Wrong fuel in your car - what to do

Have you put the wrong fuel in your vehicle?

Don't worry we're here to help get your tank drained and back on the road!

If you've put the wrong fuel in your car, you're not alone - around 150,000 motorists do it every year in the UK.

Start Rescue Customers:

If you’re already a Start Rescue customer, you have misfuel cover as standard 
When you put the wrong fuel in your car, we will cover you to the value of £250 for draining and flushing your vehicle
and we will also include up to 10 litres of the correct fuel to get you back on the road.

Can Start Rescue help if I’ve put the wrong fuel in my car but I don’t have a current breakdown policy?

If you’re not a Start Rescue Customer, we can still help you.

Call us on the number above and we will provide you with more information. The cost to drain and flush your tank will be £216. 

What is misfuelling?

Misfuelling is accidentally putting the wrong type of fuel in your vehicle at the petrol station.

If you have put the wrong fuel in your vehicle, please follow the steps below.

What should I do if I put the wrong fuel in my car?

You’re at the fuel pump and suddenly you realise ‘I’ve put the wrong fuel in my car!’

If you have realised you filled your car with the wrong fuel, do not turn on the ignition. This causes the damage from misfuelling. However, if you have already driven your vehicle with the wrong fuel in, find a safe place to pull over as soon as possible and turn the engine off.

Once your engine is switched off, follow these steps:

• Remove the key from the ignition
• If you’re still at the petrol station, inform the staff that you have put the wrong fuel in your car
• If you’re already a Start Rescue customer, you have misfuel cover as standard up to the value of £250 for draining and flushing your vehicle to remove the wrong fuel. We will also include up to 10 litres of the correct fuel to get you back on the road. Call us on 01206 785999
• If you’re not a customer, we can still help you. Call us on 01206 714393 and we will provide you with more information

Signs you've added the wrong fuel

What happens if you put petrol in a diesel car?

Have you put petrol into a diesel car or engine? The following petrol in diesel car symptoms may be noticeable:

• Unusual amount of smoke emitting from your exhaust
• A loud knocking noise when you accelerate
• Poor/slow acceleration
• Engine warning light comes on
• Engine failure
• Difficulties restarting the engine

What happens when you put diesel in a petrol car?

If you've put diesel into a petrol car or engine, you may notice the following symptoms:

• Engine misfires
• Unusual amount of smoke emitting from your exhaust
• Engine cuts out
• Engine does not restart

Adding petrol to a diesel engine can cause a lot more damage than putting diesel in a petrol car.

If you have put petrol in a diesel engine, you can minimise any damage by not turning over the ignition.

What happens if I misfuel my car with E10 petrol?

If you have put E10 fuel in an incompatible car, it may cause damage over an extended period – even if it still runs in the short term.

If you have misfuelled with E10 please follow the steps given above for assistance.

Find out more about E10 fuel

How does a fuel drain and flush work?

A misfuel specialist will come to your breakdown location, then drain the tank and flush your fuel system.

These specialists are fully accredited and able to work safely at a variety of locations - such as fuel station forecourts.

If the damage is particularly serious, your vehicle may need to be towed to facilities better equipped to deal with the problem.

It is important that you do not try and drain the fuel tank yourself. This is a specialist procedure and if you try and drain the fuel from your car you could injure yourself and others.

Have you put petrol in a diesel car by mistake and drove it?

If you have put petrol in a diesel car and driven it, please call our specialist team as soon as possible so we can get someone out to you to drain your tank and check for damage to the engine.

Can you put diesel in a petrol car?

The diesel pump nozzle is bigger than most petrol filler necks, so it is difficult to accidentally fill a petrol car with diesel, especially newer cars.  But it is still possible.

There is no real safe amount of diesel that you can put in a petrol engine. However, if you have put a small amount of diesel in a petrol car (less than 5% of petrol), you are most likely not going to experience damage to your vehicle.

The petrol serves to dilute the diesel, so the smaller the amount the less likely it is to be a problem.

If you fill your petrol car with diesel, you have no option but to empty the whole tank, clean the circuit and the filter.  

Luckily, the damage diesel can cause to a petrol engine is not as bad as the damage that petrol can cause to a diesel engine.

Your petrol engine shouldn't have any permanent damage once the fuel's drained out.