My Turn To Be A Pillock, I Put Petrol In My Diesel 2013 Verso!

[yasirmhm]

Tonight I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that I became one on the 150,000 drivers who put the wrong fuel in their car every year.

I have read many posts on this topic, but my situation is a bit different, in terms on the distance I drove with the wrong fuel. I put 15 litres of super unleaded fuel in my Verso 2013 which had about 15 litres of diesel in it.

I drove 36 miles, YES, 36 MILES! on country roads (average speed 40-60) WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM WHATSOEVER! The engine was running smoothly until I arrived to my destination. When I arrived, I switched the engine off as I was looking for a parking space (AT THIS STAGE, I WAS STILL UNAWARE THAT I HAVE DONE THIS HORRIBLE MISTAKE). When I re-started the engine, I noticed that the engine is struggling to start, and, AT THIS MOMENT ONLY, I REALISED WHAT I HAVE DONE.

I called the AA stright away who sent a vehicle and towed my car away. Surprisingly, the guy from AA was able to start the engine and move the car several meters to get to a better position for towing.

The car now is sitting in the courtyard of Toyota dealer waiting to be inspected tomorrow. I am gobsmacked, I don't know how I did that. I had the Verso for 5 months now, but never occurred to me I will do such a mistake.

Anyway, my main worry is the bill of this repair and also the effect on my Toyota warranty. The AA guy said that he thinks it is very unlikely that I will need to replace the engine. I will have to wait for tomorrow to see what happens.

My question is, do you have any experience of driving with the wrong fuel for such a long distance without any signs of malfunction from the engine? What would be the damage anticipated? Also, what effect will this have on Toyota 5 year warranty.

On a positive note, the journey was a Santa's grotto and the children enjoyed meeting Father Christmas as I was waiting for the AA in the car park. A friend gave us a ride home. So, not a very bad end to the day.

Many thanks for your advice.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Heartfelt commiserations - can be so easy to do.

Have a look at the following:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-environment/misfuelling.html

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/nov/04/cash1

[yasirmhm]

Thanks Mike, I am just hoping that the damage sustained is repairable without hefty bill. Live and learn, as they say, and today I learnt a big lesson.

[FROSTYBALLS]

If the damage is expensive, it may be worth looking at your insurance policy and/or approaching your insurance company, as some do accept claims for mis-fuelling under accidental damage - at the worst they can only say 'no'.

[yasirmhm]

Thanks, I have checked my insurance document from LV, nothing mentioned about using wrong fuel, however, this web page suggests that they may include this undr (accidental damage), and named LV and John Lewis insurance:

http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/filled-up-with-the-wrong-fuel

I will post updates tomorrow.

[Cyker]

We've had more than a few people do this; I think you'll be okay as you had diesel in there still. The worst case scenario is accidentally running it on pure petrol as this does bad things to the common rail system and injectors, which rely on the lubricating properties of diesel to not overheat and wear out.

In your case, because it was still a mix, I think the engine will be fine if you just have the tank drained, then fill it with good quality diesel, maybe chucking in one of those bg-something-something additives for good measure.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The LV website does say they provide damage cover for using the wrong fuel - see http://www.lv.com/car-insurance

We're with LV for both our cars and our buildings/contents insurance. Back in 2008 when my partner had a drug dealers 'pool' car hit her car whilst being chased by the police, had to claim on our LV insurance for what was an uninsured loss. Repairs cost £1900, no NCD loss (though was guaranteed NCD), and no increase in renewal premium since.

Repairs were done at a Mazda approved bodyshop of our choosing. LV were very good.

I suppose you need to let LV know of the situation as soon as you can, and also let the dealer know it may be the subject of an insurance claim.

[yasirmhm]

Hi Mike, that is a relief, I have contacted the out of hours LV and they advised me to call tomorrow morning. Will do this then.

[yasirmhm]

Thanks Cykir, I hope so. I can't wait to hear from the dealer today.

[yasirmhm]

Thanks Cyker, I hope so. I can't wait to hear from the dealer today.

[yasirmhm]

Thanks Cyker, I hope so. I can't wait to hear from the dealer today.

[yasirmhm]

Many thanks for your contribution to my post. I honestly can not say how much sharing this experience here was helpful.

I collected the car today from Toyota. They assured me that no serious damage was done to the engine. Luckily the amount of petrol I added on top of the existent diesel allowed the car to go for this long journey without problems, and without serious damage.

However, the bill was £ 244 as follows:

£148 drain and remove tank, purge fuel system, re-fitted fuel tank and replaced fuel filter (£25.33) plus (£30) for new fuel (correctly this time!).

The service guy told me that they fix one to two cars EVERY WEEK with the same problem. It is astonishing how much money they generate from such common mistake. I read that every 2 minutes a driver put the wrong fuel in a car. Amazing.

Finally, the warranty will not be affected which is a big relief as well.

Big lesson for me and I hope no one will have to go through this experience, especially near Christmas time!

Thanks again for your help.

[FROSTYBALLS]

That's good news.

To put the above charges into perspective, AA Fuel Assist charge £176.50 at the roadside, and, as well as purging the fuel system, I think that is pumping the tank out rather than dropping the tank, draining it and re-fitting. So comparatively,I don't think the dealer charges are too bad - admittedly something you could do without this side of Christmas

[yasirmhm]

Exactly Mike. I am so relived and will remember this not only every time I put fuel, but every time I pass near a petrol station :)

[Cyker]

Holy crap, £244!?

That almost makes a fuel angel look like it's value for money!

The wrong-fuel cover was only £7 more on my car insurance!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Could consider fitting something like Fuelsure - http://www.fuelsure.com/

Part of the site enables you to check compatibility - http://www.stopdieselmisfuelling.co.uk/fuelsure-diesel-misfuelling-fuel-filler/0

Direct from the Fuelsure site cost is £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery - £19.95 including free delivery from Amazon (sold by Europarts)

[yasirmhm]

Thanks Mike, definitely worth it.