Help! I put petrol in diesel car

[WhatdoIdoooooo]

Nightmare.

Just been to the petrol station, car was on v low no petrol (I know I know)
Our car has been in the garage for a while, so we’ve had a hire car-a petrol one (ours is Diesel)
I only had enough in my purse to put €10 in and by accident I put petrol in, instead of Diesel. Thankfully I realised my mistake when I was putting the pump back and didn’t start the car.
I went in to ask for help, they recommended I go to the garage nearby, then saw it was shut for lunch, I had to move my car out of the way, so people would have to help push 😩
The woman there said I hadn’t put much petrol in so if I was to put a lot of Diesel in it might be ok. I managed to convince them to let me put €50 in so I could drive home and get the €50 and bring it back to them. The car started and I managed to do this, car was running ok, is the car ok now??? Or do I need to do more? Have messsged Dh but he’s at work and hasn’t seen the message yet

I'd agree dilute it as much as possible.

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.

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.

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

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.

How much petrol did you put in?

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

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.

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

Christ there is some bad advice in this thread.

Take it to a garage, get the tank and fuel system drained and get them to check for any damage. Your insurance may very well cover this.

Otherway around. A bit of diesel in a petrol tank will be far less damaging than petrol in a diesel tank.

If you want to be exact the recommended maximum amount is 3% to be ok.

Did you check your car insurance?
I think some of them cover fuel mistakes.

Are you in Ireland? I'm with Axa and covered up to €350 for this.
However I'm not sure where you stand after driving it.

I would probably siphon out all of what's in there at the moment. Surely not too difficult.

Then I would brim it and hope for the best.

It varies from policy to policy OP, but a number of good roadside recovery policies will cover you for mis-fuelling and on some it is an option- so you may have purchased it? Worth calling up to check.

@DogInATent ??? My tank originally was on very empty, nothing there. I went and put in €10 of petrol by mistake. I then put in €50 worth, it didn’t fill the whole tank. I drive two minutes home and messaged Dh, he told me to put more in and fill the whole tank. I’ve just driven the two minutes down the road and completely filled the tank with diesel, this was €34 euros worth extra. It has €84 worth of diesel in and €10 of petrol in, will it be ok??

Probably not.

@DogInATent Useful, thanks.

@GasPanic What do you mean by brim it?

DH did this, added £30 petrol instead of diesel to about a quarter of tank of diesel. Van chugged a bit but he managed to get home. He got one of those flexi tube things, to siphon the petrol mix, took about 7 Jerry cans to empty it. We then filled it with diesel. 2 Jerry cans until he felt it was good to drive, then filled it. Lasted about 3 years until he replaced, but not for that reason.

Try and siphon if you can.

Completely fill up with diesel, then when you get down to 3/4, fill again. Keep diluting the diesel for the next week or so.