Using the Wrong Fuel

Putting the incorrect fuel in your tank can cause turmoil to your journey and potentially severe damage to your car engine. It’s important to not panic and certainly don’t feel embarrassed, it’s quite an easy mistake to make! If you accidentally put petrol in your diesel car, do not under any circumstances try and start your ignition, as this will circulate the mixed fuel around the engine and cause further damage.

If you put diesel into a petrol-run car, you’ll be relieved to know there’ll be no major damage to your engine. While diesel fuel has to be compressed to ignite, petrol is ignited by a spark generated by the spark plugs. When the ignition is started the diesel would potentially clog up your fuel system, causing your vehicle to misfire, produce smoke and possibly cut out. Once the incorrect fuel has been flushed from the system, your vehicle should start fairly quickly. You might see smoke whilst the diesel residue is being burnt off, but after that your car should run as well as it did before. Just be mindful in future and double check before filling up!

Safe driving from Brittania!