Wrong Fuel

don_1 · 07-01-2009, 13:07

My daughter put the wrong fuel in my car. She put Â£5 worth of diesel in a petrol car. After I told her that the car takes petrol she then diluted it by filling the car with petrol to the top.

Will this harm the engine or car... if so in what way???

Thanks

**Kymmy** · 07-01-2009, 13:09

It'll smoke for a bit...but shouldn't be a major problem but if it's a small car with a small tank it could be a problem...

What a lot of people do is syphon out half of the petrol/diesel, refill with petrol and then use the other half of the syphoned mix in yet another full tank of petrol...

The only issue is the cars Catalytic convertor that might be damaged..

don_1 · 07-01-2009, 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kymmy

It'll smoke for a bit...but shouldn't be a major problem but if it's a small car with a small tank it could be a problem...

What a lot of people do is syphon out half of the petrol/diesel, refill with petrol and then use the other half of the syphoned mix in yet another full tank of petrol...

The only issue is the cars Catalytic convertor that might be damaged..

What does a car's Catalytic Covertor actually do and how does it operate?

How will I know that it getting damages by the the wrong fuel?

Thanks

07-01-2009, 13:20

Â£5 worth of diesel in a small tank isnt a lot though is it with prices nowadays

AbyssUnderground · 07-01-2009, 13:20

Â£5 shouldn't do any damage. It happens in the garage all the time (I work at a shell garage) and we just tell the customer to fill the tank up as much as they can with the correct fuel to dilute it. Even a few regulars have done it and people who work with me, and they had no problems, so it should be OK. Someone I work with put Â£10 of the wrong fuel in once and just filled her car up with the right fuel. No issues there.

**Chris** · 07-01-2009, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by don_1

My daughter put the wrong fuel in my car. She put Â£5 worth of diesel in a petrol car. After I told her that the car takes petrol she then diluted it by filling the car with petrol to the top.

Will this harm the engine or car... if so in what way???

Thanks

More info required ...

What car is it, i.e. what size of fuel tank are we talking about?
Did she drive it at all before going back to top up with petrol?
If she drove it before adding the petrol, roughly how much petrol was in the tank already?
How old is the car?

There is a risk of serious damage to the catalytic converter. If the cat fails, the MOT fails. Replacing the cat can be expensive.

don_1 · 07-01-2009, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

More info required ...

What car is it, i.e. what size of fuel tank are we talking about?
Did she drive it at all before going back to top up with petrol?
If she drove it before adding the petrol, roughly how much petrol was in the tank already?
How old is the car?

There is a risk of serious damage to the catalytic converter. If the cat fails, the MOT fails. Replacing the cat can be expensive.

It's a Peugeot 206 1.4 petrol car. She didn't drive it after she put diesel in, she put petrol straight away.

The car is a 2004 model (54 plate).

What does a car's Catalytic Covertor actually do and how does it operate?

How will I know that it getting damages by the the wrong fuel?

**Kymmy** · 07-01-2009, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by don_1

It's a Peugeot 206 1.4 petrol car. She didn't drive it after she put diesel in, she put petrol straight away.

The car is a 2004 model (54 plate).

What does a car's Catalytic Covertor actually do and how does it operate?

How will I know that it getting damages by the the wrong fuel?

A cat is simply a honeycomb mesh of a platinum (or similar material) that the exhaust gases pass through, the platinum acts as a catalyst changing the emisions... The ONLY way of telling if it's damaged is on a gas analyser (it's done at your MOT)

With such a small amount you should be fine though...

**Chris** · 07-01-2009, 13:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by don_1

It's a Peugeot 206 1.4 petrol car. She didn't drive it after she put diesel in, she put petrol straight away.

The car is a 2004 model (54 plate).

What does a car's Catalytic Covertor actually do and how does it operate?

How will I know that it getting damages by the the wrong fuel?

The catalytic converter converts nasty carbon monoxide in your exhaust gases into slightly less nasty carbon dioxide. All cars have had to have a cat fitted for maybe 15 years now - EU rules. A working cat is part of the MOT test so any MOT testing station will have the equipment to see if it's working. I wouldn't bother getting it tested before the MOT comes up anyway, though, as it won't otherwise affect the car's performance.

As for the other stuff - well, that Pug probably has a 45-litre tank or thereabouts, so about 5 litres of diesel in all of that isn't a lot. You might just get away with it!

haydnwalker · 07-01-2009, 13:38

You probably won't know that its damaged until the MOT and it fails...they can be expensive (more labour than parts as you can pick up 206 cats for roughly Â£70 new)

don_1 · 07-01-2009, 13:48

So putting wrong fuel in a car only damages the cat and not the engine?

**Kymmy** · 07-01-2009, 14:11

No, but petrol engines cope better with a bit of diesel then diesel engines with a bit of petrol in them..

A bit of diesel in a petrol engine will make it smoke and might slightly clog up an injector or two (making throttle response slow)

Where as a bit of petrol in a diesel engine will make it run a lot hotter due to the higher octane rating and can hole a piston as well as frying the injectors/glowplugs

**Chris** · 07-01-2009, 14:11

Putting a lot of the wrong fuel in a car can seriously ruin your engine as well, and would require the engine and fuel system to be stripped down and cleaned out. Very, very expensive. However your daughter only has a small amount of diesel in the tank so *should* be ok.

Wayfair · 07-01-2009, 14:15

As you obviously seem very concerned about it I would recommend having it picking up and taken to a garage and having the tank and fuel system flushed out and the filters replaced, seems to me your going to worry your head off till the MOT is due.

Yeah it's going to cost a chunk but its really not worth worrying about.

don_1 · 07-01-2009, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayfair

As you obviously seem very concerned about it I would recommend having it picking up and taken to a garage and having the tank and fuel system flushed out and the filters replaced, seems to me your going to worry your head off till the MOT is due.

Yeah it's going to cost a chunk but its really not worth worrying about.

I've decided to just leave it and hope for the best.

Thankyou everyone for your advice.

Cheers