Filled the Wrong fuel in your car ?

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The Stig
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Filled the Wrong fuel in your car ?

Postby The Stig » Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:54 am

Putting the wrong fuel into your car? :?: It can be a massive mistake. If the vehicle is driven, the engine can seize and parts of the fuel system may be destroyed. It can easily result in a disaster due to the long list of bills.


Petrol Vs. Diesel. How do they work?

Diesel and petrol both have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to choice. It often depends on what the engine is being used for that will help the driver to decide what type of fuel engine would be best for the job.


Diesel is run off an internal combustion engine which uses glow plugs to ignite with heat compression. Diesel is a much heavier mixture and also very oily. Diesel engines have a lot more torque (pushing power) at lower revs and a diesel engine comes in both two stroke and four stroke versions.


Petrol engines use spark plugs to ignite and burn fuel to make an engine run. Petrol engines rev higher than a diesel engine. In most petrol engines, the fuel and air are usually pre-mixed before compression (although some modern petrol engines now use cylinder-direct petrol injection). Petrol engines must be geared lower to get the same torque as a diesel but since petrol engines rev higher, both will have similar acceleration speed.

What are the steps you should take after putting the wrong fuel in your engine?

1. Do not turn on your engine

Occasionally you won’t realise that you’ve put the wrong fuel in your car until you’re halfway down the motorway and your engine suddenly starts to lose power. And if that’s the case, all you can do is call a on road assistance team or get it towed to your nearest service station.

However if you realise that you’ve used the wrong fuel before you’ve turned the engine on, then you’re in luck and could save yourself a lot of time and money. This is because the moment you turn the ignition on the fuel is drawn up into the system, further damaging your engine.

2. Calculate how much of the wrong fuel you have put in

Although it’s normally best to drain all of the fuel from your tank when you use the wrong fuel pump, if you realise your mistake while you’re still pumping, you may be able to get away with not calling out the repairman.When you realise that you’ve used the wrong fuel, try to calculate how much you’ve pumped in. If it’s less than 10% of the tank capacity you should just be able to top up with the correct fuel and drive away. However, if you’re unsure how much you’ve pumped in it’s always better to be safe than sorry and get the entire tank drained.

3. Lightning fast reflexes

If you don’t notice the error until the vehicle has been driven, stop as soon as you can and call for assistance. The longer you drive, the more damage you will cause to your vehicle.

4. Who is going to pay ?

If you have been on the correct path and it was the mistake of the petrol station worker its time to put your foot down and make them pay for it

5. Insurance

Also note that majority of insurance vendors will not cover for wrong fuel mistake under any conditions.

Hope this was helpful :mrgreen:

-The Stig :geek:
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