Would You Know What To Do If You Put The Wrong Fuel In Your Vehicle? |
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Melanie Kamdar
March 5, 2014
Putting the wrong fuel in your car is known as misfuelling. It happens every day in petrol forecourts all over the UK. However, do you know what to do if a momentary lapse of concentration means that you misfuel?
It is important that you do. According to recent article published in the Daily Mail Putting the wrong fuel in your car is a notoriously expensive mistake, with some garages charging as much as £5,000 to sort out the problem.
But the researchers from the newspaper believed that most of the work they are billing for is unnecessary and many cases of misfueling can be simply rectified.
The AA estimates that over 150,000 drivers put the wrong fuel in their car every year - about 13 an hour - and end up paying out a total of £50million in repair bills.
The Daily Mail reported that researchers from the magazine Auto Express posed as owners who had put unleaded petrol into their diesel vehicles and then asked dealers to quote for repairs. Topping the list was Chrysler, with a £5,000 quote to fix a Grand Voyager. The repair bills varied dramatically. The owner of a Skoda Octavia would be charged £110 for the tank to be emptied, the system flushed and a new filter installed. However, a BMW 320d driver could be expected to pay for new fuel lines and pump too, costing more than £1,000.
So if the article is to be believed, knowing what you need to do should this happen to you could end up saving you up to £5,000.
So What Should You Do?
Firstly, don't start your engine. This will start the wrong fuel being moved from the tank and circulating around the entire engine. This can cause unnecessary damage, which can start to rack up those repair bills.
If you can, stop filling your tank immediately. With the cost of fuel on the rise, the less fuel you put in, the less of your money you are wasting. Call a dedicated fuel rescue service. A professional company can be with you normally within an hour and can perform a fuel tank drain down and flush out the wrong fuel that has been put in. This can prevent any damage to your engine and once you've refilled your tank with the correct fuel, you can be back on your way quickly and without facing a hefty bill for a simple mistake.