Put Petrol in a Diesel Lancia Voyager by Mistake?
Anyone who has put petrol in a diesel Lancia Voyager without running the engine ought to leave it turned off, and not run it even to move it away from the petrol pump. Draining your tank is usually enough to set your Voyager right, as long as that petrol stays in your tank, which it will whilst your motor is off.
Petrol in Diesel empties wrongly fuelled cars where they are, so the Lancia Voyager can be left at the forecourt or wherever it ended up. We'll go through it with you on the phone, so call us before trying anything yourself.
Your first steps after petrol in a diesel Voyager
- Drivers frequently drive off without noticing something is amiss, since a diesel Voyager will usually fire up and run on petrol and may seem fine for the first couple of miles. So keep the engine off.
- Your ignition needs to stay off too, as switching it on sets the fuel pump priming on plenty of diesels, and your pump then pulls fuel out of your tank.
- Topping up with diesel to thin it is a mistake, even with super unleaded, which is petrol as well. The fuel tank in the Voyager holds up to 76 litres, and each litre of diesel put in is more tainted fuel for us to drain.
- Forecourt attendants will usually help roll your car clear in neutral if it is blocking a pump.
- Once you phone 0333 366 0103, we need to know which Voyager you drive, where it is parked, how much petrol you think went in and whether your motor has been started. The precise version helps as well when it is on the badge, for instance the Voyager 2.8 MultiJet.
Wrong fuel in your Lancia Voyager after your engine has been run
Starting your motor is what draws the wrong fuel in your Lancia Voyager from your tank, and only then does it begin to affect the engine. The high-pressure pump and the injectors on a diesel motor are lubricated by your fuel passing through them. With petrol thinning your diesel, that lubrication is lost, and driving any distance on it is then what can do damage.
Look for somewhere safe to stop and switch off, when the Voyager has already been on the road. All the same, we can get all the tainted fuel out, by draining the tank and then rinsing the fuel pipes and the filter. Very few vehicles that are caught soon and cleaned out thoroughly end up with permanent damage.
Your Lancia Voyager fuel tank capacity, by version
What counts is how much of the fuel inside your tank is petrol. The same few litres matter more when you fuelled up with the tank close to empty, which is why its capacity makes a difference.
In our data, all of the diesel versions of the Lancia Voyager use one tank of 76 litres, so the calculation comes out the same for each.
Which diesel Voyager do you own?
The version is usually on the badging on the boot lid, and knowing it helps us when you call.
Look for Multijet on the badging of a diesel Voyager.
The engine is 2.8 litres in every variant on our list.
If there's AdBlue in a diesel Lancia Voyager
Water and urea make up AdBlue, which certain diesel vehicles rely on to clean up the exhaust. It is held in a tank of its own, with its own filler. If you've got AdBlue in a diesel Lancia Voyager because it went in the wrong filler, do not touch your key, even to move the vehicle.
Since it is mainly water, AdBlue doesn't ignite and offers the fuel pump no lubrication at all. It doesn't blend with diesel either, so it drops to the base of the tank where the pump picks up its fuel, and a tank holding up to 76 litres does nothing to dilute it as it would dilute petrol.
No matter how modest the quantity, some of that is pulled into the line. When the water has evaporated, what is left is urea, which forms crystals in your fuel system, filter and injectors included, and eats into any metal it sits against.
On many motors the AdBlue filler is next to the diesel filler under the same fuel flap, and if your Voyager has one, it may well be there too. A blue cap and a nozzle much smaller than diesel usually mark the AdBlue filler.
What we do for a fuel drain on your Lancia Voyager
Every fuel drain on your Lancia Voyager is done beside the car, so it doesn't need to go to a garage. First we find out what was put in and whether your engine has been run. Your tank, which takes up to 76 litres on the Voyager, is then emptied, the lines and filter are cleaned, and your vehicle is filled up with clean diesel and primed before we start the vehicle.
When the job is done, your Voyager runs on clean diesel and you are free to drive off in it.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Lancia Voyager
Like emptying petrol, AdBlue removal from a diesel Lancia Voyager runs through the same stages. As AdBlue doesn't mix in but collects at the base of your tank, running the Voyager on it can leave crystals inside the pipes. Those get flushed through as well, and the fuel filter is replaced if it needs it.
Here, AdBlue removal means getting AdBlue back out of a diesel tank it was put into through the incorrect filler. Switching off or removing the AdBlue system on a vehicle isn't what it means.
A fuel drain on the Lancia Voyager: what it costs
The work varies from one task to the next, so we do not publish a fixed quote. The main factors that shape it are these:
- most of all, whether the Voyager has been driven or even started
- how much was put in compared to the size of the tank
- what was put in, petrol or AdBlue
- the position of the Voyager and how easily we can get to it with our van
If you phone with those answers we can explain what the work is likely to involve.
Questions on petrol in a diesel Lancia Voyager, answered
Your Lancia Voyager fuel tank capacity: how many litres?
All the versions we have figures for take 76 litres.
Does topping up with diesel help with a little petrol in my Voyager?
We'd recommend against it. That petrol remains in the system when you drive off, since adding diesel just reduces its share and removes none of that. All of it is removed with a drain, which for a small quantity is generally everything your Voyager needs.
Should my Voyager go to the Lancia dealer?
There's no reason to take it anywhere. We empty and clean your Voyager where it has stopped, and we're independent, with no link to Lancia or any of its dealers.
Is wrong fuel in my Lancia Voyager covered by my insurance?
We will still come out to empty it for you, covered or not. Look at your policy all the same, because not every policy includes misfuelling cover.
Diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Voyager: what now?
In this case, too, the right thing is to leave the ignition alone. The AdBlue system will need draining, and when your car is driven that way, it'll most likely display a warning and go into limp mode. Tell us which tank your fuel was put in when you phone.
I've already driven my Voyager. What should I do?
Switch your engine off once you have pulled over somewhere safe, and leave it off until we arrive. Catching it this soon means lasting damage is very uncommon, plus we empty and clean your fuel system wherever you happen to be.