Petrol in a Diesel Vauxhall Sintra? Leave It Switched Off
We'd urge you to leave your motor off when you've put petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Sintra and not started it yet, and that goes for moving it off the forecourt too. Whilst the motor remains off the petrol sits inside the tank, and a fuel drain is usually all that it takes to put the Sintra right.
Petrol in Diesel empties misfuelled vehicles on the spot, so your Vauxhall Sintra can be left at the forecourt or wherever it ended up. We will go through it with you on the phone, so call us before trying anything on your own.
Your first moves with petrol in a diesel Sintra
- Leave your engine off. Any diesel Sintra will generally fire up and run with petrol inside the tank, and it may feel fine for a few miles, which explains why people commonly drive off without noticing anything is amiss.
- Switching your ignition on is all it takes, on many diesels, to set the fuel pump priming and pull fuel from your tank to the injectors, so leave that off as well.
- Filling up with diesel to dilute it is a bad idea, even with super unleaded, which is petrol too. The tank in the Sintra takes up to 70 litres, and each litre of diesel put in is more contaminated fuel for us to drain.
- Forecourt attendants will normally help roll your car out of the way in neutral when it is blocking a pump.
- When the badging shows the precise variant, for instance the Sintra 2.2 DTI 16V GLS, give it once you ring 0333 366 0103. Tell us too which Sintra you have and where it is parked, roughly how much petrol was put in and whether your motor has been run.
Started the vehicle with wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Sintra?
Whilst it stays inside your tank, wrong fuel in your Vauxhall Sintra doesn't reach your motor. That only begins once it is drawn out, which is what happens when your engine is started. A diesel motor relies on its fuel to oil the high-pressure pump and the injectors while it flows through them. Petrol thins the diesel and strips that protection away, which is why it's driving for any distance on that mix that can do harm.
Where you've already been driving the Sintra, stop in a safe place then turn off. We can still sort it out, by emptying your tank and cleaning the pipes and the fuel filter till all the tainted fuel is gone. Provided it's cleaned out properly after being caught soon, it very rarely leaves long-term damage.
Vauxhall Sintra fuel tank capacity
What matters is how much of your fuel in your tank is petrol. The same couple of litres matter more if you fuelled up with the tank almost empty, which is why its size makes a difference.
In our data, all the diesel versions of the Vauxhall Sintra share one tank of 70 litres, so the calculation works out the same for every one.
What diesel Sintra do you own?
The variant is normally on a badge on the boot lid, and it's useful for us to know when you phone.
Diesel models of the Sintra have been badged DTI.
All the variants in our list come with 2.2-litre engines.
When there's AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Sintra
Water and urea go into AdBlue, which certain diesel cars rely on to clean up their exhaust. It is stored in a tank of its own, with its own filler. Pouring AdBlue in the wrong filler leaves you with AdBlue in a diesel Vauxhall Sintra, so do not touch the key, not even to move it.
The fuel pump gets no lubrication at all from AdBlue, which is mainly water and won't ignite. It will not blend with diesel either, and settles to the bottom of the tank, the very place the pump draws from, so a tank holding up to 70 litres does nothing to dilute it.
Even a little of it is enough to end up in the fuel line. Within the system the water dries off and leaves the urea to crystallise, in the fuel filter and injectors and elsewhere, where it corrodes the metalwork it sits against.
Where the Sintra has an AdBlue filler, it may well sit next to your diesel filler under the same fuel flap, as it does on many motors. AdBlue caps are typically blue and accept a far narrower nozzle than diesel.
What we do for a fuel drain on your Vauxhall Sintra
Every fuel drain on your Vauxhall Sintra is done beside the car, so it never needs to go to a garage. Before we fire up the engine, your system is primed and your tank refilled with clean diesel. First comes checking what was put in and whether it's run, emptying a tank that takes up to 70 litres on the Sintra, and flushing the pipes and fuel filter.
You can take the Sintra away once we have finished, running on fresh diesel.
What AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Sintra means
AdBlue removal from a diesel Vauxhall Sintra takes the same stages as a petrol drain. As AdBlue doesn't blend in but collects at the base of the tank, running the Sintra on it can form deposits inside the lines. Those get cleared through as well, and the filter is changed if it needs it.
AdBlue removal, as we use the term here, covers AdBlue that went in the incorrect filler and has to come out of your diesel tank. It does not cover taking out or switching off the AdBlue system on your car.
What sets the price of a fuel drain on the Vauxhall Sintra
We do not publish a fixed quote, as the work differs from one task to the next. These are the biggest factors that affect it:
- starting or driving the Sintra, which makes more difference than anything else
- the volume put in, weighed against the capacity of your tank
- which of the two it was, petrol or AdBlue
- the position of the Sintra and how easily we can reach it with the van
If you call with those answers we can tell you what the job is likely to involve.
Your queries on petrol in a diesel Vauxhall Sintra
How many litres is the Vauxhall Sintra fuel tank capacity?
70 litres on every variant in our figures.
Is it all right to add diesel after only a little petrol in my Sintra?
Topping up just lowers the proportion of petrol. None of it is taken out, so it is all still there when you drive, which is why we wouldn't advise it. With only a little petrol, a drain to get all of that out is usually all the Sintra requires.
Is a trip to the Vauxhall dealer necessary for my Sintra?
No. We are independent with no link with Vauxhall or its dealers, and we drain and clean your Sintra wherever it is parked, so there is no need to take it anywhere.
Does my policy cover wrong fuel in my Vauxhall Sintra?
We will still come out to drain it for you, either way. Check your insurance all the same, as not every policy includes misfuelling cover.
Diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Sintra: what now?
Here, too, the sensible thing is to leave the ignition alone. The majority of cars give a warning and enter limp mode if they are driven that way, and the AdBlue system will need draining. When you phone, tell us which tank your diesel was put in.
I drove my Sintra before I realised. What do I do?
Till we get to you, the motor should remain off, so stop where it's safe then turn it off. Where you have pulled over, the fuel system is emptied and cleaned there, and caught early like this, it very seldom leaves lasting harm.