Using the wrong fuel can cause serious repair issues – knowing how to avoid them can save you thousands of pounds in repairs.
Misfueling, or putting the wrong fuel into your vehicle, is one of most common mistakes drivers make at petrol stations in the UK. According to a report from a survey conducted by an active motoring agency, there is a driver in the UK misfueling or using the wrong fuel every 3 minutes.
It is not a smaller ratio at all because of this ratio, there are just under six hundred drivers are doing this mistake daily and play a vital role in ruining their vehicle. Adding wrong fuel in your vehicle can cause some serious issues to your vehicle system as it is not designed to run on the fuel other than recommended.
It is clear that filling up your vehicle’s fuel tank with wrong fuel on the petrol station will definitely lead to massive repair works because it will damage the major parts and mechanisms of your fuel injection system and would lead you to pay hefty repair bills at the garages and service stations.
Misfueling or adding a wrong fuel to your vehicle is such a costly mistake. According to another survey, there are more than 150 thousand drivers in the UK made this mistake every year and they pay massive bills to repair their errors.
Even the government departments are doing this mistake and paying thousands of pounds in repair bills to the garages for just a carelessness. The police department has paid thousands of pounds only to get repair their Misfueling errors.
What to do first
By large it is not a big difference if you put diesel in petrol or pour petrol in the diesel car by mistake or intentionally, both are equally dangerous and costly repair bills if not treated properly and in time.
Suppose you just made this mistake at the petrol station and now staring at the fuel filling machine like a dumb, think about the first instant action, if you are a woman and poured wrong fuel in your husband’s expensive luxury car, do not start weeping, think about the first quick action you must do to save big damage here.
The first big action as a rule of thumb is not to start your engine at any cost. Even do not turn the ignition key to turn your dashboard on, or try to lock the vehicle. All these actions will turn the power on, and it will ultimately turn your fuel injection pump on.
Ultimately when power would pass through the fuel injection pump, it will start sucking fuel from the tank and will push it to the fuel injection system and you are done. Now the chances of damage are increased by 100%.
The wrong fuel is being pumped into the veins of the fuel delivery system and it will act like a poison to your engine. Petrol will instantly dilute the lubrication factor of diesel and will ruin all those parts using diesel as lubrication while working.
Common mistakes
In the modern cars and at the modern fuel stations, Misfueling is a most common mistake and drivers make this mistake more often when they are not in the active state of mind while refuelling at a petrol station.
They put petrol in the diesel vehicles because the size of the diesel fuel tank’s neck is larger than the size of the petrol tank’s neck and thus the difference in the nozzles. Petrol nozzles can easily be injected into the diesel fuel tank and you can make a massive mistake in no time.
The moment you realize that you have made this mistake, and put the wrong fuel in your vehicle, instantly pull over and call for help. You must make sure that the help is on its way and you must wait near your vehicle.
Your wrong fuel assist service will make sure that all your wrong fuel is being sucked out of the fuel tank and the fuel injection system up to the fuel injectors and they have added right fuel into the vehicle, you must not start your engine.
Now the recovery and assistance will start your engine and would give you a green to go. If they think that the problem is serious, you must follow their instruction to take your vehicle to the safe location.
The suction of spoilt fuel out of the fuel tank is one thing and they would easily do it but repair the damage is another thing. So, you must make sure that your damaged parts being noticed and you have given a green to go. Otherwise, you should prepare for the worse because of the wrong fuel.
Understanding the damage
The level of damage or the condition would depend on your driving style and how long you have been driven after putting the wrong fuel in your vehicle. In most cases, only a few pipes would effect because you noticed the mistake and stopped your vehicle.
These small repairs won’t cost you a lot of repair bills. It would only happen if you noticed it early and take the first instant action. In other cases when drivers do not realize the mistake and keep driving for long distances and even till their vehicle engine itself stops working, the chances of massive damage are large.
The next thing they would face would be severe damages and hefty repair bills. This time not only the pipes would be damaged, but other parts including the fuel delivery system, its parts, fuel injectors and even the fuel tank could be damaged.
Understanding the cost
Your vehicle would be recovered to the nearest garage and they would reassess all the damage. The problems would be enlisted and analysed to see if they can be resolved.
If the costs would be affordable, they will inform you otherwise they will ask you for your decision, either a replacement of parts would suit you or you would prefer to change your vehicle.
Replacement could be the best thing
There are many examples where problems can be extensively serious and the entire engine can be affected. In these cases, repairs would cost you thousands of pounds but repairs could still be done and you must go for them if you think they are practical.
In case of impractical repairs, e.g. if costs are high, you must end up spending the money. Go for another vehicle instead, if you are still brave enough, go for an engine replacement and save thousands on a new vehicle
Although replacement engines cost you a lot of money but they far below replacing the entire vehicle. You would rather invest in a new vehicle, it is better to replace your engine and get rid of all the damages done to your vehicle because of the wrong fuel. Be really careful in future while at the petrol station.