What happens, what we do and why most cars are fine after a clean recovery.
A petrol engine ignites fuel with a spark, not by compression like a diesel does. Splash diesel into a petrol tank and the engine simply can't burn it cleanly. You get poor running, heavy smoke, fouled plugs and, on modern direct injection engines, the wrong viscosity going through fuel injectors that weren't designed for it. It's less destructive than the reverse mix up, but it's still a job for a technician, not for hoping the next tank dilutes it.
Like petrol in a diesel, the priority is to stop the contaminated fuel reaching the engine. If you haven't driven on it, the diesel is sitting in the tank and the recovery is straightforward, drain, flush, refuel. If you have driven and noticed misfiring, smoke or rough idle, pull over safely and switch the engine off. Driving can spread the contamination and cause damage. We handle the fuel side only and refer suspected internal damage to a workshop.
We come to you wherever it happened, at the servo, at home, at work or on the roadside. A qualified technician safely drains the contaminated fuel, flushes the lines, refills with the correct fuel and checks the car runs cleanly before you leave. Time on site depends on the vehicle and whether it has been driven. We handle the fuel side only. Suspected internal damage is referred to a workshop. Any additional check we carry out is priced separately and agreed with you first.
If your tank has stale fuel or water in it too, that becomes contaminated fuel removal and disposal, same rig on our end. And if you're reading this at the pump, here's what to do at the bowser right now.
Diesel in a petrol car happens less often than the other way round, but it happens plenty. Different mistake, different cars. We see it on Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Mazda 3, i30, Cerato, Yaris, Swift, Golf, Polo and the family SUVs, Kluger, X-Trail, Outlander, CX-5. Usually it's a work ute driver who's grabbed the diesel nozzle out of habit, but the car they took today is the wife's Corolla. One recent example: a Porsche Cayenne at Hyde Park, diesel in the petrol tank and driven before the call.
Call us before you start the car. We come to you, drain the tank, flush the system and put fresh unleaded back in. Servo forecourt, driveway, side of the road, doesn't matter where you are. We handle the mess and the disposal, you just drive off.
If you cranked it or drove before you realised, stop safely, switch it off and tell us on the call. Driving on diesel in a petrol engine can cause damage beyond the fuel drain. We handle the fuel side only. Suspected internal damage is referred to a workshop. Any additional check we carry out is priced separately and agreed with you first.
The reason diesel in a petrol happens the other way around from what you'd expect: the petrol nozzle is thinner than the diesel one, so it drops straight into a petrol filler no problem. But if you're used to filling up the ute at a truck servo, muscle memory can put a diesel handle in the wrong car. If you've done it, stop there. Don't start the car. Call (08) 7083 9699. We'll come to you.
Real jobs, done recently, close to home and out in the regions.
Diesel misfuelled into a petrol Porsche Cayenne V8 and driven before the call. Fuel drained from both sides of the tank, spark plugs pulled and cleaned, running perfectly the same afternoon at Hyde Park.
Ten years of stale fuel cleaned out of a 1971 Chrysler Valiant Regal at Woodville West, before it went to a workshop to be brought back to the road. Tank drained in the owner's shed.
Two litres of AdBlue in the diesel tank of a Ford Transit at Parafield Gardens. Never started, but the ignition had been turned on, so we treated it as contaminated past the tank. Drained and flushed on the kerb.
A diesel Ford Everest misfuelled with 75 litres of petrol at a Murray Bridge servo, never started. We met the customer at home, drained it and had it back on the road for the weekend.
Straight answers about diesel in a petrol car. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Every car's a bit different. Some we drain straight from the fuel cap, some we need to get underneath, some have the tank in an awkward spot and we work around it. Doesn't really matter to you, we've done enough of them to know what we're walking into before we get there.
Yes, but not the same way as petrol in a diesel. Diesel doesn't vaporise at petrol cylinder temperatures, so an unburnt slug of it can foul the spark plugs and overheat the cat if you drive on it. Not the end of the world and most cars come right after a proper drain and refuel. Big picture, stop as soon as you notice and call us.
Do not start the engine. Do not turn the key. Push the car clear of the pump if you can safely, then call (08) 7083 9699. We answer 24/7 and dispatch straight away. Typically inside the hour across Adelaide metro, actual ETA quoted on the call.
Metro Adelaide callouts are quoted on the phone before we dispatch. Diesel in petrol jobs often come in at the base rate because volumes and drive distances tend to be smaller than the reverse. No fix no fee and a written invoice on site.
Full Adelaide metro, the Hills, Barossa, Fleurieu Peninsula and Victor Harbor. Metro arrival is typically inside the hour, with the actual ETA quoted on the call. Regional arrival is 90 to 150 minutes for Hills and Barossa, 90 to 120 minutes for Fleurieu and Victor Harbor, and quoted on the call for other regional callouts. We attend with one working technician and one ute.
We drain the tank, flush the system and put fresh petrol in. Then we run a full system scan, listen to the engine and only hand the keys back once it's running like it should. You get a full comprehensive report on the job and a written invoice on the spot.
Not a great plan. Diesel in a petrol tank causes rough running, fouled plugs and, if you drive on it long enough, an overheated cat. That said, most cars we see for this are still fine after a proper drain and refuel. Stop as soon as you notice, call us, we'll go from there.
There is no safe running time we can promise. Stop safely, switch it off and tell us whether it has been driven. We handle the fuel side only. Suspected internal damage is referred to a workshop. Any additional check we carry out is priced separately and agreed with you first.
Most standard comprehensive policies treat misfuelling as driver error, so it is often not covered. Cover depends on your policy. Check your product disclosure statement or call your insurer. We give you a plain English invoice with EPA Licence 52359, service type and time on site, which is what insurers ask for.