Help! I put petrol in diesel car

If you don't believe me Google is your friend:
Petrol can dissolve the lubricant in diesel fuel, which can damage a diesel engine and car. The mixture can act like a solvent, dissolving the lubricating oils in the fuel injectors and pumps, which can damage engine components. Petrol also doesn't combust properly in a diesel engine, which can cause increased wear and damage to the cylinders and piston rings. The catalytic converter can also be damaged when petrol burns, as it creates excessive heat and pressure that the engine can't handle.

Small amount of petrol will not hurt if you fill the tank right up with diesel, in fact it will help clear the injectors out. Large amount however will require a flush and tank drain.

Ring your insurance company to see if you can get this looked at under the policy. Whatever anyone says here to the contrary - don't drive any further. Guesswork about what percentage of petrol you have in there won't help you at this stage. The long term damage this could cause may not immediately be apparent. I'm sitting next to a mechanic as I type. I wouldn't have even started the engine. When I did this I waited on the forecourt for the next bloke to pull in and got him to help me push my car away from the pumps before calling for help. (Lady in garage had to stay at the till).

I'd fill it up with the correct fuel to dilute it.

I agree, if she out a tenner in and the only 50 of diesels she’s way above the very max ratio of 7.5 percent.

Your husband is right, fill it totally full. However what’s the tank size and how many litres did you put in?

I doubt she was putting a tenner's worth in because the tank was still three quarters full. And the two fuels don't mix well, so the entire dilution argument is a crock of crap.

How much petrol did you put in?

Ops put a tenners worth in so it's not like a full tank worth.

I accidentally put petrol in my diesel car and followed this advice. The car was fine for about 18 months. Then it developed engine problems, after it had been stripped down the mechanic was amazed to find one of the piston housings had partially melted. This was due to the petrol I had acidentally put in.

It was a very expensive mistake.

Call a specialist company and get it pumped out.

Yes, that's what you do. Dilute it as much as possible.

https://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/advice/wrong-fuel-advice

Petrol in a diesel car is the worst of the two misfuelling mistakes. Your DH is going nuts because you've taken bad advice at face value, and you have likely caused expensive damage to the engine. You should not have tried to dilute it and you should not have started the car.

Fill entirely with diesel, drive steadily, no high accelerations, you wanna keep the revs in the sweet spot, drive like you're taking a driving test until you've cleared this fuel out.

I'd agree dilute it as much as possible.

Idiot, has he never made a mistake?

This is true. The fact that you've managed to drive ok is a good sign. I would fill the tank up with diesel and keep doing that so you're diluting the petrol out

With that small amount of petrol you’ll be fine. It might chug a bit but not for long. My son did it, there was no damage.

The correct thing is what you did, fill it with diesel to dilute the petrol. I did that once, I only realised as I got to about £10 and freaked out. There was a workshop round the bs j and the mechanic came round and said ‘ach just fill it right up with diesel and I guarantee you’ll be awright’ he was right. Never had a problem with it after that.

Tell your husband to shut up, I bet he’s not perfect…tit!

I did this once to my uncle's car in similar circumstances - we'd borrowed a petrol car and returned it, so I was driving his. It was low on fuel so we went to a local, expensive petrol station and put in a few litres of petrol, to keep us going till we could go somewhere cheaper. It wasn't until the next day when I realised the 'remaining mileage' had gone a bit crazy that I realised what I'd done. We went straight to the petrol station and filled it with diesel (and this was a bit of a drive as we were in rural France), but the car seemed fine afterwards. In fact it might have been running a bit better, but that might just be wishful thinking...

Obviously we confessed all to my uncle, but there were no consequences. We must have driven at least twenty miles on low diesel/small amount of petrol mix before we could rectify it.

How much petrol does it take to damage a diesel engine?

As a safe amount some car manufacturers will say none though the industry generally accepts 7.5% or less of petrol in diesel is safe. When you work it out for your tank capacity you will soon realise it's not a lot of the wrong fuel before it's too much.

A quick Google brings up this. I'd do as previous poster and the petrol station suggested, keep topping it up with diesel to dilute the petrol.
And cross your fingers no real damage is done.

Bad idea to start the car 🥴 it’s much safer and easier to just drain the tank containing the wrong fuel.

I was told by AA that if it was only a few litres, to do what you did and fill it up.
Sadly I had filled mine from empty to full! It's a mistake you only make once.

It'll be absolutely fine at that diesel/petrol ratio, my husband put £20 worth in once, we brimmed it with diesel and it was fine.

Have you checked your car insurance? One of my policies covered for this.