Petrol in Diesel car

[regiblinker]

Confession time.

 

I'm a silly silly person. I put about 50% of a tanks worth of Petrol in a Diesel 2012 fabia. I was running in red at the time so very little diesel to begin with.

 

I drove 30 miles from central London before realising my error.

 

I went through Skoda who sent a team to take out the petrol and put diesel back in. 

 

So let me have it folks. Feel free to tell me what a **** I am but more importantly.......... what's the damage :( Is my car cooked forever? Is the warranty voided? Aaaargh.

Edited 21 November, 2013 by regiblinker

[heners54]

They might try and void the warranty for anything relating to the fuel system and engine, I have heard of it happening when someone did similar to a Volvo, as for damage I'm not sure being honest, might be ok but you won't know for a fair while till something like the fuel pump does/doesn't fail early

[Outofthi5world]

They'll be no damage apart from some paint in the fuel tank. We had that happen to us one snowy blowy day, thought do we fill up here or at Morrisons since it's cheaper there than here by a few p, and since it was snowing hard and there wasn't much left in the tank we put £20 in to get us there easily, ended up stopped near darlington football stadium in the snow waiting for over 2 hours for the RAc (don't join the RAC!) They sent a low loader from some garage who took us to a garage and they pumped it out and put some diesel in, it fired straight away first turn like nothing happened. Never had any bother with it to this day and that was a couple of years ago. However we were left £215 out of pocket plus £20 worth of petrol and some diesel after the money we paid for the RAC membership, (seriously, don't join.)

We looked in the tank and there was a load of like purple paint mixing in with the fuel and apparently they paint the tank with this special paint that doesn't dissolve in diesel but does in petrol and that's how they tell if you put petrol in the car for warranty reasons.

[mikey vrs]

I never knew that about the paint.......you learn something new every day on here! 

[gadgetman]

I never knew that about the paint.......you learn something new every day on here! 

+1

[regiblinker]

Thanks for the posts so far - I'm pretty gutted about the whole thing, reading scare stories that the entire engine can need replaced. Can't believe I didn't pay attention to what pump I was using! I've been quoted £200 to flush the engine and £20 for the diesel which to me would be fine but I'm terrified of further complications and what it means to warranty/insurance?

[rwbaldwin]

The low/high pressure fuel pump and the injectors are lubricated by the diesel itself. They really don't like petrol and are easily damaged by it.

The petrol also loosens any crud in the tank and this should be caught by the fuel filter. The fuel filter should already have been replaced, but it's a good idea to have it changed again in about a week.

Your warranty won't be void, but it's unlikely to cover any fuel system failures.

[Volvomeg]

They might try and void the warranty for anything relating to the fuel system and engine, I have heard of it happening when someone did similar to a Volvo, as for damage I'm not sure being honest, might be ok but you won't know for a fair while till something like the fuel pump does/doesn't fail early

 

That is true with volvo, they are really funny with misfuelled cars and its not the dealer that void the warranty its volvo assist that recover the car that voids it before it even reachs the dealer on the recovery vehicle,

 

It can be reinstated but depending on how far the cars been driven it can be expensive

[Jeeves]

Tempting fate here, but I've never done it. I always have plenty of Millers on hand so that besides the normal maintenance dose there's enough to add as an emergency dose to lubricate the fuel system.

[Guest]

There unfortunately will be consequences. I'm ex tech and frequently used to see problems caused by misfuelling. It may run ok for a while but the high pressure fuel pump will have suffered some damage, most to bearings, and will fail early. Injectors too as these will have suffered damage after 30 miles of driving with the wrong fuel. Metal particulates from the pump bearings often find there way up to the nozzles and crack and damage the injector tips, also without the proper lube they fail early. Petrol is death to a diesel engine if you drive it any distance. Sister did the same thing last year and needed new pump, injectors, filters, etc. She only drove 25miles with petrol in the tank. After a clean out and new filters, the engine went ok for a couple of months then just ground to a stop with a some nasty noises emanating from within. It wasn't a Skoda (Vauxhall Astra diesel - latest model) but it's a common theme. On the upside the engine was fixed, no warranty of course, but it now runs perfectly. The cost was enormous. I won't depress you any further. 

[Ootohere]

I only got 100 yards after putting Petrol into a brand new Hyundai i30 1.6 TDi with about 6 litres of diesel in, and me putting in 50 litres of Unleaded,

when it dawned on me as the car hick-uped.

 

I thought the diesel was in the system and it would have gone several miles,

but i managed just to limp to a safe spot.

 

New car, 20 miles on the Clock, it needed over £600 worth of parts, total bill was £850.

Covered by the Lease Insurance, & i even got a cheque from the Insurance Company to compensate for the Mis-Fuel Petrol.

