Have You Put Petrol in a Diesel Renault Twingo?
The motor is safest left off if it has not been started since you put petrol in a diesel Renault Twingo, and that includes moving it away from the petrol pump. A fuel drain is generally sufficient to put your Twingo right, as long as the petrol stays inside the tank, which it does whilst your motor is off.
There is no need to move your Renault Twingo off the forecourt, or from any other place where it came to a stop, because the drain is done by Petrol in Diesel wherever your car sits. Phone us before you attempt anything on your own and we will take you through it.
Put petrol in a diesel Twingo? The first steps
- Keep the engine off. Any diesel Twingo will normally start and run with petrol in the tank, and it can feel fine for a couple of miles, and that is why drivers commonly drive away without noticing anything is wrong.
- Your ignition has to remain off as well, as turning it on starts the fuel pump priming on a lot of diesels, and the pump then draws fuel out of the tank.
- Your Twingo holds up to 40 litres, so topping up the rest of the tank with diesel to weaken the petrol only means more contaminated fuel to drain. The same applies to super unleaded, which is petrol too.
- Forecourt attendants will normally help push the car out of the way in neutral when it's blocking a pump.
- When you ring 0333 366 0103, we need to know which Twingo you have, where it is parked, how much petrol you think was put in and whether the motor has been started. The precise version is useful as well if it is on the badge, for example the Twingo dCi 85.
Wrong fuel in your Renault Twingo after your engine has run
While it sits inside the tank, wrong fuel in your Renault Twingo does not affect the motor. That only begins once it's pulled out, which is what happens when the engine is started. A diesel engine relies on the fuel to oil your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors whilst it passes through them. Petrol thins the diesel and washes that lubrication away, which is why it's driving any distance on that mixture that can cause harm.
Where you've already driven the Twingo, pull over somewhere safe and turn off. We can still deal with it, by draining the tank and cleaning the lines and the fuel filter till all of the contaminated fuel is out. Provided it's flushed out thoroughly after being caught soon, it very rarely leaves lasting harm.
Every variant of the Twingo is the same here, the Twingo 1.5 dCi included.
The fuel tank capacity of the Renault Twingo
What matters is what share of the fuel in your tank is petrol. The same few litres matter more if you filled up with the tank nearly empty, which is why its size makes a difference.
Every diesel Renault Twingo we have data for uses the same tank, which takes 40 litres, so the version you have doesn't alter that calculation.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Renault Twingo 1.5 dCi | 40 litres |
| Renault Twingo dCi 75 | 40 litres |
| Renault Twingo dCi 85 | 40 litres |
What diesel Twingo do you drive?
The version is generally on the badging on your boot lid, and it helps us to know it when you ring.
On your diesel Twingo, the badging found is dCi.
Your engine is 1.5 litres in every version on our records.
When there is AdBlue in a diesel Renault Twingo
Some diesel vehicles carry a blend of water and urea, known as AdBlue, in a tank of its own with a separate filler, and rely on it to treat their exhaust. Even to move your vehicle, don't touch the key if you've got AdBlue in a diesel Renault Twingo after it went into the incorrect filler.
AdBlue drops to the bottom of your tank, where the pump pulls its fuel from, because it won't mix with diesel. Being largely water, it can't burn and leaves the fuel pump without lubrication, and the diesel in a tank holding up to 40 litres does not thin it as it would petrol.
No matter how small the amount, some of it is sucked into the line. Once the water dries off, the urea forms crystals inside your fuel system, including the filter and injectors, and it eats into the metal it sits against.
The same flap frequently hides both fillers, and where your Twingo has an AdBlue filler, it could well be alongside the diesel one. AdBlue caps are usually blue and accept a far narrower nozzle than diesel.
How a fuel drain on your Renault Twingo works
We carry out a fuel drain on your Renault Twingo where the vehicle stands, and it doesn't need to go to a garage. To begin with we find out what was put in and whether your motor has been run. The tank, which takes up to 40 litres on the Twingo, is then drained, the pipes and fuel filter are cleaned, and the vehicle is filled up with fresh diesel and primed before we start it.
Once the job is done, your Twingo runs on clean diesel and you can drive off in it.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Renault Twingo, explained
Like draining petrol, AdBlue removal from a diesel Renault Twingo runs through the same stages. Because AdBlue doesn't mix in but gathers at the bottom of your tank, running the Twingo on it can leave deposits inside the pipes. Those get rinsed through too, and the fuel filter is swapped if it needs it.
Here, AdBlue removal means taking AdBlue back out of a diesel tank it was put into through the incorrect filler. Switching off or taking out the AdBlue system on a vehicle is not what it means.
A fuel drain on the Renault Twingo: the cost
We don't publish a fixed quote, since this work differs from one task to the next. These are the biggest things that change it:
- whether the Twingo has been started or driven, which makes the greatest difference
- the volume put in, weighed against the size of your tank
- whether it was AdBlue rather than petrol
- where you are with the Twingo, and whether it is safe to bring our van there
We can let you know what this work will probably need when you phone and give us those details.
Your questions on petrol in a diesel Renault Twingo
Can you tell me the fuel tank capacity of the Renault Twingo?
40 litres on every variant in our figures.
Is it all right to add diesel after just a little petrol in my Twingo?
It isn't something we'd advise, because putting in diesel does nothing to take out that petrol. It just reduces its share, and that petrol is still in your system once you drive off. The Twingo normally requires no more than a drain when only a small quantity went in, and that takes the petrol out completely.
Is a trip to the Renault dealer needed for my Twingo?
No, we come to it. The Twingo is drained and cleaned where it is parked, by an independent business with no link to Renault or any dealer.
Does it matter which Twingo I own?
It helps us to know which one you drive when you ring, because we have data for 3 diesel versions of the Twingo.
Am I insured for wrong fuel in my Renault Twingo?
We'll still come out and empty it for you, covered or not. Look at your insurance anyway, because not every policy has misfuelling cover.
Diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Twingo: what now?
Do not put your key in your ignition in that case either. Limp mode and a warning are what the majority of cars give you when they're driven like that, and their AdBlue system will need emptying. Let us know which tank the fuel went into when you phone.
I have already driven my Twingo. What should I do?
Look for a safe location to pull over, then switch the engine off and leave it that way till we get there. Where you have pulled over, the system is drained and cleaned on the spot, and caught soon like this, it very rarely leaves lasting damage.