Petrol in a Diesel Renault Clio? Leave It Switched Off
Anyone who has put petrol in a diesel Renault Clio without starting the engine ought to leave it turned off, and not start it even to move it off the petrol pump. A fuel drain is usually enough to put the Clio right, as long as the petrol remains in your tank, which it will while the engine is off.
There's no reason to move your Renault Clio off the forecourt, or from any other place where it came to a stop, because this drain is carried out by Petrol in Diesel wherever your car is. Phone us before you try anything yourself and we will talk you through it.
Petrol in a diesel Clio: what to do right away
- With petrol in the tank, a diesel Clio will usually still fire up and run, and seem perfectly normal for several miles. That's why motorists often drive off without noticing a problem, and the reason your motor should be left off.
- Leave your ignition off as well. On plenty of diesels turning it on will start the fuel pump priming, which draws fuel out of your tank towards your injectors.
- Topping up with diesel to dilute it is a bad idea, even with super unleaded, which is petrol as well. The fuel tank on your Clio takes up to 55 litres, and each litre of diesel put in is more tainted fuel for us to drain.
- Ask the forecourt attendants when the vehicle is blocking a pump. They normally help push the vehicle out of the way after it is in neutral.
- If the badging shows the precise version, for instance the Clio dCi 75, mention it once you call 0333 366 0103. Tell us too which Clio you drive and where it is parked, roughly how much petrol was put in and whether your engine has been run.
Driven your vehicle with wrong fuel in your Renault Clio?
Wrong fuel in your Renault Clio only begins to reach your motor when it's drawn out of the tank, which is exactly what starting the motor does. As it passes through, diesel fuel keeps the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors lubricated, and the engine depends on that. With petrol thinning the diesel, that lubrication is lost, and driving for any distance on it is then what can do damage.
Where you've already been driving the Clio, stop where it is safe then turn off. It can still be put right, with your tank drained and the lines and fuel filter rinsed until every trace of the contaminated fuel has gone. Long-term damage is very rare if it's caught early and given a thorough clean.
The Clio Grandtour dCi 75 is no different in this from any other version of the Clio.
Your Renault Clio fuel tank capacity, by version
If you fuelled up when the tank was almost empty, the same few litres make up more of the fuel in there, and the danger depends on that proportion, which means the size of your tank counts.
Depending on the variant, the Renault Clio has a tank of 40 to 55 litres.
The Clio dCi 90 energy is the variant with the smallest tank in our data, and the Clio 1.5 dCi 75 is the one with the largest.
The fuel tank on the Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi 90 takes 55 litres.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Renault Clio 1.5 dCi | 50 litres |
| Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 105 FAP | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 75 | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 90 | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio 1.5 dCi FAP | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio 1.9 D | 43 litres |
| Renault Clio dCi 75 | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio dCi 90 energy | 40 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi 75 | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi 90 | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi FAP | 55 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour dCi 75 | 45 litres |
| Renault Clio Grandtour dCi 90 | 45 litres |
Working out which diesel Clio you have
It is useful for us to have the version when you call, and it's normally on a badge at the rear of the vehicle.
Diesel models of the Clio have been badged dCi.
The smallest engine, 1.5 litres, is on the Clio 1.5 dCi 105 FAP, and the largest, 1.9 litres, is in the Clio 1.9 D.
Got AdBlue in a diesel Renault Clio?
AdBlue is a blend of water and urea that some diesel vehicles rely on to treat their exhaust, and it has a separate tank and filler. Even to shift the car, do not touch your key when you've got AdBlue in a diesel Renault Clio after it went into the wrong filler.
Because it's mainly water, AdBlue doesn't burn and gives the fuel pump no lubrication whatsoever. 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 55 litres does nothing to dilute it the way it would dilute petrol.
Even a little of that is enough to end up in your fuel line. Deposits of urea form in the fuel filter, the fuel injectors and the rest of the system once the water evaporates, and they eat into the metal they rest against.
The same fuel flap frequently covers both fillers, and if your Clio has an AdBlue filler, it may well be beside the diesel one. The nozzle for AdBlue is much narrower than the diesel one, and the filler cap is usually blue.
Fuel drain on your Renault Clio: how it works
There's no garage needed, as we do a fuel drain on your Renault Clio at the vehicle itself. On the Clio your tank takes up to 55 litres, so we empty all of it after we have found out what went in and whether your engine has been run. Your fuel lines and your filter are rinsed next, then we fill up with clean diesel and prime the fuel system before firing up your engine.
The Clio 1.5 dCi has a tank of 50 litres.
When we have finished, the Clio is running on clean diesel and you can carry on.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Renault Clio
The steps are the same as a petrol drain in AdBlue removal from a diesel Renault Clio. As AdBlue doesn't blend in but gathers at the bottom of the tank, running the Clio on it can form deposits in the lines. Those get rinsed through as well, and the fuel filter is replaced where needed.
AdBlue removal here means getting AdBlue out of the diesel tank once it has gone in the incorrect filler. It does not mean taking out or disabling the AdBlue system on your car.
A fuel drain on the Renault Clio: what it costs
Since each task is different, we have no set price to publish, and these are the chief factors that affect it:
- most of all, whether the Clio has been driven or even started
- a tank's capacity next to the quantity that was put in
- whether it was petrol or AdBlue
- where the Clio is, and whether we can bring our van to it safely
Filling the Clio Grandtour 1.5 dCi 75 right up takes 55 litres, as a comparison.
If you phone with those details we can let you know what the work is likely to involve.
Petrol in a diesel Renault Clio: questions
How many litres is the Renault Clio fuel tank capacity?
It varies with the variant, from 40 to 55 litres, and each one is listed in the table above.
Does topping up with diesel help with a little petrol in my Clio?
Topping up just lowers the share of petrol. None of that is taken out, so it is all still there when you drive, which is why we wouldn't advise it. A fuel drain gets all of it out, and with a small quantity that's usually all the Clio needs.
Is a trip to the Renault dealer necessary for my Clio?
You do not have to. We have no link with Renault or any of its dealers, being independent, and your Clio is emptied and cleaned where you have stopped.
Do you need to know which Clio I have?
Yes, it helps. Our figures cover 14 diesel variants of the Clio, so let us know which one you drive when you phone.
Does my insurance cover wrong fuel in my Renault Clio?
We'll still come out to empty it for you, covered or not. Look at your insurance all the same, since not every policy has misfuelling cover.
What happens if I pour diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Clio?
In that case, too, leave the key out of your ignition. The AdBlue system will need emptying, and when your car is driven that way, it will most likely display a warning and enter limp mode. Which tank your diesel went into is worth telling us when you call.
I've already driven my Clio. What now?
Till we get to you, the engine should stay off, so stop where it is safe then switch it off. Where you have pulled over, the system is emptied and cleaned on the spot, and caught soon like this, it very rarely leaves long-term harm.