.

leeroybrown

It was probably decided to protect the petrol engine given the far higher percentage of motorists they made up at the time the decision was made.

As other posters have said that little petrol should do no damage so long as it's mixed with enough diesel.

maidhc

ballooba wrote: »

I know that. It's just that the former is more serious. Hence why the nozzles are arranged that way rather than the reverse.

Nope. You will kill a modern diesel with petrol and it will cost the bones of 5k to fix.

The 2008 ford mondeo and focus have a fuel filler that prevents you putting petrol into a diesel car.

old boy

i always used to put a half tank of petrol in a desiel car before the n.c.t. it brings the emissions down, dunno about the modern ones tho

leeroybrown

Half a tank. Holy Jeff...

I thought conventional wisdom dictated that a pint or two of kerosene/paraffin would provide that effect but at half a tank the physics of lubrication and chemistry of combustion could very easily bite back.

E92

Why is diesel in a petrol car so bad? I always thought it was the other way around that caused all the problems.

leeroybrown

E92 wrote: »

Why is diesel in a petrol car so bad? I always thought it was the other way around that caused all the problems.

It's not 'that' bad. In a petrol diesel will just foul the plugs and it'll fail to start. In a diesel a high concentration of petrol could mean a new injection pump or worse.

veronica

This is what the AA Motor site tells me MISFUELLING - DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT!
Every year something like 120,000 motorists in the UK fill their car’s tank with the wrong fuel. It can cost from £80 up to thousands of pounds - and take days to put right. The risk of filling with the wrong fuel increases if you often drive hire or pool cars of different types.
Even a small amount of the wrong fuel can seriously damage the car’s fuel system or reduce the efficiency of the catalyst.
Most pumps use a colour coding –
Green for unleaded petrol
Black for Diesel. I am now more confused then ever.Anybody had a similar problem with 2006 Toyota Corolla

maidhc

veronica wrote: »

This is what the AA Motor site tells me MISFUELLING - DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT!
Every year something like 120,000 motorists in the UK fill their car’s tank with the wrong fuel. It can cost from £80 up to thousands of pounds - and take days to put right. The risk of filling with the wrong fuel increases if you often drive hire or pool cars of different types.
Even a small amount of the wrong fuel can seriously damage the car’s fuel system or reduce the efficiency of the catalyst.
Most pumps use a colour coding –
Green for unleaded petrol
Black for Diesel. I am now more confused then ever.Anybody had a similar problem with 2006 Toyota Corolla

It is very simple:

If the car has a diesel engine - fill it with DIESEL
If it has a petrol engine - fill it with PETROL

veronica

It must be very hard on you being so clever all the time.The attendant made the mistake not me.Anybody have any constructive advise please.Thank u

phill106

id bring it to a main dealer, see what they say. If its chargeable, have a word with the manager of the petrol station.

maidhc

veronica wrote: »

It must be very hard on you being so clever all the time.The attendant made the mistake not me.Anybody have any constructive advise please.Thank u

You got lots of good answers! There is no harm done with such a small quantity once you filled the car up.

Indeed my mother did the same thing to her Avensis 60k miles ago (Women ). Everything else has broken on the car, but the engine is fine.

But a lot of these "misfueling" incidents come from a lack of interest rather than anything else. Few people misfuel themselves egg sandwiches when they meant to get a blt