 

george

[regiblinker]

Thank you Estateman and sk4gw. Yes, it is an incredibly depressing (and costly) situation. The decontamination company have removed the fuel and put through diesel and I'm picking it up tomorrow. The girl on the phone said that no damage was done to the engine and sounded nice and positive. I'm not naive enough to think that's the end of the story, so wondering if you have any advice in terms of pre-emptively replacing items (because currently as it stands I'm £220 down, which to me is fair for what I've done)

 

Should I go to a private garage and see what they think? Or should I approach my Skoda dealer for advice? Sorry, I'm a car newb so don't know my arse from my elbow when it comes to this. 

[rwbaldwin]

The big problem is with the high pressure fuel pump and injectors. When run in petrol, the HPFP starts to produce tiny metal fragments which can find their way into the injectors. Even if you completely dismantle the fuel system, it is difficult to ensure that you get all the metal fragments out.

Assuming you get lucky and the metal fragments don't get you, you should expect the life of the injectors and HPFP to be significantly reduced.

There is no point in replacing these items pre-emptively.

[gadgetman]

Tempting fate here, but I've never done it. I always have plenty of Millers on hand so that besides the normal maintenance dose there's enough to add as an emergency dose to lubricate the fuel system.

VAG warranties prohibit ANY additives to fuel

[Furbytom]

I'm amazed it ran for 30miles on the wrong fuel! What did it feel like to drive?

[regiblinker]

At first, I guess it was burning through what remained of diesel, so it felt normal for about... oh 3-4 miles. The very first time I realised something was up, I was idling at traffic lights. There was a strange "convulsing" of the engine that I could only juuuuuust pick up. You know on a really windy day when the car wobbles slightly? A bit like that. But I put it down to the wind, (idiot). The bigger clue was hitting the motorway, I just couldn't feel any proper revs (seemed stuck at 20 MAX) so, even booting in third gear I could barely get above 40mph. I moved up to 4th and 5th and still with my foot to the floor I couldn't get above 60 mph.

 

THis is when I realised that ... things were seriously seriously wrong. Now unfortunately my car had been serviced recently (10k checkup) and I was getting (apparently a classic feature of Fabias,) 2 warning lights to do with the cat converter? and coil??? This manifested in less power when accelerating, or at least I think it did. So that was idiot moment number 2, thinking/believing that the poor acceleration was down to the car service last week. I feel so stupid.

 

Next time I parked the car it wouldn't start, that';s when it dawned on me. Reading the above answers I feel that a silly, newbie mistake at the pumps is going to wind up effectively costing me ... what... thousands? Damn, I feel like I've been hit by such bad luck all these factors combining. Although admittedly the major factor is undoubtedly my own idiocy!

[Jeeves]

VAG warranties prohibit ANY additives to fuel

...and you're not supposed to drive faster than 70 MPH on a public highway.

You'd have thought that they might have told the fuel companies that they don't want any additives. I can just see the queues of Ferraris forming at Shell forecourts once all the other brands revert to the minimum BS.

More seriously, I think they put that in (understandably) as a catch-all to wriggle out of liability for dubious additives - like petrol, which historically was added in small quantities (to commercials anyway) when it was colder than the CFPP of the diesel. i.e. to prevent waxing.

Honest John may not like low profile tyres but he does advocate Millers.

I would rather have a well lubricated fuel system, not only if I inadvertently misfuel, but also in case I ever run dry when I presume the grief given to the pump and injectors is almost as bad as trying to run them on a solvent.

[Furbytom]

At first, I guess it was burning through what remained of diesel, so it felt normal for about... oh 3-4 miles. The very first time I realised something was up, I was idling at traffic lights. There was a strange "convulsing" of the engine that I could only juuuuuust pick up. You know on a really windy day when the car wobbles slightly? A bit like that. But I put it down to the wind, (idiot). The bigger clue was hitting the motorway, I just couldn't feel any proper revs (seemed stuck at 20 MAX) so, even booting in third gear I could barely get above 40mph. I moved up to 4th and 5th and still with my foot to the floor I couldn't get above 60 mph.

THis is when I realised that ... things were seriously seriously wrong. Now unfortunately my car had been serviced recently (10k checkup) and I was getting (apparently a classic feature of Fabias,) 2 warning lights to do with the cat converter? and coil??? This manifested in less power when accelerating, or at least I think it did. So that was idiot moment number 2, thinking/believing that the poor acceleration was down to the car service last week. I feel so stupid.

Next time I parked the car it wouldn't start, that';s when it dawned on me. Reading the above answers I feel that a silly, newbie mistake at the pumps is going to wind up effectively costing me ... what... thousands? Damn, I feel like I've been hit by such bad luck all these factors combining. Although admittedly the major factor is undoubtedly my own idiocy!

