Have You Put Petrol in a Diesel Seat Leon?
When you have put petrol in a diesel Seat Leon and your motor hasn't been started, keep it turned off, including to shift it clear of the pump. A drain is generally sufficient to set the Leon right, provided the petrol stays inside the tank, which it will whilst your engine is off.
Petrol in Diesel drains wrongly fuelled vehicles where they stand, and your Seat Leon can stay at the forecourt or wherever it has stopped. We will go through it with you over the phone, so call us before trying anything yourself.
Got petrol in a diesel Leon? The first steps
- Keep the motor off. Any diesel Leon will usually start and run with petrol inside its tank, and it can seem normal for a few miles, which explains why people often drive away without noticing something is amiss.
- Keep your ignition off too. On plenty of diesels switching it on is enough to set the fuel pump priming, which pulls fuel out of the tank to the injectors.
- Filling up with diesel to dilute it is a mistake, even with super unleaded, which counts as petrol as well. The fuel tank in your Leon holds up to 55 litres, and every litre of diesel put in is more contaminated fuel for us to empty.
- Forecourt attendants will usually help roll your vehicle out of the way in neutral when it is in the way of a pump.
- When the badge shows the precise variant, for instance the Leon 2.0 TDI FR, give it once you call 0333 366 0103. Let us know as well which Leon you have and where it is, about how much petrol was put in and whether your motor has run.
Wrong fuel in your Seat Leon after your engine has run
The engine isn't affected by wrong fuel in your Seat Leon until it's drawn from the tank, and starting the motor is what draws it out. Your high-pressure pump and your injectors on a diesel engine are oiled by the fuel flowing through them. Driving any distance on the mix is what can cause harm, since petrol dilutes the diesel and strips that lubrication away.
Look for a safe place to stop and switch off, when the Leon has already been on the road. We can still put it right, by emptying your tank and cleaning the pipes and the filter till all the tainted fuel is out. Very few cars that are caught early and cleaned out properly end up with long-term damage.
Every variant of the Leon is the same here, the Leon Torro 1.9 TDI among them.
Seat Leon fuel tank capacity
If you fuelled up when your tank was almost empty, the same few litres make up more of the fuel in it, and the danger rests on that proportion, which means the capacity of the tank matters.
Depending on the version, the Seat Leon has a tank of 50 to 55 litres.
According to our figures the Leon 1.6 TDI has the largest tank and the Leon ST 1.6 TDI has the smallest.
The tank in the Leon ST 2.0 TDI takes 50 litres.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Seat Leon 1.6 TDI | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon 1.6 TDI Ecomotive | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon 1.9 SDI | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon 1.9 TDI | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon 2.0 TDI | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon 2.0 TDI FR | 55 litres |
| Seat Leon SC 1.6 TDI | 50 litres |
| Seat Leon SC 2.0 TDI | 50 litres |
| Seat Leon ST 1.6 TDI | 50 litres |
| Seat Leon ST 2.0 TDI | 50 litres |
| Seat Leon Torro 1.9 TDI | 55 litres |
Working out which diesel Leon you have
The version is normally on the badging on your boot lid, and it helps us to know it when you ring.
On a diesel Leon you will see TDI and SDI on the badge.
More variants on our records carry the TDI badge than any other, but the Leon 1.9 SDI is badged SDI.
At 1.6 litres, the Leon 1.6 TDI Ecomotive has the smallest motor, whilst the Leon SC 2.0 TDI runs up to 2.0 litres.
Got AdBlue in a diesel Seat Leon?
To clean up their exhaust, certain diesel cars rely on AdBlue, a mix of water and urea that goes in its own tank through its own filler. The key should be kept out of your ignition if you have AdBlue in a diesel Seat Leon through the incorrect filler, and that covers shifting the car.
The fuel pump gets no protection at all from AdBlue, which is largely water and won't ignite. It won't mix with diesel either, and sinks to the bottom of the tank, the very place the pump draws from, so a tank of up to 55 litres won't dilute it.
A modest amount is still drawn into the fuel system. When the water evaporates, the urea crystallises in your fuel system, including the filter and injectors, and it corrodes the metal it touches.
The same flap frequently covers both fillers, and where your Leon has an AdBlue filler, it might well be beside the diesel one. The nozzle for AdBlue is much smaller than the diesel one, and the filler cap is usually blue.
Fuel drain on your Seat Leon: what we do
A fuel drain on your Seat Leon is done beside the vehicle, so it never has to be taken to a garage. On the Leon your tank takes up to 55 litres, so we empty all of it after we have found out what went in and whether the engine has been run. The fuel lines and the filter are flushed next, then we refill with clean diesel and prime the fuel system before starting the motor.
The Leon 1.9 TDI has a tank holding 55 litres.
Clean diesel is what the Leon runs on by the time the job is done, and you are free to drive off in it.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Seat Leon
We take the same steps for AdBlue removal from a diesel Seat Leon as we do when draining petrol. AdBlue collects at the bottom of the tank rather than blending in, and if the Leon has been run it may form deposits in the pipes, so we rinse those through too and replace the fuel filter where needed.
On this page, AdBlue removal means getting AdBlue back out of a diesel tank it was put into through the wrong filler. Switching off or removing the AdBlue system on a vehicle isn't what it means.
What does a fuel drain on the Seat Leon cost?
Since every task is different, we have no set price to publish, and these are the chief things that shape it:
- most of all, whether the Leon has been driven or even started
- the size of your tank, set against how much went in
- which of the two it was, petrol or AdBlue
- whether our van can easily and safely reach the Leon where it is
To give a comparison, the tank in the Leon 2.0 TDI takes 55 litres when full.
With those answers on the phone, we can let you know what the work is likely to involve.
Your questions on petrol in a diesel Seat Leon
What's the fuel tank capacity of the Seat Leon?
It depends on the variant, from 50 to 55 litres, and every one is shown in the table above.
Does topping up with diesel help with a little petrol in my Leon?
We wouldn't advise it. Adding diesel lowers the share of petrol without taking out any of that, so the petrol is still in the system when you drive. A drain gets all of that out, and with a modest amount that is generally all your Leon requires.
Does my Leon need to be taken to the Seat dealer?
No, we travel to it. Your Leon is drained and cleaned wherever it is parked, by an independent business with no tie to Seat or any dealer.
Do you need to know which Leon I have?
We hold figures for 11 diesel versions of the Leon, and knowing which one you have assists us when you phone.
Is wrong fuel in my Seat Leon covered by my insurance?
Misfuelling cover is part of some policies and not others, so check yours. We will come out to empty it for you whether it does or not.
What if I put diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Leon?
In that case, as well, leave your key out of your ignition. When it's driven that way, a vehicle will usually show an alert and enter limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining too. Which tank the diesel was put in is worth mentioning when you phone.
Already driven my Leon: what do I do?
Stop where it is safe and turn your motor off, then leave it off until we get to you. Catching it this soon means long-term damage is very rare, plus we drain and clean the system wherever you are.