Okus: Petrol in a Diesel Car? Here Is What Happens
Stop. Motor off. Keep the car like that — no moment on, no moving it anywhere. Petrol in a diesel that hasn't been run is usually a drain and a flush, done where the car stands, and what you do in the coming few minutes settles that far more than anything else. What follows is the sequence from here, wherever around Okus you are.
Minute one: petrol in a diesel, motor off
First, the following — in this order.
- Priming the system draws petrol from your tank towards the parts it damages, and switching the ignition on can be all it takes to do that. So the keys come out, and the ignition remains off completely.
- Do not top it up with diesel. Adding diesel takes out nothing. You are left with a fuller tank of the same mixture.
- Near moving traffic? Then your hazards come on before everything else, and so your car is simple to see.
- By hand, never under the engine: that is how it leaves the petrol pump. Get the forecourt staff to help you roll, whatever the mileage.
- Keep the till receipt. It says which fuel went in and roughly how much, which is the first thing we'll ask.
On the M4, under a mile from Okus, the next junction is the location to come off; anywhere, the first safe spot to stop. Don't push on to the services. Then go back to stage one.
The fork in every Okus fuel drain: has it run yet?
From this point on, everything comes down to a single answer.
If your motor has not run at all:
- No place but that tank: that is where that petrol yet is.
- Usually it is emptied and rinsed just where the car stands.
- This, here, is the best position to be in, and the whole reason stage one matters.
If it's been started, even for a moment:
- Some petrol has left that tank by now, passed through the filter, and got into your lines.
- A bigger run carries it all the way to the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors.
- Mileage is what turns it into a larger job: flushed lines, a filter seen to, and at times more than that.
The reason the line falls there: diesel protects the high-pressure fuel pump as well as the injectors as it flows through them, and petrol doesn't. A tank of petrol, left still, hurts nothing. Petrol being pumped is wearing the parts that move the car.
Calling about petrol in a diesel from Okus: what to have ready
Whether the van goes round or finds you depends on a little planning.
- Where you are. A postcode beginning SN1 4 is the ideal place to start.
- Name the street — Mill Lane or wherever you have pulled up — or the car park.
- Or the landmark. A car park is easier to find by what it serves, such as the one at Waitrose.
- The make and model of your car, and the fact it is a diesel.
- Petrol or AdBlue? Say which. They are different jobs, and AdBlue has its own Okus page.
- How long the nozzle was in, or the litres from the receipt — whichever gives us how much.
- Has it run? If so, say how far it went, and the way it was driven.
- Hire or company car? Some agreements want the owner's authorisation for the work, and sorting it before we get there is faster than after.
Next, 0333 366 0103. Not urgent, your car parked at home with nowhere to be? Then will do too.
Okus fuel drain on its way? While you wait
Stick to these: well-meant help causes the damage during the wait.
- Wait with the vehicle if it is safe where it is — but if it has stopped somewhere dangerous, you come first: away from the traffic, waiting apart from it.
- A kind passer-by does not start it. Nor does anyone checking it still does the trick, or rolling it a couple of yards.
- No additives. Two-stroke oil, injector cleaner, anything from the boot — none of that gets the petrol back out.
- No DIY draining. Siphoning petrol into a can by the kerbside is risky, and it leaves the fuel that has already gone beyond your tank.
- Not for the radio, not for your windows: the ignition stays off.
Step by step: the fuel drain when the van arrives
- Three queries. What went in, how much, and if it has run. The replies set the job, which is why our price comes after them but not before.
- Out of that tank comes the contaminated blend: the tank is drained.
- If it ran, the lines are carrying petrol that has shifted beyond the tank — so they are flushed.
- Then your filter: swapped where there's a serviceable one, cleared where there is not.
- Priming comes once clean diesel is in.
- Our technicians fire it up only after clean diesel has gone in and bled the system, then make sure that it is running correctly.
Only once it's running on clean diesel do we go. Your car returns to normal use straight away, and long-term damage is very uncommon if it has been caught quickly.
After the fuel drain: back on the road around Okus
- Drive normally. There's nothing unusual to do after it has been started on fresh fuel.
- Give the first miles your attention. Smoke appearing, a warning light coming on, your idle going lumpy or the throttle hesitating: pull over and call us back.
- Keep your documents. A hire firm, a fleet manager or an insurer may ask what was carried out.
- The handle's colour is not the guide to go by next time — the label on the petrol pump is.
About Okus itself
Okus is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Wiltshire, with a mix of residential flats and local amenities. Okus sits at an elevation of 127 metres, near the nearby places of Wichelstowe, Old Town, and Kingshill. Okus is located approximately 26.9 miles from the city of Bath and 71.6 miles from London, making it a commuter base for those working in these cities. Okus has a population of around 5223 people, predominantly residing in flat-type housing.
Fuel drains around Okus and beyond
Most of Wiltshire gets the same teams as Okus for petrol in diesel jobs, Wichelstowe, Old Town and Kingshill included. Somewhere tricky to describe, or close to a border? Asking is better than guessing — ring.
Petrol in a diesel around Wiltshire? Leave it off and ring
Keys out, engine off, the receipt in your pocket: that's stage one done. The remainder is for Petrol in Diesel, wherever the vehicle is — forecourt, kerbside or drive.