The Fuel Doctor Blog

Fuel Doctor Birmingham was called out to an A Class Mercedes recovery in Tipton Birmingham. The driver had put a full tank of petrol in his diesel car. No need to panic though, once the driver called us we were able to drain the fuel, clean his tank and system and have him back on the road within the hour.

Once again Fuel Doctor saves the day and yet another motorist back on the road in no time!

If you've ever wondered what it's like for us out on the road and what we get up to, here are some recent fuel drains we perform day in and day out throughout the UK, so know this - you are not alone!

We spend a lot of time visiting forecourts and this customer in Preston was back on his feet in less than an hour after Fuel Doctor Robin got him.

Well it's been a busy summer helping out folks up and down the country that put the wrong fuel in their cars, lorries, vans, bikes and even farming machinery. It's such a common mistake to put petrol in diesel and diesel in petrol and as a long as we are human we will keep making the mistakes. This is where Fuel Doctor comes in, we make these mistakes ourselves so we understand what it is truly like when you put the wrong fuel in your car and this is why to our customers we are the 4th emergency service.

Below is a recent happy customer we helped in Halifax West Yorkshire, the customer put the wrong fuel in her Hyundai IX35, 35 litres of petrol in diesel - ouch! But we took the pain away by getting roadside within an hour and charging her the cheapest independent fuel drain price in the UK and West Yorkshire area. After looking at other providers, we came in the cheapest and she noted how professional our man Lee was in looking after her and ensuring her that her car would be fine. Check out the picture below and if you ever put the wrong fuel in your car then make sure you call out Fuel Doctor from anywhere in the UK on our mobile friendly number 0333 444 9000

​Firstly if you have put the wrong fuel in your car - CALL US NOW FOR IMMEDIATE ROADSIDE WRONG FUEL RECOVERY NATIONWIDE! 0333 444 9000

Now, this might well be something you're all familiar with, it might be something that you’ve done in the past and have regretted it for a long time. I am of course referring to putting the wrong fuel into your car, and then having a myriad of issues emerge. But what does happen to your vehicle, if you put the wrong type of fuel in? What does it do to the engine, and the rest of the car?
 
Putting The Wrong Fuel In Your Car
 
The type of problem that we're looking at is what happens when you put petrol into a diesel car. All cars are sold as being either gasoline or diesel makes, and it’s for an excellent reason that the two should not mix. The fundamental problem is that diesel cars aren’t built to use and combust the petrol that you’re putting in, and this applies to the other way around, with petrol cars being unable to handle the diesel that powers their counterparts.
 
Incompatibility Between Petrol & Diesel Causes Damage
 
Therefore, putting the wrong fuel in can not only be incompatible with your vehicle but can also cause severe damage to the engine and other parts of the car. Diesel is actually used as a lubricant for important parts of the car, which means that adding petrol can apparently damage the fuel injector pump in the vehicle, which is a crucial part of the operating system, because it can reduce the lubrication process as different parts of the engine move and brush past each other, causing damages.
 
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that diesel and petrol have different combustible properties. To put it another way, petrol will detonate sooner inside the diesel engine than the diesel would. This can lead to misfires and possible damage to several delicate and vital parts of the engine, which can be extremely expensive to repair or replace, so that’s obviously something you want to avoid. Starting the engine once you’ve put the wrong type of fuel into the system can be damaging, as it will begin the fuel circulation and send the wrong fuel through the entire engine system, which can damage some parts beyond repair or destroy the whole engine in severe cases, rendering the vehicle inoperable.
 
Don't Panic, Act Quickly!
 
In the event you do put the wrong fuel into the vehicle, it’s important to try and move the car out of the way, and call your local breakdown service, explain the situation, and hope it can be taken to a mechanic, and then the incorrect fuel can be drained out without any severe damage to the system.
 
Overall, the effects of putting petrol into a diesel engine can be devastating and extremely expensive to put right. While it can happen as an accident, and many people are fairly switched on and will avoid this mistake, it’s important to remember to not drive the vehicle and to contact your mechanic or nearest breakdown service to get the car to professionals who can undo the damage if there is any and prevent a crucial part of the engine from being damaged beyond repair. 

Remember, Fuel Doctor are known as the fourth emergency service and with Fuel Doctors all over the UK are on hand to be with you within an hour (depending on demand). Once there our trained fuel drain technicians will drain the wrong fuel 

This hybrid car really doesnt want petrol in the fuel tank, but Mr Johnson made the error in Elland Halifax and had the foresight to not start the engine. We received the call and were out to see him within 30 minutes and he was back on the road within the hour.

Mr Johnson said this of our service

"I have never put the wrong fuel in my car in over 30 years of driving and was astounded when I did, I knew about Fuel Doctor from a friend and their service was brilliant. I won't lie, I was slightly embarrased, but James told me that it happens to many many people - so I laughed it off. Thanks Fuel Doctor!"

Here's a picture of the car in question and us performing the Fuel Drain in Halifax Yorkshire.

There are all sorts of news and answers about this but here is the truth to how the fuel burns and what their actual properties are. If you put diesel fuel into a petrol car the engine will run on lower power, maybe even pushing the car in to the engine maintenance mode and you'll see lots of smoke. This is not a problem as the fuel can be drained from the tank and run through the engine and the right fuel put back in and the car is on it's way again without any long term issues. The car should run normally ongoing.

Putting petrol in a diesel car will not lubricate the injector pump and also the injectors, this then causes the all parts to heat up and expand over time and then stick to each other potentially causing thousands of pounds worth damage depending on the car type. 

Again, do not be put off with this as this example is if the petrol had been run through the engine for a while, in 99% of cases where we provide fuel drain recovery, the customer has either realised the mistake and pushed the car to the side of the forecourt, or they have not been driving the car long enough for the car to have this issue. 

Another reason not to worry is that there will usually be some fuel already in the tank which will aid the lubrication in the near future after a misfuel, but the warning signs will be the car jumping and acceleration will jump too. 

The parts of the engine that can be damaged through putting petrol in a diesel engine are

• Pistons
• Piston Rings
• Valves
• Cylinder walls
• Fuel Injectors
• Fuel pump
• Connecting Rods
• Connecting Rod Bearings

So, no misfuel is good the car and both can be drained without any problem, but of the two we would say "Putting petrol in a diesel car is much more detrimental than putting diesel in a petrol car"

We recommend if you have put the wrong fuel in your car to do the following 3 steps

DO NOT TURN THE IGNITION ON
PUSH THE CAR TO A SAFE PLACE
CALL FUEL DOCTOR 

Below is a testimonial from Aron Johnston, he put petrol in his diesel Audi A5 Convertible on New Years Eve evening. We got the report that he used wrong fuel at around 7pm and he was one of the lucky ones that had managed to get his car back on the driveway. Even though he had put 20 litres of petrol in his diesel car which was already low on diesel, he got home and called us up straight away. This is what he had to say


"I was worried because I had read on other websites that i might need a new engine! I quickly called Fuel Doctor and the lady in the office reassured me that everything would be ok. I had an engineer out in Manchester within an hour (which is amazing for New Years Eve) and when he turned up, he quickly drained the petrol from the diesel tank with this inbuilt machine in the van. Very high tech, great bloke, we had a cup of tea for 15 minutes and then he worked his magic and filled me back up with £20 worth of fuel. 

It was a great all round service that actually left me smiling, it was my fault I put wrong fuel in my car, I was annoyed with myself, but not with their service.

They were cheaper than AA and RAC (who I am a member with and even they didnt cover me for it!) 

Just like to say, thanks to Fuel Doctor for getting me back on track, especially with it being a New Years Eve."

Aron Johnston