Accidentally filling Petrol in a Diesel car?

Bullfrog · 28th August 2006, 11:17

Yesterday my friend witnessed an incident at the Petrol pump while filling up his Santro. An Accent coasts slowly into the adjacent filling slot. The driver is happily inside without getting out of his car and says 'full tank' but doesn't tell of what.....

Few minutes later the driver is outside and all upset jumping up and down making noises. Apparently the attendant has pumped good enough quantity of Petrol into the Accent CRDi

.

Then the Petrol pump manager comes running and asks the attendant to drain out the Petrol from the Car's tank apparently with some (drain ?) nut below the tank. My friend witnessed so much but had to drive off....

Now guys, the question is what happens if Petrol is filled in a diesel car and worse still it is cranked later on ? What is the remedy for this ? And also what is this drain nut thing ? Somebody could steal fuel if there is one like this...right ?

Regards
Bullfrog

P.S. I really appreciate the Shell Petrol pump guys repeating twice what and how much they are filling before they actually start pumping the fuel in...

ajmat · 28th August 2006, 11:34

Petrol in a CRDi = disaster

components work to a high tolerance and high pressure and the lack of lubricity will lead to excessive wear. If car was not started. The full tank should be cleared and the lines need to be cleaned.

Diesel in petrol is less of a disaster

esteem_lover · 28th August 2006, 17:28

petrol in diesel or diesel in petrol means party is over. get down, push the car, dont even think about starting it. call the mechanic & take a tuk tuk home. your car is to be towed to a shed where the mixture is totally removed from the system & dried & then clean fuel is filled again & started. a very sorry state to be in.

Venom_rider · 29th August 2006, 11:32

In one of the highway petrol bunks enroute to Goa, the same thing happend to my friend's Santro... They filled close to 5 ltrs of Diesel in it!!! The bunk guy apparently advised them to "flood" the tank so that the petrol over-flows (Not sure if this is the brightest idea though...)

They wasted close to 10 ltrs of petrol in the process...

flipsyde · 13th January 2007, 16:23

guys i read an article in a back issue of Britain's Autocar magazine...... the editor says filling petrol in a diesel car is not half as bad as filling diesel in a petrol car..... in fact a guy in london had done this by mistake to a ford focus and the editor said he should get the car checked up but isnt a disaster............

viper · 13th January 2007, 22:17

Hi,

Guys the same thing happened with my dad in our 500 SEL few months ago. He had just returned from Poona and went to the pump near our house. He told the attendant to fill her up and went to the store in the pump to get some stuff.

On his return he was shocked with the bill as it was very less. The ******* had filled in 75 litres of diesel instead of 93 Octane. Luckily the key was not turned on. He called me immediately. I told him do not start the car or turn the ignition on. Just push the car on the side. Reached the pump in half hour with the mechanic threw out all the mixture and filled in fresh petrol and replaced the filter.Luckily there was no damage.

Made the pump manager fill in 95 litres of 93 Octane at his cost. This incident has made sure I check what is being filled in.

Viper

Zappo · 14th January 2007, 01:22

Although petrol in a diesel car or diesel in a petrol car, both are damaging I believe diesel in a petrol car will definitely kill the car. Petrol in a diesel car though may just set you back by a few thousand rupees.

The reason being diesel is a highly dense material when compared to petrol. It is highly viscous with a higher flash point. That is why a diesel car does not use spark plugs... because the diesel won't burn that easily. If this thick, viscous liquid reaches the engine of a petrol car it is definitely swaaha for the gaddi. It will not only jam the injectors and nozzles but incomplete burning may cause tar and gum formation that may form hardened lumps and choke the engine completely.

On the other hand petrol inside a diesel car may just cause damage to the injectors and the calibration of the pump. Thats about it. The burning of petrol and the resulting effluents may damage the rings as well (though not sure of this). But your car will definitely live to see another day.

tsk1979 · 14th January 2007, 11:37

zappo, its the other way round. Diesel in petrol car will do, but petrol in a diesel car is pure disaster.
In TG Jeremy did a test where they put petrol in diesel car and diesel in petrol car. The petrol car sputtered and coughed, but ran, diesel stalled.
Then they removed the wrong fuels and put in right ones.
Restarting the diesel was much tougher than the petrol.
Both these cars were old tech cars, can't say the same about modern engines.

