Oh dear. I've had a senior moment and put 7 litres of unleaded into my diesel tank that was half-full (maybe 25-30 litres in). Car is octavia mk2 1.6 diesel (2012.)

 

Car was next door to skoda garage (100yards) and I had already started driving when it suddenly dawned on me, so i just pulled in and spoke to them.

 

Technician said it would probably be ok if i filled the tank to brim with diesel and then kept it well topped up, but official advice had to be draining the system - they will let me know how much this will cost on monday  (i've left the car there)

 

Anyone have any experience with this engine and petrol going in? I've read some mixed advice on here and am not sure what to do next.....

 

Thanks as always

My son did something similar in his SAAB a few years ago. He contacted the AA or RAC, & they gave the same advice as your technician, fill to the top with diesel, then keep topping up when there was space. They said it shouldn't do any harm so long as he took it steady & kept topping up to dilute the petrol, & the petrol would act a bit like a cleaner in the fuel system.

Good Luck.

Petrol in diesel car was OK in the past. I've spoken to people about this and nobody recommends mixing fuels. Maybe 1 l of petrol would be nothing bad but it's 7l in this case and that's 1/8 of the tank capacity. These new diesels are very sensitive and it's a very expensive repair if something bad happens.

I'd recommend to drain all fuel just in case. Shouldn't cost much, I think.

Years ago I've heard of lorry drivers putting petrol into diesel engine to stop the wax thickening in winter.

Years ago it wasnt such a big issue,i used to put a bit of petrol in my transit van to stop the diesel waxing up in bad winters,nowadays with modern common rail diesels its not a good idea to have any petrol in,if it was my car i would get the tank drained as petrol in a modern common rail diesel can do damage which is usually expensive to put right. 

Thanks - RAC charge 199. Wonder what Skoda will charge me!

Speak to a local indy garage. They should be able to drain the fuel out at a reasonable cost. As stated, years ago maybe not an issue but the CR systems now are a bit iffy. You could maybe put some 2 stroke oil in to aid lubrication (300 ml) until its empty if you don't want to drain it.

There are a lot of specialist firms that will come out remove all the fuel and flush it thro with a gal of diesel,about £100 a couple of years ago.

I was told adding petrol to modern diesels makes them run to hot and can damage the tips of the injectors :(

As you have driven it with petrol in the tank I would go down the fill to brim and keep topping it up route but thats just me.

If you've only driven 100 yards the contaminated fuel won't have reached the engine as more than enough in pipes filter etc.

 

Its very unlikely you will have done any damage but I'd say drain and refill to remove any risk of damage however slight.

 

If you have breakdown cover you may well be covered for them to drain as a number of policies provide this cover.

 

Scott 

The problem with misfueling the VW CR diesels is that the high pressure fuel pump is lubricated by diesel fuel. Petrol being a solvent reduces / removes the lubrication, leading to metal on metal contact of the fuel pump parts and resultant metal particles contaminating the fuel system, leading to some / all of the fuel system needing to be replaced.

The following is what the AA advise, however they do highlight the worst case outcomes as they are trying to sell a service.

https://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/wrong-fuel-advice.html

Hopefully you shut off your car before any damage was done given the short distance you drove.

If you've only driven 100 yards the contaminated fuel won't have reached the engine as more than enough in pipes filter etc.

 

Its very unlikely you will have done any damage but I'd say drain and refill to remove any risk of damage however slight.

 

If you have breakdown cover you may well be covered for them to drain as a number of policies provide this cover.

 

Scott 

 

 

Unfortunately that's not necesarily the case, as although the engine will have only consumed a tiny amount of fuel in that time, when a diesel engine is running there is a continuous circuit of fuel (far in excess of what the engine is burning) being drawn from the tank by the lift pump, going through the filter, high pressure pump, injector leak-offs and returning back to the tank again. As a result contaminated fuel will reach the high pressure pump and injectors in a matter of seconds, even on tickover. I agree though that the best course of action would be to get the tank drained.

Edited 7 September, 201510 yr by nick74

If you are drive the car it may cause the problem. I may scare you a bit but its fact.

I was put the petrol to my bmw diesel and drive a 300 yards. Ive used to work for bmw at that time so our tech cleaned the system put a new filter and said like, the car will die in a few days for 100%.After two weeks my car stoped on the middle of the local high street.as the car was under warranty I call for recovery and sent it to the different dealer because my one said not to bring it because the bosses know what happened. So, to make the long story short BMW dealer spent over £6000 to make the car works again. All fuel system was replaced. They ask me many times if the petrol was in the tank, I lie and answer no! So as they have no evidance all the problems pass me very near. But after that my car never been the same. Was came back to the dealer a few times with missfairing, engine shake etc. I sold it to the lady who drive it till now and very happy with her purchase..... ))

Thanks for all your help!

Outcome:

Skoda dealer called me this morning and quoted £540 to drain, flush etc!!

I called RAC who did it in less than an hour for £199 and gave me £10 of diesel from his van.

I'm sure I could have got it done a bit cheaper but I have piece of mind with RAC. The Skoda dealership were outrageous. I cant believe that they get away with it...

Last year i was put about 7 liters of petrol to the diesel tank of my Octavia before realise what Ive done.i did not start the motor because of previous experiense. I open the thank from under the seat and drain the tank, clean with paper, put fresh diesel, It take me about two hours of labor just next to the pump on petrol station. Big saving and simple job if you know what you doing

Having read through this topic and recently purchased a Skoda Octavia 1.6 CR TDI (2012), can anyone suggest a mis-fueling device that would help us being victims of the same misfortune?

 

We recently ordered a Fuel Angel that was supposed to fit but despite at least an hour of trying it would not sit properly in the aperture (Apparently the steel neck of the device was too long). This has now gone back.

 

A few years ago there were a number of such devices on the market including 'Solo Diesel' and 'Diesel Head' but not sure what is still out there available and that will definitely fit our Octavia.

 

Many thanks if anyone can assist.

 

 

Further to my last post, can anyone kindly advise on any experience of using the Caparo mis-fueling prevention device and as shown below.

 

Some suggestion that the angled splines inside the fuel neck on the Octavia make full filling with this device difficult. So before I go ahead with any prospective purchase just seeking some views from anyone who may have used this item.

 

Many thanks.