Put Petrol in a Diesel Vauxhall Astra?
We'd ask you to keep your motor off when you've put petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Astra and not run it yet, and that counts for moving it off the forecourt too. A fuel drain is usually enough to set your Astra right, as long as the petrol remains inside the tank, which it does while the engine is off.
Petrol in Diesel empties misfuelled vehicles where they are, and your Vauxhall Astra can stay at the forecourt or wherever it has come to a stop. Ring us before you try anything on your own and we will walk you through it.
Petrol in a diesel Astra: what to do right away
- With petrol in the tank, a diesel Astra will normally still start and run, and feel perfectly ordinary for some miles. That's how drivers frequently drive off without spotting a problem, and the reason the engine should be left off.
- Switching your ignition on is all it takes, on a lot of diesels, to start the fuel pump priming and pull fuel from your tank towards the fuel injectors, so leave that off too.
- Do not fill the remainder of your tank with diesel to thin it. Your Astra takes up to 56 litres, and filling it up only leaves more contaminated fuel to drain. Super unleaded counts as petrol here as well.
- A car in the way of a pump can be popped in neutral and pushed out of the way, and the forecourt staff are generally glad to help.
- Once you phone 0333 366 0103, we want to know which Astra you have, where it is parked, how much petrol you think was put in and whether your motor has been run. The exact variant is useful as well when it is on the badging, for example the Astra Caravan 2.0 DI 16V.
Wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Astra after your motor has been run
While it remains in your tank, wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Astra does not affect the motor. That only begins when it is pulled out, which is what occurs when the motor is started. The high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors in a diesel motor are oiled by the fuel running through them. That lubrication is stripped away as soon as petrol thins your diesel, so the harm, where there's any, is down to driving on that mixture.
If you have driven the Astra on it, the right thing to do is pull over somewhere safe and turn your engine off. We can still deal with it, by emptying your tank and cleaning the lines and the fuel filter till all of the tainted fuel is cleared. Provided it's cleaned out properly after being caught soon, it very rarely leaves lasting damage.
It's the same whichever version of the Astra you have, including the Astra GTC 1.9 CDTI.
The Vauxhall Astra fuel tank capacity, version by version
What matters is what proportion of your fuel in your tank is petrol. The same couple of litres matter more if you filled up with your tank almost empty, which is why its size makes a difference.
According to the variant, the Vauxhall Astra has a tank of 50 to 56 litres.
The smallest tank in our data is on the Astra Caravan GL 1.7 TD, and the biggest is on the Astra 2.0 CDTI BiTurbo.
The Astra 1.7 D has a tank holding 52 litres.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Vauxhall Astra 1.3 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.7 D | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.7 DTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.7TD | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.9 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 2.0 CDTI | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 2.0 CDTI BiTurbo | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 2.0 DI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 2.0 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra 2.2 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Cabrio 2.2 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.3 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.7 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.7 CDTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.7 D | 50 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.7 DTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.7TD | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 1.9 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 2.0 DI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 2.0 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan 2.2 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan GL 1.7 D | 50 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Caravan GL 1.7 TD | 50 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Coupe 2.2 DTI 16V | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GL 1.7 D | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GL 1.7 TD | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GTC 1.3 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GTC 1.7 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GTC 1.9 CDTI | 52 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra GTC 2.0 CDTI | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 1.3 CDTI | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 1.7 CDTI | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTI | 56 litres |
| Vauxhall Astra TwinTop 1.9 CDTI | 52 litres |
Telling which diesel Astra you have
Check the badge on your boot lid, which normally shows the variant, and tell us what it says when you phone.
The diesel models of the Astra were sold as CDTI, DTI and TD.
More variants on our list wear the CDTI badge than any other, but the Astra 1.7 DTI is badged DTI.
The Astra Cabrio 2.2 DTI 16V has the biggest motor, at 2.2 litres, and the Astra Caravan 1.3 CDTI the smallest, at 1.3 litres.
There are Sports Tourer and Coupe versions on the list as well.
Put AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Astra?
Some diesel cars carry a mixture of water and urea, called AdBlue, in a tank of its own with a separate filler, and rely on it to clean up their exhaust. Pouring AdBlue in the wrong filler leaves you with AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Astra, so don't turn your key, not even to move it.
AdBlue sinks to the base of your tank, where the pump draws its fuel from, because it won't mix with diesel. Being largely water, it can't burn and gives the fuel pump no lubrication, and the diesel in a tank holding up to 56 litres doesn't thin it as it would petrol.
Even a little of it is plenty to end up in your fuel line. Deposits of urea build up in your filter, your injectors and the rest of the fuel system once the water dries off, and they eat into the metal they sit against.
On many motors the AdBlue filler sits next to your diesel filler under the same cover, and if your Astra has one, it could well be there as well. AdBlue caps are generally blue and take a far narrower nozzle than diesel.
How a fuel drain on your Vauxhall Astra works
We carry out a fuel drain on your Vauxhall Astra where your vehicle is, and it doesn't need to go to a garage. On the Astra your tank takes up to 56 litres, and we drain all of that after we have found out what was put in and whether your engine has run. The fuel pipes and the filter are cleaned next, then we fill up with fresh diesel and prime the fuel system before starting the motor.
The Astra TwinTop 1.9 CDTI has a tank holding 52 litres.
When we have finished, the Astra runs on fresh diesel and you can drive off in it.
AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Astra, step by step
The steps are the same as draining petrol in AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Astra. AdBlue gathers at the bottom of your tank instead of blending in, and if the Astra has been started it may leave crystals inside the pipes, so we clear those through too and change your fuel filter if it needs doing.
AdBlue removal, as we use the term on this page, covers AdBlue that went in the incorrect filler and has to come out of the diesel tank. It doesn't cover taking out or switching off the AdBlue system on the car.
Pricing a fuel drain on the Vauxhall Astra
The work varies from one job to the next, so we don't publish a set quote. The main things that affect it are these:
- most of all, whether the Astra has been driven or even started
- the volume put in, measured against the size of your tank
- what was put in, petrol or AdBlue
- whether our van can easily and safely reach the Astra where it sits
The Astra GTC 1.7 CDTI holds 52 litres when it is full, by comparison.
We can let you know what the work will probably involve once you call with those answers.
Your questions on petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Astra
Do you know the fuel tank capacity of the Vauxhall Astra?
It varies with the variant, from 50 to 56 litres, and each one is listed in the table above.
I just put a little petrol in my Astra. Should I fill up with diesel?
Filling up just reduces the proportion of petrol. None of that is taken out, so it's all still there when you drive, which is why we wouldn't recommend it. With just a little petrol, a fuel drain to get all of it out is normally all the Astra requires.
Do I have to take my Astra to the Vauxhall dealer?
No. We are an independent business with no tie with Vauxhall or its dealers, plus we empty and clean the Astra wherever it has stopped, so there is no need to move it anywhere.
Does it help to know which Astra I have?
Yes, it helps. Our data cover 36 diesel variants of the Astra, so let us know which one you drive when you call.
Is wrong fuel in my Vauxhall Astra covered by my policy?
We'll still come out to drain it for you, covered or not. Check your policy anyway, as not every policy includes misfuelling cover.
The diesel went into the AdBlue filler on my Astra. What now?
Do not put the key in your ignition then either. When it's driven like that, a car will normally show an alert and enter limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining as well. Let us know which tank your fuel went into when you call.
I drove my Astra before I realised. What should I do?
Till we arrive, your engine should remain off, so pull over where it's safe then switch it off. We drain and clean the system where you have pulled over, and when it is caught soon like this, lasting damage is very rare.