Wrong Fuel in my Car Colchester

What to do after putting the wrong fuel in your car

Have you turned the ignition yet? If not, don’t!

The most serious damage from misfuelling occurs after turning on the ignition. 

So if you realise you’ve put the wrong fuel in your car before starting your engine, you’re in luck. Here’s what you should do:

Leave your engine switched off and avoid putting your key in the ignition
Let staff at the petrol station know what’s happened
Put the car in neutral
Push the car to a safe place
Call us to flush your fuel system
 

What to do if you start your engine after misfuelling

If you’ve started your engine after filling up with the wrong fuel you should:

Turn off the engine immediately if it’s safe to do so. If not, pull over to a safe spot
Put the vehicle in neutral
Call us to drain and flush your fuel system

Fixing your car after misfuelling

Our wrong fuel recovery service drains the tank and fuel system of contaminated fuel and provides you with enough clean fuel to start moving again.

We can even get your vehicle towed away  if the damage is too great.

Misfuelling

Whether it’s putting diesel in a petrol car or vice versa, this common mistake happens around once every three minutes in the UK and is easily done when not paying full attention at the pumps. 

The unfortunate reality is the error can end up proving rather costly, as fuel systems may need to be completely replaced. 

Wrong fuel in your car: the symptoms

 

If you’ve used petrol in a diesel car you might notice:

a loud knocking sound while accelerating
excessive smoke coming from your exhaust
slower than usual acceleration
the engine warning light illuminating
the engine stopping altogether
your car struggling to restart 

If you’ve used diesel in a petrol car you might notice:

your engine misfiring
excessive smoke from your exhaust 
your engine cutting out
your engine failing to restart

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What happens when you put the wrong fuel in your car

Putting petrol in a diesel car

Putting petrol in a diesel car is far more serious than putting diesel in a petrol car. 

However, you can limit the damage to your engine by leaving it switched off and your keys well away from the ignition.

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Putting petrol in a diesel car
Diesel cars use fuel as a lubrication oil, ensuring engine parts run smoothly to prevent wear and tear. 

When petrol is added to diesel the mixture acts like a solvent, dissolving the lubricant. Switching on your ignition circulates the mixture and increases friction between components, damaging parts including your fuel lines and pump.

Repairs are often expensive and you may need to replace your entire fuel system.

Putting diesel in a petrol car
Putting diesel in a petrol car is less serious than putting petrol in a diesel car.

After starting your engine, the diesel will coat spark plugs and the fuel system, which often leads to misfiring. Your engine may give off smoke, cut out, or fail to start at all.

You should drain the fuel system as soon as possible.

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Putting E10 fuel in an incompatible car

there could be as many as 600,000 vehicles on our roads that aren’t compatible with the fuel.

If you put E10 fuel in an incompatible car it will still run, but seals, plastics and metals may be damaged over longer periods as a result of bioethanol's corrosive properties.