yogi1771 · 15th January 2007, 14:49

recently one of my friend had to face this problem diesel was put in a petrol car and to top it all he drove the car(sputterring & coughing) till the tank was empty later he got the fuel filter changed and the injectors cleaned filled it up with petrol and the car is running fine,what other things can be done to minimize the damage

Mr.Bangalore · 15th January 2007, 15:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

zappo, its the other way round. Diesel in petrol car will do, but petrol in a diesel car is pure disaster.
In TG Jeremy did a test where they put petrol in diesel car and diesel in petrol car. The petrol car sputtered and coughed, but ran, diesel stalled.
Then they removed the wrong fuels and put in right ones.
Restarting the diesel was much tougher than the petrol.
Both these cars were old tech cars, can't say the same about modern engines.

i agree with tsk.. true.. i have seen Autorikshwas running on kerosene in bengalooru with thick white smoke and sounded different.. but still it was running gud.. and few people used to run the 2 storke bikes in kerosene..
i dont know about the 4 stroke bikes...

jat · 15th January 2007, 17:44

As mentioned by tsk, diesel in petrol car is less damaging than petrol in a diesel car. Reasons:

1. Petrol viscosity being less can lead to seizing of fuel pumps and injectors in diesel engines.

2. Petrol has burns faster than diesel will lead to higher Pmax and will damage the bearings, piston rings etc.

3. As diesel is a CI engine and petrol has higher self ignition temp (SIT), diesel engine may fail to start if petrol quantity is quite high.

On the other hand, diesel in petrol engines will:

1. Lead to poor combustion and smoke.
2. Higher pressure develped in the fuel and will overload the fuel pump and injectors when the vehicle is driven to near its peak power.

Zappo · 16th January 2007, 01:12

Hmmm... you guys sure about this! I said it from my general ideas and some known issues (and hence the "I believe" in my post). Incompletely burnt diesel under pressure supposedly forms hardened lumps and tar b@lls... These are also very sticky mass. Won't they cause permanent damage?!!

tsk1979 · 16th January 2007, 11:41

Something which clogs is cleanable. But seizing and damage is not. This is not really true for modern engines where clogging etc,. can lead to permanent fuel pump damage, but remember there are so many petrol engined autorickshaws running on kerosine, and most cars in India have had kerosene atleast once in their lifetime, thanks to petrol bunk corruption.
But in the modern scene also the common rail engines are more susceptible to damage from naptha laden diesel.

anonymous · 7th June 2007, 14:53

It happened with me too. When 4 Lt. Petrol was poured in my Diesel Indica.
It was around 7 AM in the morning and I was on NH24 coming to Noida. I immediately stopped him, when I realized it but till then, there was 4 Lt Petrol in the tank. I had no idea what to do now, that attended suggested to pour 1/2 Lt. engine oil and 15-16 Lt. Diesel on it. Since I was getting late to my office and there was no workshop opened near by (Remember it was 7 AM), I tried to call in vain to few TATA authorised workshops in Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon, so finally I decided to take a chance

But after running 4/5 km, I changed my mind and shut down the engine and got the car towed back to petrol pump. When I reached there, luckily I found the pump manager and explained him the case, he promptly asked me to wait for sometime, he got a local mechanic to clean up the tank, here I notice that petrol and diesel were not mixed up. The manager said that petrol and light then the diesel and they do not get mixed up easily. When the mechanic got all diesel and petrol out of the car, I asked him to clean all the pipes and also the fileter, he did it, while he was doing it, the manager offered me snacks (For free

). It took 4 hours and after this that manager got the tank re filled with fresh new diesel and I drove it again. As of now, I have driven 150 KM so far and no issues as such. I also logged a complaint on BP Website and 1 day after, I got a call from their Mumbai office, that guy asked if the car is running ok, he also said that if I come across any issue with the car, BP is ready to pay for it and that Petrol Pump attended is surely going to have some lessons from this scene.

VooDoo · 7th June 2007, 15:53

Happened to me in UK. I filled up 10+ lt petrol in my Rover Trurbo Diesel (uses a Peaugeot/ Citron disel lump) when it was nearly empty. Drove it to home from the pump to the supermarket (around 1.2 miles) and realised the problem when the car refused to start on my way back. Towed back, called the mechanic, he drained the petrol, cleaned the tank and crancked her back again. Drove another 5k miles after that. No probs!!.

Don't think it is fatal for a Non CRD diesel engine. Not sure about CRDi though, they are more sophisticated and fuel pump is the heart of the engine.

