Miss Fueling

[mountainman]

Hi guys,sorry non pc brigade,

Just thought if i could be caught out by the diffrent colour codingof the pumps just how common is this problem happening

Cheers mountainman

[bjw]

very common

in fact so common that there are companies set up just to offer mobile assistance ie drain fuel tank and clean pipes on garage forecourts on miss fueled cars

[mountainman]

If thats the case what about the "warranty of the engine" as one volvo mech said to me

[bjw]

If thats the case what about the "warranty of the engine" as one volvo mech said to me

you may be able to claim on your motor insurance for accidental damage

It just amazes me why car manufacturers cannot make it impossible to put petrol in a diesel car also the petrol companies are also to blame !!!

if an experienced motorist like yourself can do it it just shows anybody can

This was taken from the The Observer Sunday November 4 2007

Don't be driven mad by misfuelling clauses

Using the wrong fuel can ruin your engine - and if your insurer won't pay, it can wreck your bank balance too

Drivers who accidentally fill their car with the wrong kind of fuel may be unfairly refused claims for damage caused to their vehicle, according to research from the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba).

More than 150,000 cars either break down or suffer serious engine damage every year in the UK as a result of misfuelling - putting petrol into a diesel car, or vice versa - and it is on the up as the number of cars on the road rises, according to the AA.

Biba's research shows that only seven out of 32 insurers specifically make reference to misfuelling in their policies - all to state that they will not cover damage arising from it - while the rest don't mention it at all. Yet, in further research, Biba found that of those insurers that don't mention misfuelling in their policies, 40 per cent, including Direct Line, Admiral and Legal & General, would also refuse to pay out for claims related to it.

[mountainman]

It just amazes me why car manufacturers cannot make it impossible to put petrol in a diesel car also the petrol companies are also to blame !!!

if an experienced motorist like yourself can do it it just shows anybody can

that's what is so !Removed! annoying, the "RAC" man found a crater on the boot lid from where i was using my head to check for panel gaps when he said that he can smell petrol i will never live this down.

Why can't petrol have the big nozzle and we have the small; I bet the manufacturers and fuellers would soon get off the side lines and come up with a solution because of the outcry of the minority. I say minority due to the fact that the growth of diesel cars is about 4/5:1. As we all know nothing will be done because "gordon"our mate wants us to bendover take the golden nugget and say thanks

Rant over

Cheers Mountainman :baaa: :baaa: :baaa:

[Fujisan]

Why are the Fuel Companies to blame?

Don't get me wrong, I'm sorry you have been though this whole mis-fuelling saga and I'm glad that you escaped to lightly (compared to others who have had to pay out thousands) but at the end of the day it was your mistake not the Fuel Companies.

You were at a strange service station, not familar with the pumps etc., do you think you should have stood back and taken a minute to read all the different nozzles in front of you?

Considered your choice, checked the colour of the nozzle, re-read the label on the pump, checked the indication on the display before re-fueling your car and if you're still not sure you could have asked the attendents inside the service station for advice.

Hand on heart, honestly can you say that there was not enough information on display in front of you, so that you could if you had taken a little time and care made the right choice.

Or has it seems, you made an assumption (fancy word for a guess) and grabbed the first likely look nozzle and started filling your car.

No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. But the stand up thing to do is say "yes, I made a mistake", not to blame everybody else.

[bjw]

Why are the Fuel Companies to blame?

Don't get me wrong, I'm sorry you have been though this whole mis-fuelling saga and I'm glad that you escaped to lightly (compared to others who have had to pay out thousands) but at the end of the day it was your mistake not the Fuel Companies.

You were at a strange service station, not familar with the pumps etc., do you think you should have stood back and taken a minute to read all the different nozzles in front of you?

Considered your choice, checked the colour of the nozzle, re-read the label on the pump, checked the indication on the display before re-fueling your car and if you're still not sure you could have asked the attendents inside the service station for advice.

Hand on heart, honestly can you say that there was not enough information on display in front of you, so that you could if you had taken a little time and care made the right choice.

Or has it seems, you made an assumption (fancy word for a guess) and grabbed the first likely look nozzle and started filling your car.

No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. But the stand up thing to do is say "yes, I made a mistake", not to blame everybody else.

That was actully my statement that car manufacturers and fuel companies are at fault and the reasoning behind this was that if the petrol companies and car manufacturers got together i am sure they could design a system where a diesel nozzle is shaped in such a way that it would not fit in a car petrol filler and a petrol nozzle which would not fit in a diesel tank.

Yes with hindsight perhaps he should have took more care but we all have such busy lives now!!! it would help if all fuel stations followed the same system by having a large disc on the fuel nozzle stating if petrol or diesel was being put in!!! you also have to remember with companies that have pool cars you may be driving a petrol one day and a diesel the next day and if 150,000 people did it last year there must be some fault with the system

[mountainman]

HI all,

I totally agree with BJW, IF we all slowed down and took our time we could all do our jobs/run our lives with no mistakes, but there is no conmmon ground from the fuelling companys no one company uses the same colour coding;

EG:- ESSO blue

Shell black V POWER ?

