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