Tank Sizes and Petrol in a Diesel Fiat 500L
Once you have put petrol in a diesel Fiat 500L, the capacity of its fuel tank is among the earliest things to know, since it settles how much of what is in there is currently petrol. Every version of the Fiat 500L we hold data for is on this page alongside its fuel tank size, and the same goes for the motors it was sold with.
Whatever the size, the advice is the same now that it has occurred. With your engine kept off, phone Petrol in Diesel and the vehicle can be drained where it sits.
Fiat 500L fuel tank capacity, by version
35 litres is what the fuel tank takes on every version of the Fiat 500L we have data for, because they all share the same fuel tank.
What a few litres amounts to for wrong fuel in your Fiat 500L
The proportion of petrol rests on how full the tank was before you refuelled. That's because wrong fuel in your Fiat 500L blends with whatever diesel was already in there. How much petrol gets to your engine rests a lot on the level inside the tank. The tank holds up to 35 litres, and in an almost full one a couple of litres stay a small share of the whole, but in a tank sitting close to empty the same few litres make up a much greater share.
Drivers often want to know how much petrol counts as too much. Whether the engine has been run is the more helpful thing to check. After it runs, the pump pulls that blend from the tank and passes it on to the fuel injectors.
Getting it drained is the sensible option whatever the share is. If the volume is small, your 500L normally needs nothing more than that.
Diesel 500L engines and the badges
When you phone, it is useful to have read the badge first, because the name of the version on it shows us which engine your 500L has.
Diesel versions of the 500L in our figures wear Multijet badges.
All of them share one engine size, 1.3 litres.
Phone all the same if you are not sure which version you own, and we will work it out with you.
Fuel tank size and AdBlue in a diesel Fiat 500L
With AdBlue, tank size works differently. The fuel pump draws its fuel from the bottom of your tank, and that's where AdBlue settles, so even a tiny quantity gets into your fuel line. If you have AdBlue in a diesel Fiat 500L, the diesel around it does not dilute it, because AdBlue is mainly water and doesn't mix with diesel.
AdBlue gives the pump no protection and will not burn. Its water dries out as it stands, leaving urea that crystallises in the filter and your lines, where it corrodes the metal it sits against.
Certain diesel cars hold AdBlue in a second tank with a dedicated filler, commonly beside the diesel one under the same fuel flap. On any 500L with an AdBlue filler, a blue cap generally marks it, and that cap takes a smaller nozzle than the diesel one.
Fuel drain on your Fiat 500L
The whole tank is emptied in a fuel drain on your Fiat 500L, however large it is in your version, without the vehicle moving from where it sits. We pump the contaminated fuel out, rinse the fuel lines and the fuel filter, and fill up again with fresh diesel ahead of re-priming your system and starting the motor.
It does not matter whether your 500L is sitting at the forecourt or parked on your driveway. Fresh diesel is what it runs on after this drain is done, and so you can take it away.
How AdBlue removal from a diesel Fiat 500L works
Draining the tank totally is how AdBlue removal from a diesel Fiat 500L begins, since AdBlue does not blend in and collects at the bottom instead. Where the engine has been run, the lines and the fuel filter are rinsed through too, and your fuel filter is changed if needed.
AdBlue that has got into the diesel tank is the subject here. Turning off or taking out your car's AdBlue system is not part of that.
What a fuel drain on the Fiat 500L costs
Two jobs on the same model can be very different, and so we do not publish a fixed price. The largest factor is whether anyone has run or driven the 500L. Then there is the quantity that got in against how big the tank is, which fuel it was, and where your car is at the moment.
With those facts, we can tell you what this job will involve when you phone.
Your tank queries on petrol in a diesel Fiat 500L
How many litres is the Fiat 500L fuel tank capacity?
Each version we have figures for shares one tank, and it holds 35 litres.
Is petrol less of an issue in a larger tank?
The petrol is still there in a larger tank, and still gets to your pump when the engine runs, even though a few litres make up less of the whole. A fuel drain clears all of it while your 500L is turned off.
Wrong fuel in my Fiat 500L: what does that include?
Anything except diesel in your diesel tank, which means petrol of any type, super unleaded too, or AdBlue intended for its own dedicated tank.
Do you come to the Fiat 500L to drain it?
Yes, we can. We come to the vehicle, whether it's still at the station forecourt or left at home, and so it does not need to be shifted or started.