stupid stupid me

neiljc_2

I have put unleaded petrol into my wifes diesel lease car by mistake!!

as you can probably guess I dont drive it very often and hardly ever fill it up but yesterday I had the two little ones in the back at Sainsburys and got a 5p 0ff £50 voucher and thought I would be helpful and fill up her car.

I didnt even realise until today.

the tank was about a quarter full of diesel when I started and I then drove it the 5 miles or so to our house. surpisingly enough didnt notice anything wrong with the car at all.

what can I do?

the oh will have to ring the lease company in the morning and I know it will need to be drained and possibly the filters changed but will we get away with just that?

Ive read that sometimes insurance companies cover this as accidental damage but sometimes they refuse to cover even if this is not specifically excluded in the policy. problem is oh does not have a copy of the policy but believes because it happened to someone else two months ago the insurance company say it is not covered, the insurance company is called nsure? (ensure).

we are both feeling sick because of all the articles saying costs can go up to £12,000 to fix these problems.

it seems almost suspicious that there is not a simple fool proof system to prevent putting the wrong fuel in an engine,apparently this happens 400 times a day in this country!

millymoomoo_2

Hi hun, I know nothing about cars but my OH is a mechanic. Apparently you are right in saying it needs to be drained and new filters. He says no way £12.000 though. The very most would be a new engine but that is not likely (a few grand). Drain asap..do not drive anymore.

Good luck x

craftyfox

sorry i can't help you but have to say what a brave man you are for owning up :A my oh would have fill up the car and never let on anything was the matter until it stopped and i would be left sitting at the side of the road!!!!!!! sure someone will be able to help you

lifesuckssometimes

neiljc wrote: »

I have put unleaded petrol into my wifes diesel lease car by mistake!!

as you can probably guess I dont drive it very often and hardly ever fill it up but yesterday I had the two little ones in the back at Sainsburys and got a 5p 0ff £50 voucher and thought I would be helpful and fill up her car.

I didnt even realise until today.

the tank was about a quarter full of diesel when I started and I then drove it the 5 miles or so to our house. surpisingly enough didnt notice anything wrong with the car at all.

what can I do?

the oh will have to ring the lease company in the morning and I know it will need to be drained and possibly the filters changed but will we get away with just that?

Ive read that sometimes insurance companies cover this as accidental damage but sometimes they refuse to cover even if this is not specifically excluded in the policy. problem is oh does not have a copy of the policy but believes because it happened to someone else two months ago the insurance company say it is not covered, the insurance company is called nsure? (ensure).

we are both feeling sick because of all the articles saying costs can go up to £12,000 to fix these problems.

it seems almost suspicious that there is not a simple fool proof system to prevent putting the wrong fuel in an engine,apparently this happens 400 times a day in this country!

extend the lease get to the garage as said they will drain replace filters then return car beats risking a possible big bill with insurers


Good luck

goldspanners

drain the petrol off (safely) and change the fuel filter.
i dont see why you are going on about insurance,drain it yourself or if you are not confident get someone to do it,at most you would be charged about £10 for a filter and an hours labour,dont see any need for insurance to get involved.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

What is the car, and what is it's age?

People often dramatise about putting petrol in a diesel but in truth you'd have to be extremely unlucky to cause any long term damage.

sturll

You can do this yourself for a few quid.

Take off the fuel filter and then drain the fuel from the tank. Remove the fuel pump and empty any fuel out of that too.
Put all back together and fill up about 10 litres and then drain again.

Put a new filter and pump in. Fill the car up and add redex now run the car on idle for about 30 mins. (Dont rev engine)

All should now be sorted.

banger9365

i know it's not cheap,put heres the link to the AA that do it http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/news/aa-fuel-assist.html put now where near 12000

basill

banger9365 wrote: »

i know it's not cheap,put heres the link to the AA that do it http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/news/aa-fuel-assist.html put now where near 12000

I have seen vans about offering a drain out service, but have failed to turn any up on a quick google. I did see a poster in my local sainsburys advertosing a local service though.

B

Pete268

Its a pity other manufacturers have not followed Ford's lead on its new Mondeo, Focus etc and put a device in the fuel filler to prevent mis-fuelling. It apparently only lets in the correct sized nozzle for diesel/petrol so mis-fuelling is a thing of the past on those cars.

Pete

jetcat

brings back memories.....

back in the days when i was working, i regularly had to make trips to blackpool - a 6 hr round trip. Now, all the fleet cars i had had for the previous trips had been diesel (as the local authority had their own supply). On this one occassion (which happened to be the last trip i had to make - i wonder why ) i had to stop for refuelling. Can you see where this is going......

After struggling with the black fuel nozzle for ages, trying to get it to go into the petrol tank, my colleague tried, and when he couldnt either, we got the garage attendent to come out and have a go! We eventually managed to get some diesel in, drip by drip. Got about 200m down the road, when car came to complete stop. Turns out - car was unleaded!!