The call always starts with the same sentence: "I just realised I've put the wrong fuel in, what do I do?" The honest answer is, what you do in the next minute matters more than anything else, and we can talk you through the rest.
Rule one: don't start the engine
If the engine hasn't been started yet, the contaminated fuel is sitting in the tank. It hasn't reached the pump or the injectors yet. That's the best possible scenario, and it's where the cheap, fast recoveries happen. Once the engine runs, even for ten seconds, the fuel pump starts pulling that wrong fuel through the very components it can damage. Petrol in a diesel is the bad one here: the diesel pump relies on the fuel itself for lubrication, and petrol strips that lubrication away. Bills climb quickly once that starts.
So before anything else, stop. Don't turn the key. Don't tap the start button. Don't even cycle the ignition to see the fuel gauge, on many cars switching the ignition on primes the fuel system.
Rule two: tell someone at the servo
You don't have to be embarrassed. It happens every day, to plumbers, paramedics, parents, mechanics. Tell the attendant what's happened. They'll usually let you push the car clear of the pump so the next customer can fuel up. Most servos in Adelaide have done this dance before and they'll be helpful, not judgemental.
Rule three: call us before you call a tow truck
This is the bit people get wrong. The default reaction is "I need a tow", but for a wrong fuel mix up, a tow truck makes the job harder, not easier. We come to you with the gear to drain the tank, flush the lines and refuel on site. Most of our metro jobs are done inside the hour. A tow takes the car to a workshop, the workshop bills you for diagnostics and bench time, and you're without a car for days instead of an hour.
Call (08) 7083 9699. A real technician answers, day or night. We'll quote on the phone, head straight out, and you'll usually be back on the road before the tow truck would have arrived.
If you've already started the engine
It's not necessarily a disaster, but switch the engine off immediately and stop driving. Don't keep going, hoping the next tank will dilute it. The longer the contaminated fuel circulates, the more parts get fouled, and that's how a recoverable job becomes an injector job. Call us, describe exactly what happened, and we'll tell you honestly what the likely outcome is. We'd rather give you the truth than the bill.
The one thing you can do to help us help you
When you call, have these three things ready: the make and model of the vehicle, exactly where you are (suburb or street address is fine), and which way the mix up went (petrol in a diesel, diesel in a petrol, AdBlue in fuel, fuel in AdBlue). Those three details let us quote the job accurately on the phone and bring the right gear.
The hardest part is over once you've called. The next hour is on us.
