Put Petrol in a Diesel Volkswagen Touareg by Mistake?
The engine is best left off when it hasn't been run since you put petrol in a diesel Volkswagen Touareg, and that includes moving it clear of the petrol pump. Draining the tank is usually enough to put your Touareg right, provided the petrol remains inside the tank, which it will while the engine is off.
Your Volkswagen Touareg can be left wherever it has stopped, forecourt included, because Petrol in Diesel empties wrongly fuelled cars where they are. Wait before trying anything yourself until you have called us, and we will tell you what to do.
Petrol in a diesel Touareg: what to do right away
- With petrol in the tank, a diesel Touareg will usually still fire up and run, and feel completely normal for some miles. That is why drivers frequently drive off without noticing a fault, and why your motor should be left off.
- Your ignition needs to remain off too, because turning it on starts the fuel pump priming on a lot of diesels, and the pump then draws fuel out of the tank.
- Don't fill the remainder of your tank with diesel to thin it. Your Touareg holds up to 100 litres, and filling it up only leaves more contaminated fuel to drain. Super unleaded is petrol here too.
- Ask the forecourt attendants when your car is in the way of a pump. They generally help push the vehicle out of the way once it's in neutral.
- Call 0333 366 0103 then tell us which Touareg you have and where it is, roughly how much petrol went in, and whether the engine has been run. If the exact variant is on the badging, for example the Touareg R5 TDI, tell us that as well.
Running on wrong fuel in your Volkswagen Touareg
Wrong fuel in your Volkswagen Touareg only starts to reach your engine once it is drawn out of the tank, which is exactly what starting the motor does. The high-pressure pump and your injectors on a diesel engine are lubricated by your fuel passing through them. Driving for any distance on the mixture is what can do harm, because petrol thins your diesel and washes that protection away.
If you've already driven the Touareg, pull over in a safe place and switch off. All the same, we can get all the tainted fuel out, by draining your tank and then cleaning the fuel lines and the fuel filter. If it's caught early and flushed out properly, long-term damage is very uncommon.
Every variant of the Touareg is the same here, the Touareg V10 TDI included.
Your Volkswagen Touareg fuel tank capacity, by version
The capacity of your tank counts since the risk rests on what share of your fuel in there is petrol, so the same couple of litres are more of a problem if the tank was close to empty when you fuelled up.
The variant sets your tank capacity on the Volkswagen Touareg, which runs from 85 to 100 litres.
The smallest tank in our figures is on the Touareg V8 TDI, and the largest is on the Touareg V6 TDI.
The Touareg R50 has a tank of 100 litres.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Touareg R5 TDI | 100 litres |
| Volkswagen Touareg R50 | 100 litres |
| Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI | 100 litres |
| Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI | 100 litres |
| Volkswagen Touareg V8 TDI | 85 litres |
Which diesel Touareg do you own?
More often than not the version is badged on the boot lid, and it is useful to us to know when you ring.
On your diesel Touareg, the badging found is TDI.
Got AdBlue in a diesel Volkswagen Touareg?
Water and urea go into AdBlue, which certain diesel cars use to clean up their exhaust. It's kept in a tank of its own, with its own filler. Putting AdBlue in the wrong filler gives you AdBlue in a diesel Volkswagen Touareg, so do not turn the key, not even to shift the car.
The fuel pump gets no lubrication whatsoever from AdBlue, which is mainly water and won't burn. It won't blend with diesel either, and sinks to the base of your tank, the very spot your pump draws from, so a tank of up to 100 litres won't dilute it.
A modest quantity is still drawn into the fuel system. When the water has dried off, what is left is urea, which crystallises in the system, filter and injectors among them, and eats into any metalwork it touches.
Look under your fuel flap if the Touareg has an AdBlue filler, as on a lot of vehicles it sits right beside the diesel filler. The nozzle for AdBlue is far smaller than the diesel one, and the cap is typically blue.
Fuel drain on your Volkswagen Touareg: how we do it
Moving the vehicle to a garage isn't necessary, as a fuel drain on your Volkswagen Touareg is carried out right at your car. On the Touareg your tank holds up to 100 litres, and we empty all of it once we have checked what went in and whether the motor has run. Your fuel pipes and your filter are cleaned after that, then we refill with clean diesel and prime your system before firing up the engine.
You are free to drive the Touareg away once we've finished, running on fresh diesel.
What AdBlue removal from a diesel Volkswagen Touareg involves
The steps are the same as a petrol drain in AdBlue removal from a diesel Volkswagen Touareg. We clear deposits out of the lines as well if the Touareg has been run, and change the filter where needed, because AdBlue settles in the base of the tank instead of blending in and can leave them behind.
What we call AdBlue removal is draining AdBlue from the diesel tank after a slip at your filler, not taking out or switching off the AdBlue system on a vehicle.
What sets the price of a fuel drain on the Volkswagen Touareg
We do not publish a fixed price, as this work varies from one task to the next. These are the biggest factors that affect it:
- starting or driving the Touareg, which makes more difference than anything else
- the amount put in, weighed against the capacity of the tank
- whether it was petrol or AdBlue
- the location of the Touareg and how safely we can get to it with the van
With those details on the phone, we can let you know what the work is going to involve.
Questions about petrol in a diesel Volkswagen Touareg
Do you know the fuel tank capacity of the Volkswagen Touareg?
Between 85 and 100 litres depending on the variant, and the table above gives each one.
Does filling up with diesel help with a little petrol in my Touareg?
We would not advise it. Adding diesel cuts the share of petrol without removing any of that, so the petrol is still in your system when you drive off. With just a little petrol, a drain to take all of it out is generally all the Touareg needs.
Must my Touareg go to the Volkswagen dealer?
You do not have to. We have no link with Volkswagen or any of its dealers, being independent, and your Touareg is emptied and cleaned where you have stopped.
Does it help to know which Touareg I have?
Yes, it helps. Our figures cover 5 diesel versions of the Touareg, so tell us which one you drive when you call.
Is wrong fuel in my Volkswagen Touareg covered by my insurance?
Misfuelling cover comes with some policies and not others, so look at yours. We'll come out to empty it for you whether it does or not.
What if I pour diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Touareg?
Here, too, the right thing is to leave your ignition alone. If it's driven like that, a vehicle will usually give a warning and go into limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining too. Which tank the fuel went into is worth mentioning when you ring.
What should I do if I have already driven my Touareg?
Find a safe spot to pull over, then switch your motor off and keep the car 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 permanent harm.