misfuel
Unsure if you have put the wrong fuel in
Recently, at Fuelfixer we have had quite a few call outs for ‘suspected misfuels’, i.e the car has broken down or is portraying symptoms of a misfuel, but the customer can’t remember if they have put the wrong fuel in. Or they have had a friend borrow their car and think that they might have put the wrong fuel in. And a lot of the time, the customer is right, it is a misfuel.
Now, it isn’t always a misfuel, but we are always happy to give advice and help you as best possible. If your car has symptoms of misfuel; it won’t accelerate no matter how much gas you give it, it has jerky and lerching movements, misfiring, or all together just brakes down and won’t start up again, there is a good chance you have put the wrong fuel in it.
Five times in the past two weeks I have been called to different suspected misfuellings, 4 of which were a case of wrong fuel and all i had those customers up and running again as quickly as possible.
I always try to do my best to get a car up and running again, and when its the customer isn’t sure if its a matter of the wrong fuel, i’m always happy to do my best to point you in the right direction if it isn’t.
There is nothing worse that not knowing what is wrong with your car, hopefully the symptoms above will help you figure it out. If you suspect the wrong fuel is in your car, call us, there is a good chance you are right!
There is always the nasal test, open your fuel cap and have a sniff, its not pleasant or healthy and (more than 2 sniffs is considered self medicating), diesel should smell like diesel, its got a duller oily smell, petrol is much stronger and sharper because it vaporizes constantly, if your diesel “smells a bit like petrol” then chances are it is petrol, if your still unsure sniff a diesel cars filler cap first for comparison.
South West
We have 2 mobile units covering The South West and provide a very quick response time in these areas, we can usually get to you within 60 minutes of receiving your call
If you have misfueld and need a fuel drain please call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on
08000159564 or 03450739671
for prompt professional service.
Petrol In your diesel?
HAVE YOU PUT PETROL IN A DIESEL CAR?
Or diesel in a petrol car?
CALL FUEL FIXER NOW
0800 015 9564
or 07514 409700
30 Minute response time nationwide
1) We come to you, drain the tank and flush the fuel filters and pumps with clean fuel
2) Your car is not ruined, it does not need to sit in a garage for a week, nor does it need to be towed away or have expensive specialist work
ALL MAJOR CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED
Even if the car has been driven we can rectify the problem and do a full draindown and flush – in 99% of cases this will have your car running normally again straight away.
We come to you. We are fully mobile and carry all the kit needed. We have professional fuel evacuation equipment on board and are experienced in all makes of cars & vans.
We supply you with fresh fuel at pump prices, and we can normally have your car done and ready to go in under an hour.
All waste fuel is disposed of by us through a licensed waste carrier, & recycled.
Please read our guide to Misfuelling a diesel or petrol car. If you have been scared witless by stories of doom regarding putting the wrong fuel in, its not as bad as some say!
Misfueling Excuses
I see this sort of thing all the time, occasionally I take pictures, have a look at this below.
look closely, and compare both pictures, unless you had misfueld at this pump you probably wouldnt have noticed what my last customer had. so lets begin.
just another pump island… now look at this one
the next pu
these are 2 islands in the same station, right next to each other, my customer was filling at one of them, his van was tight against the pump and he couldnt see his own pump island very well, so he looked at the one that was next to him and “drew his pistol” , this is where it went wrong.
The diesel on the top pump is on the right of the pump island
the diesel on the second pump is in the middle of the pump island
on the top island, both petrol pumps have green hose endings on the nozzles, the diesel pump has a black hose end
on the bottom pump the high octane pump on the right – petrol (which is where the diesel is on the top pump) – has a black hose ending
The high octane pumps colour flash, is grey, but it could also be faded black.
I took these pictures to send to the employer of the man who called me, he worked for a small transport company and was driving a brand new van (less than 1200 miles), that was the new pride of the fleet, he was genuinely worried that he might be laid off for what he had done, and opted to pay for it out of his own pocket to appease his transport manager, needless to say the wrong fuel was taken out and the fuel drainage was complete in 30 mins and he was on his way, I e-mailed these pictures to his transport manager and also pointed it out to the station owner.
The adverts on nozzles are a whole subject unto themselves, volkswagon ran a campaign recently on petrol pumps and in the text of the ad it said “diesel” this was on petrol pumps!
to prevent misfuelling; you cannot rely on old rules of thumb with hose colours, pump placements or even nozzle colours, now that every pump has an advert on it and every petrol station has branded fuel (excellium/premium/momentum etc) you have to be very carefull, it might seem a tad twee but if you follow these simple instructions, you should never suffer from misfuelling, if you need a fuel drain contact us
1) read the fuel type on your car/vans filler neck flap
2) look at all the nozzles and find the one that read ”Diesel”, – or petrol if your driving petrol
3) check to see that THE SPOUT END OF THE DIESEL PISTOL HOSE IS LARGER THAN THE SPOUT ENDS OF THE PETROL PETROL PISTOL. THIS IS THE ONLY FAILSAFE method, or if you are driving a petrol make sure it is smaller than the diesel.
4) if you do this, you will never misfuel, and if you do it will only be because some joker has changed the actual pump handles over.
if you have put the wrong fuel in your car and need a fuel drain becuase you have unleaded in your diesel car or petrol in your diesel tank, then feel free to call us, we are here 24 hours a day 7 days a week on 07514409700