28th August 2006, 11:17	#1
Bullfrog BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 196 Thanked: 119 Times	Accidentally filling Petrol in a Diesel car? Yesterday my friend witnessed an incident at the Petrol pump while filling up his Santro. An Accent coasts slowly into the adjacent filling slot. The driver is happily inside without getting out of his car and says 'full tank' but doesn't tell of what..... Few minutes later the driver is outside and all upset jumping up and down making noises. Apparently the attendant has pumped good enough quantity of Petrol into the Accent CRDi . Then the Petrol pump manager comes running and asks the attendant to drain out the Petrol from the Car's tank apparently with some (drain ?) nut below the tank. My friend witnessed so much but had to drive off.... Now guys, the question is what happens if Petrol is filled in a diesel car and worse still it is cranked later on ? What is the remedy for this ? And also what is this drain nut thing ? Somebody could steal fuel if there is one like this...right ? Regards Bullfrog P.S. I really appreciate the Shell Petrol pump guys repeating twice what and how much they are filling before they actually start pumping the fuel in...
	(1) Thanks

28th August 2006, 11:34	#2
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 15,175 Thanked: 31,068 Times View My Garage	Petrol in a CRDi = disaster components work to a high tolerance and high pressure and the lack of lubricity will lead to excessive wear. If car was not started. The full tank should be cleared and the lines need to be cleaned. Diesel in petrol is less of a disaster
	() Thanks

28th August 2006, 17:28	#3
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 513 Times View My Garage	petrol in diesel or diesel in petrol means party is over. get down, push the car, dont even think about starting it. call the mechanic & take a tuk tuk home. your car is to be towed to a shed where the mixture is totally removed from the system & dried & then clean fuel is filled again & started. a very sorry state to be in.
	(2) Thanks

29th August 2006, 11:32	#4
Venom_rider BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 244 Thanked: 286 Times View My Garage	In one of the highway petrol bunks enroute to Goa, the same thing happend to my friend's Santro... They filled close to 5 ltrs of Diesel in it!!! The bunk guy apparently advised them to "flood" the tank so that the petrol over-flows (Not sure if this is the brightest idea though...) They wasted close to 10 ltrs of petrol in the process...
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 16:23	#5
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 643 Thanked: 84 Times	guys i read an article in a back issue of Britain's Autocar magazine...... the editor says filling petrol in a diesel car is not half as bad as filling diesel in a petrol car..... in fact a guy in london had done this by mistake to a ford focus and the editor said he should get the car checked up but isnt a disaster............
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 22:17	#6
viper BANNED Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,766 Thanked: 20 Times	Hi, Guys the same thing happened with my dad in our 500 SEL few months ago. He had just returned from Poona and went to the pump near our house. He told the attendant to fill her up and went to the store in the pump to get some stuff. On his return he was shocked with the bill as it was very less. The ******* had filled in 75 litres of diesel instead of 93 Octane. Luckily the key was not turned on. He called me immediately. I told him do not start the car or turn the ignition on. Just push the car on the side. Reached the pump in half hour with the mechanic threw out all the mixture and filled in fresh petrol and replaced the filter.Luckily there was no damage. Made the pump manager fill in 95 litres of 93 Octane at his cost. This incident has made sure I check what is being filled in. Viper
	() Thanks

14th January 2007, 01:22	#7
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,915 Thanked: 2,746 Times	Although petrol in a diesel car or diesel in a petrol car, both are damaging I believe diesel in a petrol car will definitely kill the car. Petrol in a diesel car though may just set you back by a few thousand rupees. The reason being diesel is a highly dense material when compared to petrol. It is highly viscous with a higher flash point. That is why a diesel car does not use spark plugs... because the diesel won't burn that easily. If this thick, viscous liquid reaches the engine of a petrol car it is definitely swaaha for the gaddi. It will not only jam the injectors and nozzles but incomplete burning may cause tar and gum formation that may form hardened lumps and choke the engine completely. On the other hand petrol inside a diesel car may just cause damage to the injectors and the calibration of the pump. Thats about it. The burning of petrol and the resulting effluents may damage the rings as well (though not sure of this). But your car will definitely live to see another day. Last edited by Zappo : 14th January 2007 at 01:24.
	(5) Thanks

14th January 2007, 11:37	#8
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,695 Thanked: 23,484 Times View My Garage	zappo, its the other way round. Diesel in petrol car will do, but petrol in a diesel car is pure disaster. In TG Jeremy did a test where they put petrol in diesel car and diesel in petrol car. The petrol car sputtered and coughed, but ran, diesel stalled. Then they removed the wrong fuels and put in right ones. Restarting the diesel was much tougher than the petrol. Both these cars were old tech cars, can't say the same about modern engines.
	(2) Thanks

