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• Wrong fuel costs Police force £15,000 every year
• British Insurance Brokers' - mis-fuelling may not be covered by motor insurance.
• Drivers mis-fuelling maybe unfairly refused claims for damage

More Information on Petrol Mis-fuelling

Filling a vehicle’s fuel tank with the wrong fuel appears to be an increasingly common mistake. Here is some information on what needs to be done to correct it.

Petrol in diesel vehicles
This is a very common situation and depending on the vehicle, potentially the most costly to rectify.

Older style diesel engines may tolerate a small amount of petrol without too much damage, although this is definitely not recommended. The newer Common Rail diesel systems are unlikely to tolerate any level of petrol without damage, as the high-pressure pumping elements rely on the lubrication properties of the diesel fuel.

If you’ve put petrol in a vehicle fitted with a Common Rail diesel injection system, don’t even turn the key, as the electric fuel pump will circulate the petrol through the whole system, necessitating a major repair.

The extent of the work required to rectify petrol in a diesel vehicle will depend on the type of vehicle and how long it has operated on the wrong fuel.

In the worst case, expect a bill for a thousand pounds, as rectification could require repair or replacement of much of the fuel system, as well as repairs to the engine itself if it has suffered damage. The best case, where the fuel has been put in the tank but the engine wasn’t started, will involve draining the system and adding the correct fuel.

Diesel in petrol vehicles
While this is less common, it does happen. Diesel fuel in petrol vehicles generally doesn’t cause too many problems, as often the engine simply won’t run. If it will run, typical symptoms that should not be ignored are “pinging”, exhaust smoke, loss of power and oil contamination due to incomplete combustion.

If the engine has operated on a diesel / petrol mixture for some time it is possible to damage pistons, along with the crankshaft and bearings. In most cases however, rectification will only involve draining the fuel, changing the fuel filter, flushing the lines to remove the diesel and refilling with petrol.

The Solution: The Key-Cap Device

Key-Cap has been awarded the Gold Medal by the Automobile Club of Switzerland (ACS) at the latest International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva 2010.

"The device is designed so that when a diesel fuel filler nozzle is inserted, the physical barrier swings out of the way allowing fuel to be added to the vehicle. The device can distinguish between petrol and diesel fuelling nozzles and will not open when someone attempts to insert the smaller diameter petrol nozzle, therefore preventing the wrong fuel being added to the vehicle."

Motorists can expect bills of between £150 and £300 just to drain incorrect fuel from a vehicle, and repair bills of several thousand pounds if the vehicle engine runs with the wrong fuel as this causes serious damage to the engine.

 

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