What happens, what we do and why the next few minutes matter.
Airport misfuels almost always come down to the same thing, an unfamiliar car and a driver in a hurry. You have just picked up a rental you have never driven, or you are rushing to drop it back before a flight and you do not actually know if it takes petrol or diesel. Half the modern rental fleet is diesel utes and SUVs that look identical to their petrol versions, so it is an easy mistake and a common one.
Stop safely and keep the engine off. Call the rental company first to notify them and get approval, then call us. If you have not started the engine, the wrong fuel is just sitting in the tank and has not reached the pump or injectors. Drain it, flush the system and refuel and the car drives away with no lasting harm. Start it, even just to move it off the return lane and you begin circulating the wrong fuel through the parts it can damage, which is where bills climb.
Once the rental company has approved the work, call us with the car's location and any conditions of that approval. We can attend the rental return, terminal precinct, airport servo or roadside where access is permitted and safe. We handle the fuel side only and refer suspected internal damage to a workshop. We cannot guarantee that you will make your flight.
Whether it is petrol in a diesel or diesel in a petrol, the fix is the same and we carry everything to do it on site.
We get a lot of airport calls and they have all got the same flavour. Someone has landed after a long flight, grabbed a rental they have never driven and pulled into the servo on Sir Donald Bradman Drive to fill up before dropping it back. The dash does not say petrol or diesel, the cap does not always either and half these fleets are diesel HiLuxes, Rangers, RAV4 diesels and Euro wagons that look exactly like the petrol ones. Wrong pump and they only realise when they see the receipt.
Keep the engine off. Call the rental company first to notify them and get approval for the work. Then call us with the location and vehicle details. We can drain the wrong fuel, flush the lines and add the correct fuel where access is permitted and safe. Arrival and time on site are separate, and we cannot guarantee that you will make your flight.
If you have already driven it, stop somewhere safe and switch the engine off. Notify the rental company and get approval first, then call us. 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.
One tip if you are ever unsure at the pump, check the inside of the filler flap or the handbook before you lift the nozzle, it will tell you petrol or diesel. If you have already misfuelled, stop safely and keep the engine off. Call the rental company first to notify them and get approval, then call us on (08) 7083 9699.
Straight answers about wrong fuel in a hire car at the airport. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Stop safely, keep the engine off and do not switch on the ignition. Notify the rental company and get approval for the work first. Then call us on (08) 7083 9699 with the location, vehicle and any approval conditions. Metro arrival is typically inside the hour, with the actual ETA quoted on the call. Time on site is separate.
Misfuelling can be your responsibility under the rental agreement. The rental company decides what approval is needed and whether charges, excess or bond deductions apply. Notify them and get approval before booking us. A fuel drain does not guarantee that rental charges or bond deductions will be avoided. We provide an itemised invoice.
Notify the rental company and get approval first. Then tell us your flight time when you call. Airport jobs get priority. Metro arrival is typically inside the hour, with the actual ETA quoted on the call. Arrival and time on site are separate. We cannot guarantee that you will make your flight.
Only with approval from the rental company. Stop safely and keep the engine off. Call them first to notify them and get approval, then call us. Tell us any conditions attached to their approval before we book the work.
Petrol in a diesel is the more urgent of the two, but keep the engine off either way. Notify the rental company and get approval first, then call us. We handle the fuel side only and refer suspected internal damage to a workshop. The rental fleets are full of diesel utes and SUVs like the HiLux and Ranger and plenty of small petrol hatchbacks, we drain both every week. See our petrol in diesel and diesel in petrol pages for the detail.
A metro Adelaide callout is quoted on the phone before we dispatch. That covers the drain, flush, EPA compliant disposal and refuel. No fix no fee, no card surcharge, no surprises on the invoice.
Stop somewhere safe and switch the engine off. Notify the rental company and get approval first, then call us. 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.
Wherever the car is. The rental returns, the pickup area, the airport servo, a nearby hotel car park, or the side of the road if you got as far as the freeway. We're fully mobile, you don't need a tow.