Okay, don't panic.

1) Do not start the car.

2) Ask for support at the gas station to remove the petrol from the tank.... they will help. It is okay if you leave few liters of petrol in the tank.

3) Fill the tank with diesel... it is okay to have less than 10% of petrol mixed with diesel. Manufacturers recommend that in harsh winters to soften the diesel.

Good luck.

 

1. 
   
   leeph - Member
   
   Did it myself in a three week old Audi (my first diesel)....stuck £15 worth of petrol, then topped it up with £50 worth of Diesel once I realised my error. Did not want to miss the first uplift at Fort Bill - so thrashed the car from Tyndrum without a thought for the life expectancy of the engine - just the need to be ready for 10.45am.
   
   Car never coughed/farted for the next 88k miles I owned the vehicle.
   
   POSTED 6 YEARS AGO #
   
2. 
   
   coffeeking - Member
   
3. 
   
   If it's commonrail - no, I'd syphon as much as possible out and re-load with D until I got it down below 5% ish. I'm not sure where that figure comes from, but >10% is a tad high for me.
   
   If it's a non-commonrail, go for it.
   
   POSTED 6 YEARS AGO #
   
4. 
   
   Mugboo - Member
   
5. 
   
   As Leeph is the only one so far who has actually got real world experience of this rather than hearsay and doommongering (new word?) then i'm with him.
   
   In fact the last time this came up a mechanic from a main dealer claimed that if someone brought a car in with this problem they would bill the owner for changing everything but in reality draining the tank, refilling and taking it for a spin..
   

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/1-in-8-petrol-in-diesel-engine-mix-safe-to-drive

Honest John had this to say to someone asking:

Having recently exchanged her car for an Audi A3 2.0 TDI, my daughter made the mistake of filling it with petrol. The car was taken to an non-Audi garage, as instructed by her insurer. The repairer has changed the filter but not yet flushed out the fuel tank. Surely this must be a requirement?

JR, Newquay

You can usually get away with up to 10 litres of petrol in a 60-litre tank. Fill up with high-lubricity diesel (such as Shell V-Power Nitro Plus) and keep doing exactly that. Don't allow the tank to be more than half-empty for about 2,000 miles.

At first, the petrol will float on top of the diesel and won't get sucked into the low-level fuel pick-up. Then, very gradually, it will disperse into the diesel fuel. But if she put in more than 10 litres she needs to have the tank drained.

PS: I must admit it happened to me too, in my first month of owning a diesel :blink: ... I rushed to a pump that had no queue to it, I wonder why, grabbed the gas nozzle in the 3rd position that I knew it was super-diesel, pressed the trigger and then verified what type of fuel is ... after about 2 liters I stopped the petrol flow into the tank and filled with diesel afterwards ... so now you know why I'm so up to date with the topic