Nath

Leant my car out and the guy I leant it to put some petrol in it by mistake.

It had about 1/4 tank (58 litre tank). He put 6.10 litres of unleaded into a diesel Honda CRV before realising what he'd done. Then filled it to the brim with diesel afterwards hoping it would dilute it down.

Dropped the car back to me (approx 11 mile drive) and told me what happened. Car seems to run, sound and drive fine.

I guess I need to get the tank drained now? Any suggestions what company is best and cheapest for doing it?

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Is it a new CRV or an old one? Personally I would get it drained and the lines flushed just to be on the safe side. Or if the car is a banger then remove the lift pump, drain tank, new filter and see what happens.

MrC

Depends on what type of engine you have fitted.

If it is a a'common rail' diesel then do Not run the engine as even a small amount of petrol will destroy the high pressure electronic injectors.

If it is one of the older type diesels, neat petrol will destroy the fuel pump seals and damage the injectors, BUT as you have a mixture that is mostly diesel, the wax lubricants are still in the system which will protect both pump and injectors.

Only you know how much petrol you have put in, if you are confident of the percentages quoted then you can still run the engine without any problems, just dont make it work too hard.

Worst scenario is drain what you can from the fuel tank and refill with fresh diesel, and bleed the fuel up to the pump - there is no need to flush the system unless a common rail system is used.

Nath

It's a 2006 MY and far from been a banger.

Nath

I've got the receipts here of how much of what fuel went in, so I know for sure but I'm not convinced that having any petrol in there is a good idea.

studabear

Full drain and flush, you might be lucky although if its been driven damage could already be done.

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Nah leave it will be absolutely fine,keep topping up over the next few weeks and you'll be ok.
Did it to my merc ml a few years ago literally just before a trip to Nottingham and if anything it ran better!!!

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Also my merc has done about 50000 miles since with no issues at all.
It's a 2000my 5 cylinder turbo 2.7 Cdi.
It's your descision at the end of the day mate,I wouldn't give it second thought myself,I know a few people who've had this and none have ever had an issue afterwards.

Nath

That's what I'm unsure of to be honest.

It appears to sound, drive and run fine. I know it's not a vast amount of petrol in there, but at the same time I don't want any future problems with pumps, injectors, cats, etc OR if any damage is done to them already.

I can't even find any places nearby that do fuel drains and no idea on prices to get it done.

Tried to call the person who used it and no answer which means I'll be footing the bill for it then That's the last time I lend anything out.

theburns1

Will 100% be ok taxi drivers do it all the time. I did it first week of having a diesel, don't worry it will be fine mate.

stevos

Done it in van mate it was only 4 months old I put £20 of petrol in it filled it up with a further £65 of diesel. 90k miles later still going strong maybe I was just lucky but I would just keep brimming the tank as that's what I did.

saph4be

Personally think you will be fine just keep it topped up

xr2wishy

iTrader: (2)

it should be fine, done it myself in my bora, i was in a rush didn't realise it was unleaded and cracked on with it, got to about £5 or so before thinking that was cheap fuel......
then just filled it up with diesel. no problems at all, just kept topping up for a bit then ran it down to clear the crap. engine seemed to have a bit of extra life in it afterwards.
perhaps the petrol cleaned some engine parts, but plenty of diesel to keep it lubed.

Acidburn

My dad done it with a audi 2.5 v6 tdi quattro, we just filled it up with diesel, it was fine.

Brendan

iTrader: (1)

6.1 litres is (6.1/58=10.5%) petrol. This is not too bad.

Petrol if neat it burns too fast and hard - compression ratio is too high so engine goes pop!
back in the good old days 5% petrol in a diesel engine was used to make them work in winter! 10% is a bit more than this but no killer! I have used a little derv in my 330d once (summer fuel in a jerry can) and this caused it some problems so a little petrol was added (1.5 litres in 30 to 35 litres of derv) this fixed the problem and the car is fine (this wa done at about 105K and I car is now at 144k with no issues!

so if you drive it gently (so no making the turbo go nuts) you should be fine then top up again at about 2/3 full.

but remember this is your car and your risk!

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

If the car has been driven 11 miles already would a problem not have occured by now that you would know about?

Graceland

Don't worry about it full stop. IIRC the Honda diesel engines have Denso fuel systems which are very tolerant of petrol in small amount - When I had my L200, it stated in the owners handbook that upto 30% petrol may be added to the diesel in winter months to aid starting and warmup - Denso fuel system on that too

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Bloke at work put some diesel into the van and then topped it up
It went tits up several weeks later

For peace of mind I would drain the tank if it's still got a bit of petrol in it and brim it with diesel again and get your mate to cover the cost of new fuel and be done wih it

At least you can be sure

trudtfish

Add a bottle of 2 stroke oil and run it! If anything it will clear the fuel system out.

kevin lancelott

My bro done it in a works van put a bit of petrol in before realizing then filled with diesel and had no bother since.