Feel for you mate, that's a major headache to sort out. Hope it works out ok! You'd have thought in this day and age the nozzle designs would be completely different to prevent this kind of thing happening. Edited 23 November, 2013 by Furbytom

[lfc958]

How would you like a reply from someone who has actually put petrol in diesel Skoda & lived to tell the tail without any damage Yes ME i have done it. It was a while ago  & had read many posts here about people who have done the same before i actually did it.

 

So no need to be embarrased  as there are plenty who have done it, but not admitted to it & like me you will most likely triple check every time you fill up that you have the correct filler.

 

Nearly empty tank, - not quite on the red ( reserve of approx 6 litres) , started to put pertol in & realised just as i had reached 10 L, so I stopped & based on lots of previous posts, I filled up the rest of the tank with Diesel. so put around 45 litres on top of the petrol. The happy ending is - No damage, and the car seemed to accelerate a tad quicker till i filled up next time. ( it was probably just imagination    ).

 

I would agree with the post above about getting the filter changed sooner rather than later, and you should be ok as you got sorted quickly., but no one can say what / if any damage has been done.

[Ootohere]

My next door neighbour a few years back who was a mechanic in a Peugeot Dealership, run his 406 diesel estate car all the time on the mis-fuel stuff,

mixed Diesel & Petrol they drained from vehicles, & it smoked unbelievably.

 

He got a new Diesel Nissan from Motability when he retired and went for running it on only about 3/4 a tank of Diesel (Heavy Oil) from the pump & 25% of his 'Mis-Fuel' mixtures from his shed.

He killed the car within the first 2 weeks,  but would not admit it to anyone.

 

george

[Guest]

regiblinker, the only consolation is that, as has been said, you are not alone. You are not stupid either. It's just one of those unfortunate honest mistakes that we have nearly all done at some point and many have actually done it. So don't beat yourself up too much...well just a bit is ok! Don't go replacing anything at this stage. It's pointless. Just run the car and see what happens. Certainly don't go replacing the injectors or stuff like that because if you don't replace the pump at the same time there is a chance that when the pump does go, and it will, it will take out your new injectors too. Just leave well alone for now and drive it and enjoy the car. It's ok to make mistakes, but put some pennies aside for when you need them. But that may not be for a few months yet. Good luck and keep posting on this one if you can to let us all know how it's going. 

[horkin]

Can I just add my commiserations. It's an unfortunate and not uncommon mistake to make.

Nice though, to see the more technical members offering their advice which is what makes this forum so helpful.

 

Let's hope you beat the odds and get away with it..Good luck.

[XK140]

The only good thing about this sad story is that I've learnt a few new facts about mis-fueling.

To slightly change the topic,if you misfuel a petrol car with diesel I believe the consequences will not be as expensive,is this correct?

[Wonky]

Don't know what the outcome of diesel in a petrol would be, if it would in fact run. The dispensing nozzle on a diesel pump is larger than the petrol pump, so on modern cars it is next to impossible to get the diesel nozzle into the petrol tank. (Although it has been done) Older cars would be at risk though.

Sure somebody has developed a device that can be fitted to a diesel filler to prevent mis-fueling a diesel, should be adopted by all manufactures really.

Yup here's one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Contamination-Prevention-Device-Diesel-Filler/dp/B008MK2B52/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1385216054&sr=1-3&keywords=misfuelling+device

Surely would be a couple of pounds to incorporate during production.

[regiblinker]

In hindsight I would've fitted one of those above devices in a flash! I guess I didn't expect it to happen to me (who does?) Thanks for all the commiserations and technical pointers, great forum - not one bit of abuse yet 

 

I collected the car today so a bit more further info for those interested. I was made to sign a waiver that said something along lines of: "I have decided that instead of completely (insert technical jargon here, I think it was along lines of filtering out the petrol somehow) - I have decided to drain the petrol instead. This garage takes no responsibility for any further damage done in the future" SO I signed it and paid up the £230ish and got away.

 

The car started normally, the engine felt normal and responsive and on the motorway I could hit normal speed/acceleration with ease. Exactly as I'd expect it to run! If I were to be super picky I suspect the engine when idling may be 1-5% louder/older sounding but that's just a hunch.

 

Like I've said previously - I've taken everything said by experts on the chin. I expect problems after 6 months or so, if I'm lucky hopefully much later. 

 

I don't mean to be a complete evil *^%£*@#! but what duty do I have in terms of if I ever sold the car. I was thinking of trading in after 3 years (currently on 2 years on the dot)? Should I be informing my dealer?