Putting the wrong fuel in your car can be a blink of an eye mistake which over 150,000 people in the UK make annually. Putting the wrong fuel in your car can be costly so it’s always advisable for you to concentrate on what you're doing when filling up.
If you realise that you’ve put the wrong fuel in before you set off or start the engine, stop what you're doing. Turning on the ignition can damage your car as the fuel will start to go through the engine. The fuel can be removed, and the tank can be cleaned easily if you haven’t started the engine, which will reduce the risk of damage to your car.
If you’ve already set off and started to see signs of the wrong fuel being put in your car, don’t panic.
Here are our steps that we would recommend you take if you have already set off.
1.Find a safe spot to pull over and turn off your engine immediately!
2.Make sure the engine is turned off and remove the key. This prevents anyone from accidentally turning on the vehicle.
3.Call for breakdown assistance
4.Listen to the breakdown assistance instructions and wait for them to remove the wrong fuel. Note to only turn the engine back on when the specialist has advised you to do so.
There are many different signs in which you can tell if you have mistakenly put the wrong fuel into your car. If you see any of these signs, there is a high chance of the wrong fuel been put in your car.
·Engine warning light illuminates on your dashboard.
·Engine issues such as stalling or irregular sounds coming from the vehicle.
·A strong smell of gasoline coming from the exhaust.
·Black thick smoke from the exhaust.
Stop immediately if you see any of these signs or you think that there is a chance that you have out the wrong fuel in your car.
Petrol in a diesel car. This mistake causes the most severe damage out of all the combinations of wrong refuelling. This is due to petrol not being as lubricating as diesel which causes damage to all of the injectors and the fuel pump. In severe cases, the entire fuel system in your car will need replacing to fix it. The engine will not start if you’ve put petrol in a diesel car which is the main sign of incorrect fuel being added into a diesel car.
Diesel in a Petrol car. The effects of putting petrol in a diesel car won’t show immediately. The engine will stall over a short distance, but the damage can be reduced if you can remove the fuel out of the car quickly.
E10 in an incompatible car. E10 has a higher octane concentration which is usually used for high performance cars. If you add this into your normal petrol car, there shouldn’t be many issues. However, if the car starts to stall, you must remove the petrol quickly to reduce the risk of further damage. But in most cases, you can just top put with regular petrol and the vehicle will be fine.
If you have any concerns or are not sure what to do, always stop as soon as possible and call for breakdown assistance. They will assist you and advise you what to do. It is always better to be safe than sorry in these situations.
Short answer - no. Most insurance companies do not cover the cost of misfuelling your vehicle, but some providers may offer this as part of their ‘accidental damage policy’. To find out if you have this, consult your insurance documents or contact your insurance provider.
We always advise you to be diligent and concentrate on what you are doing at petrol stations to reduce the risk of damaging your engine. We hope this has helped you know what to do in this situation. If you need any more information, contact us and we will be happy to help.