The Next Steps, in Order: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Wester Hailes
Whatever you do, never switch your motor on, even for a moment, to shift the car. Stop; leave it off. The coming few minutes decide it far more than anything else: petrol in a diesel that has not run normally comes down to draining then rinsing, right there. Below is the order from this point, anywhere in Wester Hailes you are.
Petrol in a diesel, engine off — the first minute
Work through these before anything else, in this order.
- The keys out of the ignition. Switching the ignition on can be enough to prime the system, and priming pulls petrol out of your tank toward the components it harms. Keep it off altogether.
- A fuller tank of the same mix is all topping up leaves you, because it removes nothing. So no more diesel.
- Close to passing traffic? Then the hazards come on before everything else, so your car is simple to see.
- Off the pump by hand. On a forecourt, get the staff to help you push the car away from the pump. Do not crank it to move it, however short the distance.
- Hold on to the receipt. It says which fuel got in plus roughly how much, which is the first thing we'll ask.
On the M8, under 3 miles from Wester Hailes, the next junction is the place to leave the vehicle; elsewhere, the first safe place to stop. Do not press on to the services. Then go back to stage one.
The fork in every Wester Hailes fuel drain: has it run yet?
Everything after this stage depends on one answer.
Engine never run at all?
- Nowhere but the tank: that's where the petrol yet is.
- Usually it is drained and flushed right where your car stands.
- This, here, is the best spot to be in, and the reason step one matters.
Run at all, even for a second:
- From the tank, past the filter, into the lines: that's how far that petrol has got.
- Run it further and that petrol reaches the fuel injectors, having gone through the fuel pump first.
- The further it went, the bigger the job — the lines, the filter, and sometimes more besides.
The reason the line falls there: diesel protects the high-pressure pump as well as your injectors as it flows through them, and petrol doesn't. Petrol resting in a tank harms nothing. The parts that move it are wearing the moment petrol is being pumped.
Before you call about petrol in a diesel around Wester Hailes: what our technicians need
A technician that circles versus a technician that finds you: a little planning is what separates them.
- EH14 2 plus the rest of the postcode makes the best way to begin telling us where you are.
- Name the road — Murrayburn Road or wherever you have stopped — or the car park.
- What a car park serves is the easiest way to find it, and so mention the landmark — such as the one at Lidl.
- The make and model of your vehicle, and the fact it is a diesel.
- Which went in counts: AdBlue is a separate job from petrol, and Wester Hailes has a page for it. So say.
- Roughly how much — in litres from your receipt, or by how long the nozzle was in.
- If it's run, how far plus how hard — and if it has run at all.
- The owner may have to approve the work under some hire and company agreements — so it is quicker to settle whose motor it is before our engineers get there.
Call 0333 366 0103 once you've got that together — or, if the car is at home, going nowhere, use .
Whilst you wait for a fuel drain around Wester Hailes
In the wait, the damage comes from well-meant help — so these matter.
- Wait with your car if it is safe where it is — but if it has stopped somewhere unsafe, you come first: away from the traffic, waiting apart from it.
- Nobody starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll the vehicle a couple of yards.
- None of that takes the petrol back out — not two-stroke oil, not injector cleaner, not something from your boot. So no additives.
- A DIY drain leaves the fuel that has already gone beyond that tank, and siphoning petrol by the road is hazardous too.
- Not for the radio, not for your windows: your ignition stays off.
When our van arrives: the fuel drain, step by step
- The quote comes after three questions, not before them — what went in, how much, and whether it has run — because those replies decide the job.
- Out of that tank comes the polluted mixture: your tank is cleared.
- If it ran, your lines are holding petrol that has moved beyond that tank — so they're flushed.
- Cleaned, or replaced if the car has a workable one: the fuel filter is sorted next.
- Priming comes after fresh diesel is in.
- The start. With new diesel in and the system primed, it is fired up and checked to make sure it runs properly.
Only when it's running on new diesel do our engineers head off. Lasting damage is very uncommon when it has been spotted quickly, so the car can go straight back to normal driving.
Back on the road in Wester Hailes after the fuel drain
- Drive normally. There's nothing special to do once it has been started on fresh fuel.
- Pull over and ring us back if anything seems wrong early on — a light on the dash, smoke from the exhaust, an idle that runs rough, or a throttle with a dead spot.
- The paperwork covers the question a rental company, fleet manager or insurer may ask: what work was carried out. Keep it.
- The handle's colour is not the guide to go by next time — the label on the petrol pump is.
About Wester Hailes and where it is
Wester Hailes is a suburban area in the City of Edinburgh, situated near the Water of Leith and approximately 4.5 miles from Edinburgh city centre. Wester Hailes sits at an elevation of around 80 metres, with the surrounding landscape characterised by the riverside setting and nearby hills. Wester Hailes is predominantly composed of flat housing, which accommodates a population of around 9343 residents. Wester Hailes is located near other suburban areas, including Baberton, Parkhead, and Sighthill.
Fuel drains in Wester Hailes and the spots nearby
The same vans that take petrol in diesel jobs in Wester Hailes serve Baberton, Parkhead and Sighthill, and most of City of Edinburgh beyond them. Somewhere tricky to describe, or close to a boundary? Asking is better than assuming — ring.
Leave it off and ring: petrol in a diesel around City of Edinburgh
Stage one is all of it: engine off, keys out, receipt in your pocket. From there Petrol in Diesel carries on, at the forecourt, by the roadside or on your driveway.