Lane: Petrol in a Diesel Car? Here Is What Happens
Not for a moment, and not to move it: your motor stays off. Pause there. The coming few minutes decide it more than anything else: petrol in a diesel that has not run normally comes down to draining then flushing, on the spot. Wherever you are in Lane, here is the order things go from now.
Petrol in a diesel, engine off — the first minute
First, these — following this order.
- Keys out of your ignition. Switching the ignition on can be enough to prime the system, while priming draws petrol out of the tank towards the components it harms. Leave the vehicle off completely.
- Topping up with diesel sounds like it dilutes the trouble. It doesn't: nothing gets out, and that tank simply holds more of the same.
- Close to moving traffic? Then your hazards go on before anything else, so your car is easy to spot.
- However short the way, starting it to move it is the thing to avoid. At a forecourt, roll the vehicle away from the pump by hand instead, then ask the staff to help.
- The first question we will ask is which fuel you put in and roughly how much — and your receipt shows both. Keep it.
Noticed on the move? Get off at the next exit if you are on the M5, over 50 miles from Lane, and stop somewhere safe — not at the services further on. Step one comes after that.
Each Lane fuel drain starts here: has the engine run?
One answer is what everything after this stage rests on.
Motor not run at all?
- The petrol sits inside that tank, and just there.
- A drain and flush, on the spot, is usually all of it.
- Being here is the best case — which is the whole point of step one.
Motor run, however briefly?
- The fuel lines and your filter now carry petrol pulled out of that tank.
- Run it further and that petrol gets to the injectors, having passed through the fuel pump first.
- The job expands with the distance — lines flushed, filter sorted, occasionally more.
The line falls there because diesel protects your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors on its way through them — and petrol doesn't. Petrol resting in a tank damages nothing. Pump that petrol, though, and it grinds down the very parts doing the moving.
Lane, petrol in a diesel: have these ready before you call
A little preparation is the difference between a van that finds you and a technician that circles.
- Where you have stopped. A postcode beginning TR8 4 is the best place to start.
- Give the street — Gannel View Close or wherever you have stopped — or the car park.
- Or the nearest landmark. A car park is easier to find by what it serves, like the one at Hendra Supermarket.
- The make and model of your car, and the fact it's a diesel.
- Tell us which was put in — petrol or AdBlue — since AdBlue is a different job, with a page of its own for Lane.
- How much. Litres from your receipt, or how long the nozzle was in.
- Whether it's run. And if it has, how far plus how hard.
- Sort who owns the car ahead of when we turn up: some hire and company contracts want the owner to authorise the work, and that is quicker beforehand.
Then ring 0333 366 0103. If it can wait — your car is at home and going nowhere — works too.
Waiting for a fuel drain in Lane: what to do
In the wait, the harm comes from well-meant help — which is why these matter.
- Safety before the car. If it has stopped somewhere unsafe, get yourself away from the traffic then wait away from it. If it is safe where it sits, stay with it.
- Not to roll it a couple of yards, not to check it is all right, not for a passer-by's favour: nobody starts it.
- No additives. Two-stroke oil, injector cleaner, something from the boot — none of that gets the petrol back out.
- Siphoning petrol into a can by the kerbside is dangerous — and it still leaves whatever fuel has already gone beyond the tank. Don't try a home-made drain.
- Leave the ignition off — your windows and the radio included.
Step by step: your fuel drain when the van arrives
- Three queries. What got in, how much, and if it has run. Those answers set the job, which is why our quote comes after them and not before.
- Out of your tank comes the tainted blend: that tank is emptied.
- The fuel lines are purged. If it ran, that petrol has moved beyond your tank, and the lines are holding it.
- Cleared, or replaced if the vehicle has a serviceable one: the filter is seen to next.
- Fresh diesel in, and the system primed.
- First start on fresh diesel. Once bleeding is done, your engine is started and our technicians check that it runs correctly.
Until it runs on clean diesel, our engineers remain with it. Lasting damage is very rare when it has been noticed soon, so the vehicle can go right back to normal driving.
Once the fuel drain is done: driving in Lane once more
- Nothing special is needed after a start with clean diesel — ordinary driving will do.
- Pull over and call us back if anything looks wrong early on — a light on the dash, smoke from the exhaust, an idle that is lumpy, or a throttle with a dead spot.
- Your paperwork covers the query a rental company, fleet manager or insurer may ask: what work was carried out. Keep it.
- Next time, check the petrol pump. The label, not the colour of its handle.
About Lane itself
Lane is a small coastal village in Cornwall, situated near the towns of Trencreek and Truro. Lane sits at an elevation of 58 metres, with its terraced housing reflecting the local architectural style. Lane is part of a network of villages and hamlets, including Gwills and Treninnick, that make up the surrounding area.
Fuel drains across Lane and nearby
The same vans that take petrol in diesel call-outs in Lane cover Trencreek, Gwills and Treninnick, and most of Cornwall beyond them. Somewhere tricky to describe, or close to a boundary? Asking is better than guessing — ring.
Petrol in a diesel around Cornwall? Leave it off and ring
Petrol in Diesel takes it from there — on your driveway, at the kerbside, at the forecourt — once you have done stage one: keys out, engine off, receipt in your pocket.