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According to estimates from the AA and the RAC, in the absence of misfuelling prevention, 150,000 motorists or more fill their diesel vehicle fuel tank with petrol, every year. At FuelSure , we know that on a daily basis, that means an average of more than 400 vehicles per day will be misfuelled with all the associated problems and risks.
Misfueling prevention can be as simple as just thinking about what you are doing! Understanding what your vehicle requires in terms of fuel and consciously selecting the right fuel to fill up with will save an immense amount of bother and heartache. The problem is that even if we can make a good habit out of systematically thinking about and checking our fuel selection each time, we are often victims of another habit of just grabbing the petrol pump gun that looks like one that we used before. And that’s where the problem starts, either because we may unconsciously be thinking of a time when we filled up with the same pump, but for a different car.
Owners of recent petrol-engine cars are relatively safe from the dangers of misfuelling. For one thing, ever since car manufacturers started to make petrol engines with smaller filler necks to accept only unleaded petrol, it has been difficult if not impossible to get any other fuel in. If you own an older petrol-engine car, then watch out. In this case the filler neck was made larger and you might just get a diesel nozzle into an older petrol tank filler neck. Misfuelling prevention is a good habit to acquire in any circumstances. FuelSure can even save you the effort, by automatically protecting your car.
The less frequent occurrence of diesel fuel in petrol engine cars leads to problems that are somewhat more limited compared to petrol in diesel engines. The lack of complete combustion typically leads to ‘pinging’, reduction in power, smoke from the exhaust and oil contamination, if in fact the engine still runs. Long term abuse with a petrol/diesel mixture in a petrol engine can lead to piston, crankshaft and bearings damage, but in many instances, thorough cleaning to remove the diesel fuel is sufficient - a major difference compared to what petrol does to a diesel engine, if no diesel misfuelling prevention device is in place. Let’s be clear - the other way around, petrol in a diesel engine spells death!
So if you realise that you have become a victim of misfuelling by filling your diesel vehicle fuel tank with petrol, but have left the doors locked, then if possible leave them locked until you can get your tank emptied. The reason for that is that in many recent diesel vehicles, the action unlocking the doors is read as the signal for the fuel transmission system to start pumping fuel towards the engine. The more of the wrong fuel that gets to the engine, the more potential damage will be done.
Perhaps even more dangerous is that the possibility that a diesel engine will run for a period of time until the petrol contamination in the fuel finally causes it to stop - with the loss of power assistance for operations such as steering and braking. If you have ever tried either of these operations with the engine turned off (this is not recommended), you will know how difficult it can be to maintain any control over the vehicle. Save yourself the risk and the frustration by fitting a FuelSure today.
Save yourself all the hassle and all the risk by using a stunningly simple and inexpensive misfuelling prevention device for your diesel engine car. To get the information on how quick and inexpensive this solution is, call 0845 475 8397 or contact us via this form.
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