Wrong fuel used - petrol in a diesel

[huI34]

Car had about 1/4 tank of diesel, then filled up with aprox. 8 litres of petrol before realising, and then filled the remainder up with diesel (Filled the tank)
Car drove 50 miles home without issue.
Intend to top up the tank when the fuel level drops below 3/4 and continue on.
However I am seeing conflicting ideas upon whether or not this is Ok?
Car is a 2010 60 S60 Diesel D3
Thanks

[volvorocks]

I have done exactly the same thing in the past. About 2 or 3 gallons in a full tank. I drove round locally and kept topping back up with diesel every hour or so. No issues.

Regards

[Flux]

Also did the same about 6 years ago. Put about £7 of petrol on top of 1/4 tank diesel before I realised the black hose was dispensing petrol!! Immediately filled up with diesel and drove around for the next day and a half to get rid of the mixture. Every 100 miles or so I added more diesel so as to reduce the petrol concentration. Achieved some of the best MPG figures bot no adverse effect!...........although I did sell the car about 6 months later so don't know if there was any lasting damage.

Trouble is though that petrol acts as a solvent but in small enough concentrations it might be OK. Roadside assistance people told me that the fuel ratio I had was probably OK and within their 'suggested' tolerances. It's when you fill up with petrol and drive that you know it ain't going to end well.

[huI34]

Thank you for the two responses so far. The fact it already had diesel in the tank should help. Thanks again

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by Flux

Immediately filled up with diesel and drove around for the next day and a half to get rid of the mixture. Every 100 miles or so I added more diesel so as to reduce the petrol concentration. .

Bet you were tired after a straight 36 hours driving....... Did your wife not question where you were..??...

Regards

[Flux]

Not a straight 36 hours but did tell her I'd been out all day emptying my tank..............

[volvorocks]

Doubt that would have made her feel any better...lol

[Waggatron]

Be careful....modern Diesel engines are not as tolerant on what they run off as the older generation engines due to the fine tolerances and high compression ratios.

Petrol and diesel don't mix as they have different densities. The small amount of petrol will sit as a thin layer above the diesel and although you will get some mixing it will quickly separate out again.

The take off is usually at the bottom of the tank so you will never notice unless you drive till practically empty.

Also the injectors and pump on a Diesel engine are set up for the specific liquid properties of diesel which is more viscous than petrol. This can cause its own problems if a high petrol content is flowed through.

I did the same thing two years ago but fortunately the garage was attached to a Ford dealership who pushed the car into the garage and emptied the tank and cleaned the fuel lines. The service man told me that if it had been a Ford under warranty then this incident would have been logged potentially invalidating any future warranty claims on the engine.

Sorry to sound all "doom and gloom".......

[Srat]

I did the same thing the day I collected my XC60 from the dealer.

Having just come from a petrol car, I automatically filled from the green nozzle, and put in ~5l of petrol before realising. I then put in ~60l of diesel and topped up every 100 miles until I'd diluted a complete tank full. That was 35K miles and 2 years ago, with no apparent harm.

Strangely enough, I could then see the reason that dealers hand over a £40K car with 5l of fuel in them.

[huI34]

Originally Posted by Srat

I did the same thing the day I collected my XC60 from the dealer.

Having just come from a petrol car, I automatically filled from the green nozzle, and put in ~5l of petrol before realising. I then put in ~60l of diesel and topped up every 100 miles until I'd diluted a complete tank full. That was 35K miles and 2 years ago, with no apparent harm.

Strangely enough, I could then see the reason that dealers hand over a £40K car with 5l of fuel in them.

Thanks, good to hear that a modern diesel managed Ok, although unfortunatley we ended up putting in closer to 8l of petrol before realising.