TESCO black

BP black ULTIMATE blue

As i said before i admit that if i stood back counted to 100 examined the pump/nozzle colour it would not of happend.How many times have people filled up on "autopilot"and the thought when missfuelled silly me if only i had taken more time not to gaffer tape the kids to the Roof Rack. If they can say that in this short of time age welldone!!!!!!!!!

But my point is if we swapped nozzles with petrol the powers at be would have to have done something because of the public outcry of damaged petrol cars.

Hope that clears the mud about my stance

Cheers Mountainman :baaa: :baaa: :baaa: :baaa:

[Fujisan]

That was acutely my statement that car manufacturers and fuel companies are at fault and the reasoning behind this was that if the petrol companies and car manufacturers got together i am sure they could design a system where a diesel nozzle is shaped in such a way that it would not fit in a car petrol filler and a petrol nozzle which would not fit in a diesel tank.

Yes with hindsight perhaps he should have took more care but we all have such busy lives now!!! it would help if all fuel stations followed the same system by having a large disc on the fuel nozzle stating if petrol or diesel was being put in!!! you also have to remember with companies that have pool cars you may be driving a petrol one day and a diesel the next day and if 150,000 people did it last year there must be some fault with the system

So the Vehicle Manufactures and Fuel Companies get together in a small room and talk it out.

Different sized nozzles will not work because while a large round petrol nozzle might not get into a small round diesel filler, a small round diesel nozzle will still get into a large round petrol filler.

Different shaped nozzles, square for petrol and a triangle for diesel, that works......but what about the millions of cars already on the road with round fillers?

I'm sorry at the end of the day, care and attention by the person refuelling the vehicle is needed, especially if has you say some people are driving petrol one day and diesel the next.

I do feel desperately sorry for all the people that have suffered with this problem but any fault lies with the people refuelling the vehicle, not the Fuel Companies or the Vehicle Manufactures.

[mountainman]

Sorry all, soap box time

Fujisan, dont get me wrong i agree with you ,BUT in this orwellian society people in power think that common sense does not belong to the masses. Iam not saying that if a solution was found that the problem would solved, it wouln't (chaos theory) ifthat was the case we should have separate stations deisel and petrol, it would still happen.

What we need is a system that can be retro-fitted to all cars that can only accept the fuel of that car that can minimise this problem

Cheers Mountainman :baaa: :baaa: :baaa:

[Fujisan]

The only solution I can come up with, which most people will hate, is an interlock system which after you pick your nozzle ask's you either verbally or via the pump display "Do you really want to fill up with Diesel?" or "Do you really want to fill up with Petrol?", to which you push a button either confirming or rejecting your selection.

Has you say, nothing is foolproof and people in a hurry will always make mistakes but it might give some people a reason to pause and think before refuelling.

Anyway, good luck to you mate Sure you wouldn't do it again and hope nobody else reading this every does it.

[bjw]

That was acutely my statement that car manufacturers and fuel companies are at fault and the reasoning behind this was that if the petrol companies and car manufacturers got together i am sure they could design a system where a diesel nozzle is shaped in such a way that it would not fit in a car petrol filler and a petrol nozzle which would not fit in a diesel tank.

Yes with hindsight perhaps he should have took more care but we all have such busy lives now!!! it would help if all fuel stations followed the same system by having a large disc on the fuel nozzle stating if petrol or diesel was being put in!!! you also have to remember with companies that have pool cars you may be driving a petrol one day and a diesel the next day and if 150,000 people did it last year there must be some fault with the system

So the Vehicle Manufactures and Fuel Companies get together in a small room and talk it out.

Different sized nozzles will not work because while a large round petrol nozzle might not get into a small round diesel filler, a small round diesel nozzle will still get into a large round petrol filler.

Different shaped nozzles, square for petrol and a triangle for diesel, that works......but what about the millions of cars already on the road with round fillers?

I'm sorry at the end of the day, care and attention by the person refuelling the vehicle is needed, especially if has you say some people are driving petrol one day and diesel the next.

I do feel desperately sorry for all the people that have suffered with this problem but any fault lies with the people refuelling the vehicle, not the Fuel Companies or the Vehicle Manufactures.

Anything thing is possible if the will is there to achieve it !!! you may not remember when every gas appliance in the UK was converted free of charge to use north sea gas .

[Fujisan]

Anything thing is possible if the will is there to achieve it !!! you may not remember when every gas appliance in the UK was converted free of charge to use north sea gas .

Do I remember, personally no!

But I have seen the old footage of it happening.

Anything is possible!

[mountainman]

Once and for all thank god for an adult minded forum

Cheers

MOUNTAINMAN :baaa: :baaa: :baaa: :baaa:

[bjw]

This link is interesting!!! so it can be done if manufacturers put there mind to it

http://www.localmotoring.com/pages/local-m...p?b=2&a=381