Have You Put Petrol in a Diesel Vauxhall Antara?
Anybody who has put petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Antara without starting the motor should leave it switched off, and not start it even to roll it off the pump. With your motor kept off, that petrol stays put in the tank, and in the majority of cases a drain is all the Antara requires.
Your Vauxhall Antara can stay put wherever it has stopped, forecourt included, because Petrol in Diesel empties wrongly fuelled vehicles where they are. Phone us before anything else then let us take you through it, rather than trying anything on your own.
The first moves with petrol in a diesel Antara
- With petrol inside your tank, a diesel Antara will normally still fire up and run, and feel perfectly normal for several miles. That's how drivers often drive off without spotting a problem, and the reason your engine should be left off.
- Your ignition needs to stay off as well, since switching it on sets the fuel pump priming on a lot 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 counts as petrol too. The fuel tank on your Antara takes up to 65 litres, and every litre of diesel added is more tainted fuel for us to drain.
- Forecourt staff will generally help push the car clear in neutral when it's in the way of a pump.
- Call 0333 366 0103 with the place your Antara is and which one it is, the approximate volume of petrol that was put in, and whether it has run. If you can see the exact variant on the badge, for instance the Antara 2.0 CDTI, that helps as well.
What starting the engine does with wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Antara
Turning on the engine is what pulls the wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Antara out of the tank, and only then does it begin to affect your motor. While it passes through, diesel fuel leaves your high-pressure pump and the injectors oiled, and the engine relies on that. With petrol thinning your diesel, that lubrication is lost, and driving for any distance on it is then what can cause damage.
Stop in a safe place then turn off when your Antara has already been driven. We drain your tank, then clean the pipes and filter through till no tainted fuel is left, so it can still be sorted out. Very few cars that are caught early and cleaned out properly end up with long-term harm.
It's the same whatever version of the Antara you drive, and that includes the Antara 2.2 CDTI.
The fuel tank capacity of the Vauxhall Antara
The capacity of the tank matters since the danger depends on what share of your fuel in there is petrol, so the same few litres are more of a problem if your tank was close to empty when you filled up.
In our data, all the diesel versions of the Vauxhall Antara share one tank of 65 litres, so the sum works out the same for every one.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Vauxhall Antara 2.0 CDTI | 65 litres |
| Vauxhall Antara 2.0 CDTI 4x4 | 65 litres |
| Vauxhall Antara 2.2 CDTI | 65 litres |
| Vauxhall Antara 2.2 CDTI 4x4 | 65 litres |
Checking your diesel Antara version
The variant is usually on the badging on your boot lid, and knowing it helps us when you phone.
On your diesel Antara, the badging found is CDTI.
Motor sizes go from 2.0 litres on the Antara 2.0 CDTI 4x4 up to 2.2 litres in the Antara 2.2 CDTI 4x4.
The list also covers 4x4 versions.
Got AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Antara?
To clean up their exhaust, some diesel vehicles rely on AdBlue, a blend of water and urea that goes in its own tank through its own filler. If you have AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Antara as it went into the wrong filler, don't touch the key, even to move your car.
The fuel pump gets no protection whatsoever from AdBlue, which is mostly water and will not burn. It won't blend with diesel either, and settles to the base of your tank, the very spot the pump draws from, so a tank of up to 65 litres won't dilute it.
Even a little gets drawn into the fuel line. Within the system the water dries off and leaves the urea to crystallise, in the fuel filter and injectors among other places, where it attacks the metalwork it rests against.
The same filler flap often hides both fillers, and if the Antara has an AdBlue filler, it might well be beside the diesel one. AdBlue caps are typically blue and accept a much narrower nozzle than diesel.
How a fuel drain on your Vauxhall Antara works
A fuel drain on your Vauxhall Antara is carried out beside your vehicle, so it doesn't need to go to a garage. On the Antara your tank holds up to 65 litres, and we drain all of that once we have found out what went in and whether the motor has been run. Your fuel pipes and the filter are flushed after that, then we refill with clean diesel and prime the system before starting your engine.
Once the job is done, the Antara runs on fresh diesel and you can drive off in it.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Antara, explained
We take the same stages for AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Antara as we do for emptying petrol. AdBlue settles at the base of the tank instead of blending in, and if the Antara has been started it can leave crystals inside the pipes, so we clear those out as well and change your fuel filter if it needs doing.
AdBlue removal here means getting AdBlue out of the diesel tank once it has gone into the wrong filler. It doesn't mean removing or switching off the AdBlue system on the vehicle.
What decides the price of a fuel drain on the Vauxhall Antara
A set price isn't something we publish, as no two jobs need the same work. It mainly comes down to the following:
- whether anyone has started or driven the Antara, the thing that counts most
- a tank's capacity next to the quantity that was put in
- whether it was AdBlue instead of petrol
- where you are with the Antara, and whether it is safe to get the van there
With those details on the phone, we can let you know what the job is likely to involve.
Your queries on petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Antara
The Vauxhall Antara fuel tank capacity: how many litres?
65 litres. The tank is the same capacity whatever variant you drive.
Is it all right to add diesel after only a little petrol in my Antara?
It isn't something we would advise, as putting in diesel does nothing to remove the petrol. It only lowers its share, and that petrol is still in your system after you drive off. Your Antara normally requires nothing more than a drain when only a small quantity went in, and that takes that petrol out completely.
Should my Antara go to the Vauxhall dealer?
No, we come to it. The Antara is emptied and cleaned where it is, by an independent firm with no link to Vauxhall or any dealer.
Do you need to know which Antara I have?
It helps us to know which one you drive when you ring, because we hold figures for 4 diesel variants of the Antara.
Is wrong fuel in my Vauxhall Antara covered by my insurance policy?
It is worth checking your insurance, as misfuelling cover is part of some and not others. Whichever way it reads, we come out and drain your car.
Diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Antara: what happens?
Keep the key out of your ignition in that case too. If it is driven like that, a car will generally give an alert and drop into limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining too. Tell us which tank the diesel went into when you phone.
What should I do if I've already driven my Antara?
Until we reach you, the engine needs to stay off, so pull over where it's safe then switch it off. Where you have stopped, your fuel system is emptied and cleaned there, and caught early like this, it very seldom leaves permanent damage.