Put Petrol in a Diesel Infiniti EX by Mistake?
When you have got petrol in a diesel Infiniti EX and the motor has not been started, keep it switched off, including to shift it away from the pump. A fuel drain is normally enough to set the EX right, provided that petrol remains inside your tank, which it will whilst your engine is off.
Your Infiniti EX can stay put wherever it ended up, forecourt or not, as Petrol in Diesel empties wrongly fuelled cars where they are. Call us first and let us take you through it, rather than attempting anything on your own.
Put petrol in a diesel EX? The first steps
- With petrol in the tank, a diesel EX will generally still start and run, and feel completely normal for several miles. That's why motorists frequently drive off without spotting a fault, and the reason your motor should be left off.
- Turning your ignition on is enough, on plenty of diesels, to set the fuel pump priming and pull fuel from the tank towards your injectors, so keep that off too.
- Filling up with diesel to dilute it is a mistake, even with super unleaded, which counts as petrol too. The fuel tank on the EX holds up to 80 litres, and each litre of diesel put in is more contaminated fuel for us to drain.
- A vehicle in the way of a pump can be put in neutral and pushed clear, and the forecourt attendants are generally willing to lend a hand.
- Call 0333 366 0103 with where the EX is and which one it is, the rough volume of petrol that was put in, and whether it has run. If you can read the exact version on the badging, for instance the EX30d, that helps too.
What starting the engine does with wrong fuel in your Infiniti EX
Wrong fuel in your Infiniti EX only starts to affect your motor after it's drawn from your tank, which is what starting your engine does. Inside a diesel engine, the fuel oils your injectors and the injection pump on its way through. Driving for any distance on the mixture is what can cause harm, because petrol dilutes your diesel and strips that protection away.
Once you have driven the EX on it, the thing to do is stop in a safe place and turn your motor off. Even so, we can get all the tainted fuel out, by draining your tank and then flushing the fuel lines and the fuel filter. Provided it is flushed out thoroughly after being caught soon, it very rarely leaves lasting damage.
Infiniti EX fuel tank capacity
What counts is how much of your fuel in your tank is petrol. The same couple of litres count for more when you fuelled up with the tank close to empty, which is why its size makes a difference.
In our data, all the diesel variants of the Infiniti EX share one tank of 80 litres, so the sum comes out the same for each.
Checking your diesel EX variant
Most of the time the variant is badged on your boot lid, and it's useful for us to know when you call.
AdBlue in a diesel Infiniti EX
AdBlue is a mixture of water and urea that some diesel cars rely on to clean up their exhaust, and it has a separate tank and filler. The key needs to remain out of your ignition when you have AdBlue in a diesel Infiniti EX through the incorrect filler, and that includes moving your car.
Because it is mostly water, AdBlue does not ignite and offers the fuel pump no protection whatsoever. It doesn't blend with diesel either, so it sinks to the bottom of your tank where your pump draws its fuel, and a tank of up to 80 litres does nothing to dilute it the way it would dilute petrol.
A small quantity is still drawn into the fuel system. Inside your fuel system the water evaporates and leaves the urea to crystallise, in the fuel filter and injectors among other places, where it corrodes the metalwork it rests against.
On a lot of vehicles the AdBlue filler sits alongside the diesel filler under the same flap, and where the EX has one, it could well be there as well. AdBlue caps are generally blue and take a much narrower nozzle than diesel.
Fuel drain on your Infiniti EX: what we do
A fuel drain on your Infiniti EX is carried out beside your car, and it never needs to be taken to a garage. On the EX the tank holds up to 80 litres, so we drain all of that once we have checked what went in and whether the motor has run. The fuel pipes and the fuel filter are cleaned next, then we refill with fresh diesel and prime your system before firing up your engine.
You are free to drive the EX away when the job is done, running on clean diesel.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Infiniti EX, step by step
Like draining petrol, AdBlue removal from a diesel Infiniti EX runs through the same stages. Since AdBlue doesn't blend in but settles at the bottom of the tank, running the EX on it can form crystals in the lines. Those get flushed through too, and the fuel filter is swapped where needed.
AdBlue removal, as we use the term on this page, covers AdBlue that went in the incorrect filler and has to come out of your diesel tank. It doesn't cover removing or switching off the AdBlue system on the car.
What does a fuel drain on the Infiniti EX cost?
A fixed quote is not something we publish, because no two jobs need the same work. It mostly comes down to the following:
- whether the EX has been started or driven, which makes the largest difference
- how much was put in relative to the capacity of your tank
- whether it was petrol or AdBlue
- the location of the EX and how easily we can reach it with the van
We can let you know what this work will probably need once you phone and give us those answers.
Petrol in a diesel Infiniti EX: questions
Can you tell me the fuel tank capacity of the Infiniti EX?
80 litres on each version in our data.
I just put a little petrol in my EX. Should I fill up with diesel?
We wouldn't advise it. Adding diesel cuts the share of petrol without removing any of it, so the petrol is still in the fuel system when you drive. With just a little petrol, a drain to get all of that out is generally all your EX requires.
Will my EX have to go to the Infiniti dealer?
There's no reason to move it elsewhere. We drain and clean the EX where it is, and we're independent, with no connection to Infiniti or its dealers.
Will my policy pay for wrong fuel in my Infiniti EX?
Some policies carry misfuelling cover and some don't, so it's worth looking at yours. Either way, we come out to drain the car for you.
The diesel went into the AdBlue filler on my EX. What now?
Leave your key out of your ignition in that case too. When it's driven like that, a vehicle will normally give an alert and go into limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining as well. Do say which tank took your diesel when you ring.
What should I do if I have already driven my EX?
Switch your motor off after you've pulled over somewhere safe, and leave it off till we get to you. Permanent harm is very unusual when it's caught soon like this, plus we empty your fuel system and clean it where you have pulled over.