Have You Put The Wrong Fuel in Car?

Around 150,000 people put the Wrong Fuel in Car every year – roughly the same number of people as live in Guildford. So with this happening somewhere in the UK every three-and-a-half minutes, you’re far from alone if you find yourself in a predicament at the pump.

How much damage you can do to your car depends on the type of engine you have by putting the Wrong Fuel in Car, whether you’ve put diesel into a petrol or vice versa, how much you’ve put in, and whether the incorrect fuel has reached your car’s bloodstream. At this situation, you must call the Wrong Fuel Master. By calling the Wrong Fuel Master at the right time, you can minimize the damage of your car.

Don’t Switch Your Car On

If you have incidentally put Wrong Fuel in Car then the most important thing to remember is not to switch your car on. By keeping the car entirely switched off, you maximise your chances of keeping the misfuel contained in the tank where it can do less damage. As soon as the fuel starts being pumped from the tank towards the engine, the likelihood of an expensive repair job grows.

Some cars begin moving fuel around before the engine turns over, so it’s especially important not to even put the key in the ignition. Drivers of automatic cars may be tempted to turn the key in order select neutral and push the car away from the pump – even this is risky, and should only be done if it’s absolutely critical that the car is moved.

Inform the fuel station attendant of your situation and they may be able to help, either by closing down the pump or by cordoning off your car. If you’ve put the wrong fuel in your car, the safest option is to call Wrong Fuel Master and wait for them to come and get the Misfuel Recovery in no time.

If You’ve Started Driving

Many motorists who put the wrong fuel in their car notice during the filling process or immediately afterward. If you’ve already resumed your journey before the penny drops, you should pull over somewhere safe and remove the keys from the ignition.

If you've already started driving with the wrong fuel in the tank, stop where it's safe and call Wrong Fuel Master

Again, how much damage has been done will depend on a variety of factors, but the longer you run the engine the more likely you are to wreck essential – and expensive – components.

Symptoms of misfuelling include ‘lumpy’ erratic acceleration, misfires, and excessive smoke from the exhaust. If you seriously suspect that you might have put the wrong fuel in, calling a misfuel recovery firm 'just in case' could prove to be cheaper than simply hoping for the best.

Petrol in Diesel vs Diesel in Petrol

It’s far harder to put Diesel in a Petrol Car than it is to put petrol in a diesel car. That’s because the nozzle of a diesel pump won’t generally fit into a petrol tank, which gives petrol car drivers some protection against this type of misfuelling. Obviously if refilling your car from a jerry can, or if either the pump or the tank don’t comply with convention, you can still make the same mistake, but the vast majority of misfuelling events are petrol into a diesel tank.

It's easier to put petrol in a diesel tank than the other way around, but both can potentially damage your engine

This is unfortunate, as petrol can have a worse effect on a diesel engine than diesel has on a petrol. The main issue is that diesel fuel itself is used to lubricate certain essential parts of the car, and that petrol has none of the lubricating qualities necessary to keep components like the fuel pump happy. Petrol and Diesel generally mix together (rather than one fuel floating on top) so once the car starts drawing liquid from the tank, it’s already a problematic cocktail.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ACCIDENTLY PUT ADBLUE IN FUEL TANK?

To help avoid confusion, a lot of vehicles have a blue fill cap for the AdBlue tank and black, red or green for diesel, and sometimes on larger vehicles such as HGVs, the AdBlue and diesel fill points are positioned quite far away from each other. However, this isn’t foolproof and a driver mistakenly putting AdBlue into the diesel tank can have disastrous consequences.

Generally speaking, accidentally filling diesel into your AdBlue tank is unlikely as the AdBlue filler cap is designed for a smaller spout nozzle (19mm), making it impossible for larger diameter diesel nozzles to fit. The other way round however has become a common problem amongst drivers of vehicles with new SCR systems and causes costly damage.

If the unfortunate situation arises that a driver has added AdBlue in the diesel tank, do not start the engine as this will circulate the fluid around the vehicle’s fuel system. AdBlue is not compatible with many metals and materials that make up the internals of the fuel system including cast iron, steel, brass, aluminum and zinc, so it can corrode the pipework and components. This can cost thousands of pound worth of damage, not to mention the loss of use of the vehicle until the tank is drained and all repairs have been carried out. You need to get a professional to drain the tank and flush out the system before starting the vehicle.

Just Don’t Panic and Call the WRONG FUEL MASTER Immediately on

07456 691752

07554 566460

Environmental Friendly Disposal

We dispose of contaminated materials at designated depots that adhere to Environmental Agency standards in an environmentally friendly manner.

Wrong Fuel Specialist Staff

We only employ experienced wrong fuel experienced specialists with full qualifications and Safety Pass Alliance (SPA) accreditation. We provide the Wrong Fuel in Car Recovery at the best rates.

Our Fuel Drain Vehicles

Wrong Fuel Master has dedicated vehicles equipped with fuel draining units that have a UN-certified tank capacity of 300 litres.

We have a fleet of fully equipped vehicles that carry the latest mobile fuel drainage systems. Whether the problem is diesel in petrol or petrol in diesel, we’ll always drain your tank using the fastest and safest method. If you’ve added the wrong fuel, it only takes twenty minutes to drain the fuel from your vehicle when we arrive. We can have your vehicle running again so that you can continue with your journey.