Botcherby: Petrol in a Diesel Car? Here Is What Happens
Whatever you do, never switch the motor on, even briefly, to move it. Stop; leave the car off. Has not been run? Then petrol in a diesel will usually be a simple drain-and-flush job wherever the vehicle has stopped — and nothing settles that more than the next few minutes do. Here's the order of things from here, anywhere you're around Botcherby.
Motor off: minute one with petrol in a diesel
Go through the following in order, before you do anything else.
- Ignition off, keys out. Turned on, the ignition can prime the system — and priming is what moves petrol out of your tank towards the components it damages.
- No diesel on top. More fuel in takes away none of that petrol — it only makes you with extra of the same mixture.
- Being seen comes before the rest near moving traffic: switch the hazard lights on, and only then deal with anything else.
- Off the petrol pump by hand. At a forecourt, ask the staff to help you push it away from the petrol pump. Do not start the vehicle to move it, however short the way.
- The first thing we will ask is which fuel you put in and about how much — and the receipt says both. Keep it.
Still driving when you noticed? Come off the M6 at the next junction if that's where you are, under a mile from Botcherby, and pull over somewhere sensible and not pushing on to the services. Then begin at stage one.
Has it run yet? The fork in each Botcherby fuel drain
Everything after this stage depends on one answer.
Not run, not even once:
- The petrol is still in your tank and nowhere else.
- Usually it is drained and flushed just where the vehicle stands.
- Step one counts for exactly this reason: it is the best place to be in.
If the motor has run, even for a moment:
- Petrol has been pulled out of your tank, past the fuel filter then into the lines.
- Run it farther and that petrol gets to the injectors, having gone through the pump first.
- The farther it went, the larger this job — the fuel lines, your filter, and now and then more besides.
The line falls there because diesel lubricates the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors on its way through them — and petrol does not. Nothing is damaged by petrol that is just sitting in a tank. Once it is pumped, petrol starts wearing down whatever moves it.
Botcherby, petrol in a diesel: have these ready before you call
A technician that circles versus a technician that finds you: a little preparation is the difference.
- Where you are. A postcode beginning CA1 2 is the best place to start.
- The street or the car park. A road name helps — Applewood Close, or wherever you have pulled up.
- Describe a car park by what it serves — the one at Lidl, for example — and it's much quicker to find.
- The vehicle. Make, model, plus that it is a diesel.
- What got in. Petrol, or AdBlue. AdBlue is a separate job with its own page for Botcherby, and so tell us which.
- The quantity: your receipt's litres, or else how long you had the nozzle in.
- If it has run, how far plus how heavily — and whether it has run at all.
- Hire or company car? Some contracts need the owner's authorisation for this work, and getting it before we arrive is faster than after.
Call 0333 366 0103 once you've got that ready — or, if the vehicle is at home, going nowhere, use .
Waiting for a fuel drain in Botcherby: what to do
The wait is where well-intended help does the harm. Stick to these.
- Where the car has stopped settles where you wait. Exposed: away from it, away from the traffic. Safe: with it. Either way, safety before your car.
- Nobody starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll it a few yards.
- Anything from the boot, oil meant for two-strokes or injector cleaner: no additive removes that petrol.
- Siphoning petrol into a can at the kerbside is risky — and it also leaves whatever fuel has already gone beyond the tank. Don't drain it yourself.
- Even your radio or the windows are not worth switching your ignition on for.
The fuel drain, step by step, once the van arrives
- Three queries. What was put in, how much, and if it has run. The replies decide this job, which is why the quote comes after them but not before.
- Next the tank is drained, so the polluted fuel is taken out.
- If it ran, the fuel lines are carrying petrol that has shifted beyond your tank — so they're rinsed.
- The fuel filter is sorted. Cleared, or replaced where the vehicle has a serviceable one.
- Clean diesel in, and your system primed.
- Starting up. Once the fuel system is primed with clean diesel, our technicians fire it up and make sure it runs smoothly.
Till it runs on clean diesel, we stay with it. Your car goes back to normal use right away, and lasting damage is very uncommon when it has been spotted soon.
Back on the road in Botcherby after the fuel drain
- Drive normally. There's nothing special to do once it has been started on fresh fuel.
- Keep an eye on the first miles. A warning light, smoke, a lumpy idle or a flat spot under your throttle tells you to pull over and call us back.
- The paperwork covers the query a rental company, fleet manager or insurer may ask: what work was carried out. File it.
- The handle's colour isn't the guide to go by next time — the label on the pump is.
About Botcherby and where it is
Botcherby is a suburban area located on the riverside in Cumbria, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Botcherby sits near the city of Carlisle, at an elevation of 27 metres, and is close to nearby places such as Rickerby and Harraby. Botcherby is situated in a relatively low-lying area, with the River Eden flowing nearby. Botcherby has a population of around 4085 people, making it a small but established community.
Fuel drains around Botcherby and the places nearby
The same teams that answer petrol in diesel call-outs around Botcherby serve Rickerby, Harraby and Scotby, and most of Cumbria beyond them. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're somewhere hard to describe or close to a boundary.
Petrol in a diesel around Cumbria? Leave it off and ring
Motor off. Keys out. Receipt in your pocket. That is the whole of stage one, and Petrol in Diesel takes it from there — at the roadside, at the forecourt or on your drive.