15th January 2007, 14:49	#9
yogi1771 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 697 Thanked: 16 Times	recently one of my friend had to face this problem diesel was put in a petrol car and to top it all he drove the car(sputterring & coughing) till the tank was empty later he got the fuel filter changed and the injectors cleaned filled it up with petrol and the car is running fine,what other things can be done to minimize the damage
	() Thanks

15th January 2007, 17:44	#11
jat BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SINGAPORE Posts: 266 Thanked: 7 Times	As mentioned by tsk, diesel in petrol car is less damaging than petrol in a diesel car. Reasons: 1. Petrol viscosity being less can lead to seizing of fuel pumps and injectors in diesel engines. 2. Petrol has burns faster than diesel will lead to higher Pmax and will damage the bearings, piston rings etc. 3. As diesel is a CI engine and petrol has higher self ignition temp (SIT), diesel engine may fail to start if petrol quantity is quite high. On the other hand, diesel in petrol engines will: 1. Lead to poor combustion and smoke. 2. Higher pressure develped in the fuel and will overload the fuel pump and injectors when the vehicle is driven to near its peak power.
	() Thanks

16th January 2007, 01:12	#12
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,915 Thanked: 2,746 Times	Hmmm... you guys sure about this! I said it from my general ideas and some known issues (and hence the "I believe" in my post). Incompletely burnt diesel under pressure supposedly forms hardened lumps and tar b@lls... These are also very sticky mass. Won't they cause permanent damage?!!
	() Thanks

16th January 2007, 11:41	#13
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,695 Thanked: 23,484 Times View My Garage	Something which clogs is cleanable. But seizing and damage is not. This is not really true for modern engines where clogging etc,. can lead to permanent fuel pump damage, but remember there are so many petrol engined autorickshaws running on kerosine, and most cars in India have had kerosene atleast once in their lifetime, thanks to petrol bunk corruption. But in the modern scene also the common rail engines are more susceptible to damage from naptha laden diesel.
	() Thanks

7th June 2007, 14:53	#14
anonymous BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NCR Posts: 564 Thanked: 26 Times	It happened with me too. When 4 Lt. Petrol was poured in my Diesel Indica. It was around 7 AM in the morning and I was on NH24 coming to Noida. I immediately stopped him, when I realized it but till then, there was 4 Lt Petrol in the tank. I had no idea what to do now, that attended suggested to pour 1/2 Lt. engine oil and 15-16 Lt. Diesel on it. Since I was getting late to my office and there was no workshop opened near by (Remember it was 7 AM), I tried to call in vain to few TATA authorised workshops in Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon, so finally I decided to take a chance But after running 4/5 km, I changed my mind and shut down the engine and got the car towed back to petrol pump. When I reached there, luckily I found the pump manager and explained him the case, he promptly asked me to wait for sometime, he got a local mechanic to clean up the tank, here I notice that petrol and diesel were not mixed up. The manager said that petrol and light then the diesel and they do not get mixed up easily. When the mechanic got all diesel and petrol out of the car, I asked him to clean all the pipes and also the fileter, he did it, while he was doing it, the manager offered me snacks (For free ). It took 4 hours and after this that manager got the tank re filled with fresh new diesel and I drove it again. As of now, I have driven 150 KM so far and no issues as such. I also logged a complaint on BP Website and 1 day after, I got a call from their Mumbai office, that guy asked if the car is running ok, he also said that if I come across any issue with the car, BP is ready to pay for it and that Petrol Pump attended is surely going to have some lessons from this scene.
	() Thanks

7th June 2007, 15:53	#15
VooDoo BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: CA, US Posts: 59 Thanked: 0 Times	Happened to me in UK. I filled up 10+ lt petrol in my Rover Trurbo Diesel (uses a Peaugeot/ Citron disel lump) when it was nearly empty. Drove it to home from the pump to the supermarket (around 1.2 miles) and realised the problem when the car refused to start on my way back. Towed back, called the mechanic, he drained the petrol, cleaned the tank and crancked her back again. Drove another 5k miles after that. No probs!!. Don't think it is fatal for a Non CRD diesel engine. Not sure about CRDi though, they are more sophisticated and fuel pump is the heart of the engine.
	() Thanks