Petrol in a Diesel Mazda 323? Leave It Switched Off
If you have got petrol in a diesel Mazda 323 but the engine has not been turned on, leave it switched off, even to move it clear of the petrol pump. A fuel drain is usually enough to set your 323 right, provided that petrol remains in the tank, which it will while the motor is off.
We come to wrongly fuelled vehicles rather than the other way round, so with Petrol in Diesel the Mazda 323 stays on the forecourt or wherever it ended up. Wait before trying anything yourself until you've called us, and we'll explain what to do.
First steps for petrol in a diesel 323
- Drivers frequently drive off without noticing something is wrong, as a diesel 323 will normally fire up and run on petrol and may seem fine for the first few miles. So keep your engine off.
- Turning the ignition on is all it takes, on plenty of diesels, to set the fuel pump priming and draw fuel from your tank to the fuel injectors, so keep that off as well.
- Don't fill the rest of the tank with diesel to dilute it. Your 323 holds up to 55 litres, and filling it up simply leaves more tainted fuel to empty out. Super unleaded is petrol here as well.
- Ask the forecourt staff when your car is in the way of a pump. They normally help push it clear after it is in neutral.
- When the badging shows the precise version, for example the 323 P 2.0 D, give it once you call 0333 366 0103. Let us know as well which 323 you have and where it is parked, about how much petrol was put in and whether your engine has run.
Started the vehicle with wrong fuel in your Mazda 323?
The engine is not touched by wrong fuel in your Mazda 323 till it's drawn out of your tank, and starting your engine is what pulls it out. The high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors on a diesel motor are lubricated by your fuel running through them. That lubrication is stripped away once petrol dilutes your diesel, so the harm, where there's any, is down to driving on that mixture.
Look for a safe place to pull in and turn off, when the 323 has already been on the road. We can still put it right, by emptying your tank and rinsing the pipes and the filter until all of the tainted fuel is cleared. If it is caught soon and cleaned out thoroughly, lasting damage is very uncommon.
It's the same whichever variant of the 323 you have, including the 323 F 2.0 D.
The fuel tank capacity of the Mazda 323
As the danger depends on how much of the fuel is petrol, the size of the tank matters, and a couple of litres in a tank that was close to empty are more of a problem than the same in a fuller one.
In our data, all of the diesel versions of the Mazda 323 use one tank of 55 litres, so the sum works out the same for every one.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Mazda 323 F 2.0 D | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 F 2.0 DITD | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 F 2.0 TD | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 P 2.0 D | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 S 1.7 TD | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 S 2.0 D | 55 litres |
| Mazda 323 S 2.0 TD | 55 litres |
Which diesel variant of the 323 do you drive?
The version is generally on the badging on your boot lid, and it's useful for us to know when you ring.
On a diesel 323 you will find TD on the badge.
The 323 F 2.0 DITD has the largest motor, at 2.0 litres, and the 323 S 1.7 TD the smallest, at 1.7 litres.
AdBlue in a diesel Mazda 323
Certain diesel vehicles hold a mix of water and urea, known as AdBlue, in a tank of its own with a separate filler, and use it to clean up their exhaust. Even to shift your car, do not turn the key when you've got AdBlue in a diesel Mazda 323 after it went into the wrong filler.
The fuel pump has no lubrication at all from AdBlue, which is mainly water and will not ignite. It won't mix with diesel either, and drops to the base of your tank, the very place your pump draws from, so a tank holding up to 55 litres won't dilute it.
Even a little of that is plenty to end up in the fuel lines. When the water dries out, the urea forms crystals in the fuel system, including the fuel filter and injectors, and it corrodes the metal it rests against.
Where the 323 has an AdBlue filler, it might well sit alongside your diesel filler under the same cover, as it does on a lot of motors. The nozzle for AdBlue is far smaller than the diesel one, and the filler cap is normally blue.
The fuel drain on your Mazda 323, in order
A fuel drain on your Mazda 323 is carried out beside the vehicle, and it never needs to go to a garage. On the 323 the tank holds up to 55 litres, so we empty all of that after we have checked what was put in and whether your engine has run. The fuel pipes and the filter are cleaned after that, then we refill with fresh diesel and prime your system before firing up the motor.
By the end, your 323 is running on clean diesel again and all set for you to take away.
Handling AdBlue removal from a diesel Mazda 323
The stages are the same as a petrol drain in AdBlue removal from a diesel Mazda 323. Since AdBlue doesn't mix in but collects at the bottom of the tank, running the 323 on it may leave crystals inside the pipes. Those get flushed through as well, and the filter is swapped where needed.
AdBlue removal on this page means taking AdBlue out of your diesel tank once it has gone into the incorrect filler. It does not mean removing or disabling the AdBlue system on the car.
A fuel drain on the Mazda 323: what it costs
Because each job is different, we have no fixed price to publish, and these are the main factors that affect it:
- starting or driving the 323, which makes more difference than anything else
- a tank's size next to the quantity that was put in
- which of the two it was, petrol or AdBlue
- where the 323 has stopped, and whether we can get the van to it in safety
With those details on the phone, we can tell you what the job is likely to involve.
Your queries on petrol in a diesel Mazda 323
What is the fuel tank capacity of the Mazda 323?
It takes 55 litres, and our figures show the same tank on each version.
I only put a little petrol in my 323. Should I fill up with diesel?
We'd recommend against it. That petrol remains in the system when you drive off, since adding diesel just cuts its share and removes none of that. A drain gets all of it out, and with a modest quantity that's normally all your 323 needs.
Is a trip to the Mazda dealer needed for my 323?
You don't have to. We have no link with Mazda or any of its dealers, being independent, and the 323 is drained and cleaned where you have stopped.
Which 323 I drive: does it make a difference?
It helps us to know which one you drive when you ring, as we have data for 7 diesel versions of the 323.
Does my insurance cover wrong fuel in my Mazda 323?
We will still come out to drain it for you, covered or not. Check your insurance anyway, since not every policy has misfuelling cover.
The diesel went into the AdBlue filler on my 323. What now?
Don't put the key in your ignition then either. The majority of cars display an alert and drop into limp mode if they're driven in that state, and the AdBlue system will need draining. Tell us which tank your diesel was put in when you ring.
I have already driven my 323. What should I do?
Look for a safe location to pull over, then switch the motor off and leave the car that way until we get there. Long-term damage is very uncommon when it's caught soon like this, and we empty the system and clean it where you have pulled over.