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If you fill up from empty on the wrong fuel for a diesel engine, your only realistic option is to immediately have the fuel tank emptied. It may sound like money going down the drain, but if you don’t do it, then things can become considerably more expensive. Compared with what it costs to get your fuel tank emptied by a professional, plus the cost of the petrol that you misfuelled with, other expenses if you try to start and run the car could be more by a factor of ten, twenty or even more. It’s time to get the facts from FuelSure.
This means intervention before restarting the engine and in some recent models of cars, even before unlocking car doors. This is because on recent models there are systems that prime the fuel system at the moment when car doors are unlocked so as to make for easy starting afterwards. You may well have noticed that on current generation diesel vehicles, the glow-plus delay before starting that was built into the previous generation no longer exists.
Not only are new diesel engines quicker to get up in the morning, but they also take advantage of accompanying electronics systems that start feeding fuel through the system to pressurise it ready for starting. And after misfuelling, the further the petrol makes its way through the system, the more damage is likely. Petrol will attack your diesel fuel line, including pump seals and common rail injection systems. When it gets into the cylinders, it will not combust properly and your vehicle is likely to judder to a halt. At this point, it may cost anything up to £5,000 to get your vehicle fixed. Yet fitting FuelSure for less than 1% of that is possible today.
Getting a quote from a garage appears to vary in accordance with the type of vehicle concerned. ‘Budget’ brand cars such as Skodas may be quoted at the low end of the scale, still meaning over £100 with the solution being defined as draining the tank of the wrong fuel, cleaning and replacing the fuel filter. Towards the upper end of the scale, brands such as BMW may attract estimates of over £1,000, with replacement fuel pumps and transmission systems being added to the basic clean-up already described. Compare with FuelSure with minimal one-time investment and lifetime protection.
If you find yourself faced with a hefty estimate for repair work to be done after a misfuelling incident, ask ar
ound. Be prepared to describe the incident exactly and also what happened afterwards (did you lock/unlock the doors, did you start the engine, did you drive the car, if so how far, etc). Independent motoring organisations may be able to give you an objective, manufacturer-independent opinion of the situation and help to either rationalise or adjust expectations concerning repairs.
Motorists should never try to empty a fuel tank by themselves. Besides fuel being a toxic substance, it is also extremely dangerous because of the risk of fire or explosion. So say goodbye to the old trick of siphoning fuel out of a fuel tank and get a professional to do the job and dispose properly of the contaminated fuel for you. Do not try to ‘brim’ such a misfuelling mistake by topping up with diesel either. You’ll end up wrecking your engine.
In some cases, garages may quote for work to be done which they consider necessary in order to safeguard warranty, safety or performance for the vehicle concerned. In other cases, garages may be ‘erring on the side of caution’. Check around to make sure that the right work gets done, no more and no less. Modern vehicles, while being increasingly sophisticated in order to reduce both fuel consumption and emission gases, are still relatively resilient.
Whatever the costs of repair after misfuelling, you won’t escape a certain amount. Draining a full tank is already significant expenditure because of the fuel that you lose, not to mention paying someone to do the draining and then to dispose properly of the useless fuel mixture without harm to the environment. Avoid the problem altogether with FuelSure.
When you do a quick calculation, it becomes rapidly clear that FuelSure, an inexpensive, but highly effective device to prevent misfuelling in the first place, can save you a lot of money and a lot of worry, especially if you allow your car to be driven by friends or family for example. To find out more, contact us here or call us directly on 0845 475 8397 today.
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