Question 1

What happens if you put petrol in a diesel car?

Accepted Answer

If you have not started it, nothing yet: the petrol is in the tank and a drain puts it right. If the engine has run, petrol strips the lubrication the high pressure pump relies on, so you get knocking, smoke, loss of power and then a stall. Keep driving and metal from the pump travels through the fuel system, which is the difference between a drain and a rebuild.

Question 2

What happens if you put diesel in a petrol car?

Accepted Answer

Diesel will not ignite from a spark plug, so it fouls the plugs and clogs the injectors. Expect heavy white smoke, misfiring and a stall within a mile or two. Less severe than petrol in a diesel, but the plugs, injectors and filter often need attention on top of the drain.

Question 3

I put petrol in my diesel car and drove. What now?

Accepted Answer

Stop, switch off and do not restart. Most cars we attend have already been driven, so this is normal and it is still fixable at the roadside. We drain the tank, flush the lines and the filter and refuel with clean diesel. The longer it runs, the more of the fuel system it reaches.

Question 4

I put diesel in my petrol car. Is it as bad?

Accepted Answer

Not as bad, but it still has to come out. Do not turn the key, not even to move it off the pump. Diesel in a petrol engine coats the plugs and blocks the injectors rather than wearing the pump, so the damage is usually cleanable rather than structural.

Question 5

I put 5 litres of petrol in my diesel car. Does it still need draining?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Petrol does not float harmlessly on top of diesel, it mixes, and even five litres in a full tank changes the lubrication enough to matter. The same is true the other way round. Do not try to dilute it by filling up with the correct fuel.

Question 6

I put unleaded in a diesel. Is that the same thing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Unleaded and petrol are the same fuel, so unleaded in a diesel tank is exactly the case we attend most. The advice does not change: do not start the engine and ring us.

Question 7

The wrong fuel is in the tank, not the engine. Is that better?

Accepted Answer

Much better, and it stays that way as long as nobody turns the key. Wrong fuel in a tank is a drain. Wrong fuel drawn into the engine is a drain plus whatever it has reached on the way.

Question 8

What if you put diesel in a petrol car, or petrol in a diesel?

Accepted Answer

Three things, in order. Do not start the engine. Get out and stand clear of the traffic, hazards on. Ring us and we tell you the price before an engineer sets off. That answer covers "I put wrong fuel in my car" whichever way round it went.

Question 9

How much does wrong fuel cost to fix?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the car, where you are and whether the engine has run, so we give you the figure on the phone before anyone sets off. The call and the advice are free even if you decide against it, and it is almost always cheaper than a tow plus a garage.

Question 10

Is there a wrong fuel service near me?

Accepted Answer

Almost certainly. Thirty-four branches across the UK and Ireland, so the van sets off from your area rather than a depot at the other end of the country. Average arrival is about 46 minutes.

Question 11

Can you get petrol out of a diesel engine, or only the tank?

Accepted Answer

Both. Draining the tank alone leaves contaminated fuel sitting in the lines, the filter and the rail. We drain, flush the lines, change or flush the filter and prime the system with clean fuel before you drive away.

Question 12

Do I need recovery, or can it be done where I am?

Accepted Answer

Where you are, in almost every case. Roadside, forecourt, driveway, car park or yard. No tow and no garage bill, and you drive away on the same visit.

Question 13

Do you come out at night and at weekends?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Lines are answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including bank holidays. Most misfuels happen at the start or the end of a journey, which is rarely office hours.

Question 14

Do you attend vans, HGVs and fleets?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cars, vans, motorhomes, HGVs, plant and agricultural machinery. Roadside, yard or depot, with a VAT invoice and engineer report for fleet records.

Question 15

Where do you cover?

Accepted Answer

The whole of the UK and Ireland from thirty-four branches. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Petrol in Diesel Car or Diesel in Petrol Car?

Why choose Wrong Fuel Fixer

What that means for you

What older pumps do

We are already in your area

What happens if you put the wrong fuel in

Petrol in a diesel car

Diesel in a petrol car

Ring the specialist, not the garage

What we are called out to

Whatever you drive

Thirty-four branches. One is near you.

Nine thousand people have already been where you are

The questions everyone asks

Cannot talk right now?

Stop reading. Pick up the phone.

You are still reading.
The wrong fuel is still in the tank.

Mention the code when you ring