misfuel

[Keyser Soze]

What with the prevalence of Diesels this seems to be an all too familiar tale these days.....

Ever thought of setups like these?

http://www.fueldoctorltd.co.uk/

http://www.fuel-fix.com

http://www.fuelfixer.co.uk

http://www.theaa.com/fuel-assist/index.html

or

http://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown/fuel-patrol/

RAC Fuel Patrol by calling 0800 051 7845. The service is not included as part of a breakdown policy, but is available as a pay-on-use service to both RAC members and non-members for £175 and £190.

Has anybody had experience of such services?

Either way it is a damn sight better than the stealers

[Absolutevolvo]

I have used the RAC some 18 months back. It was a bank holiday but they arranged for local recovery firm to pick the car up on a truck within an hour. They took it to their company base where they had a purpose built vacuum rig. The pointed out that some tanks are easier than others (AWD XC/V70s are a pain apparently) but took around an hour to drain and flush the tank and put in a little fresh diesel. They recommended brimming the tank ASAP and keeping it full for the next few fills. No problems resulted the main risk, I was told,is damaging the injectors on modern engines. Very polite efficient and friendly service.

For those thinking that only idiots do this I can tell you to talk to a recovery driver as mine told me some stories that it can happen to anyone who is distracted but of course many claim it was someone else's fault!

[Coconut]

Had a Mis-Fuel problem with the good lady Mrs. Coconut in her ( non Volvo ) car a couple of years ago -
The engine wasn't started but it still cost far more than I would have liked to have the car
towed to an out of hours garage where they drained the petrol out

The solution - I fitted a "Fuel Sure" fuel cap in place of the manufacturer's one
These are now available to fit the XC90 and have been added to my letter for Santa this year :-)

Fuel Sure caps are available from Halfords ( who I have absolutely NO association with whatsoever ) and currently cost £19.99.

The following Web page shows what they look like and has a link to a list of vehicles they fit.
( C30, S40, V50, S60, V70, New V70, S80, XC70, XC60 & XC90 :

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_226201

They work by fitting to the filler neck just like your normal cap,
but then to open it you have to insert the pump nozzle into a hole in the cap,
which then unlocks it and allows the cap to hinge open.
Because the Petrol nozzle is smaller in diamater, if you try and use it by mistake it won't release the latch - simple but very effective.
To close the cap it just pushes back in and clicks into place.

Downside : Can be a little messy, especially if there's still a bit of fuel left in the end of the nozzle
which can run out over the fuel cap, so I always wear those plastic gloves from the forecourt and have a couple of paper towels at the ready.

Benefits : No more misfuelling and a lot LESS messy than an £800 Volvo repair bill, !
You can also put the original fuel cap back on easily enough and transfer the Fuel Sure cap to a new car if you ever wanted to.

[jtaw45]

I always make a point of checking at least twice,i check the pump and then check which car i'm in and then check the sticker on the inside of the fuel flap and then re check the pump and nozzle. It takes about 5 seconds. I have 2 cars and use petrol,LPG and diesel so always make double sure.

[waylander]

Originally Posted by Absolutevolvo

For those thinking that only idiots do this I can tell you to talk to a recovery driver as mine told me some stories that it can happen to anyone who is distracted but of course many claim it was someone else's fault!

apparently the police bill for this issue is HE-UUUUUGE

[joe70]

Never thought it would happen to me ... but there you go: I managed to squeeze 50-odd litres of tesco's finest unleaded into the d5...

When I put the nozzle back and realized what I had just done I felt the biggest moron in the Universe ! Anyway, chap at the counter gave me the number for the fuel doctor, 2 hours wait, 90 minutes to drain the tanks and so far so good: have done 100 miles and the car behaves ok. Fuel Doctor SW very down to earth and relaxed.

Cost: £125.

Lesson learnt !

joe

[GJB]

As careful as we are I am sure we all will or have done it once at least in our motoring life time.

[blackogo]

Originally Posted by volvorocks

Its always recommended to drain petrol out of diesel....However......

Some years ago I put around £12 worth of petrol (which then would have been about 15/16 litres) into a diesel car. (I year old 52 reg btw 12k miles).
Realised my mistake and filled the rest of the tank with diesel

The petrol station said "do not start it it will ruin it"

Said thanks....chewed it over....and made my choice guided by and based on my own thought and feeling !!!!!

So....started it up...ran fine......circled the outskirts of the city for about 2 hours filling up every half an hour with more diesel to strengthen the diesel/petrol ratio.....no probs at all or ever....in fact the car never ran better and quieter.....and got rid at 60k miles...no engine probs at all....

Regards

Agree with above

A friend of mine decided to top up the "company" diesel mondeo car with fuel as the tank was only half full and we had a 200 mile trip ahead of us.. Filled with petrol and we managed about 80 miles before it started missing and the penny dropped and we checked the receipt! Pulled off the motorway asap and topped up with diesel and the car is still going well a year or so later. Not sure, but we believe that the petrol must have stayed on top of the diesel within the tank. I guess it depends on how much was in the tank of op before the deed (petrol) was done.

[jaffsdad]

Yesterday I put 13½ litres unleaded in my 2002 V70 M5 diesel it’s got 182,000 mile on clock.
I thought that it would be OK if diluted more so filled the tank with diesel.. So now I have around 17% unleaded which "I" thought would be OK BUT ! on asking around I'm told it’s too risky. YES I have started the car in fact driven it around 10 Miles. .
QUESTION: - where do I go from here ? How much or how little unleaded in full tank would the engine etc put up with.

I tried to siphon it all via the filler but there seems to be an anti siphon device I can't get the pipe to reach the fuel. I can't find a garage that can fit me in until Tuesday, so how else can I get the stuff out. My idea is to get most out then fill with diesel ....would that be sufficiently diluted.
What sort of pecentage can it cope with.

[volvorocks]

There is mixed info about misfuelling. Apparently the diesel lubricates the pump, whereas petrol does not, so if you put petrol in a diesel you may goose the pump over the longer term. Also apparently,modern diesels will stall/stop when the petrol starts running through.This is to stop further damage.Older diesels will run with a mix of petrol and diesel and should be ok.They used to do this years ago to stop the diesel waxing. Regards petrol floating on top, it doesn't, it mixes. If you have an older diesel you may be ok, but apparently on newer diesels mixing fuels is a no-no.

I took the risk on a new diesel common rail car all those years ago and it was fine, although I hadn't actually totally filled up with petrol. If I had, I would have had it drained. As it was mixed I took a chance.

Suppose its a case of how much petrol has been put in the diesel car, whether its an old banger, or a newer car - and as Clint Eastwood puts it "do you feel lucky".......!!!!!

Long info in link below.

http://www.fuelfixer.co.uk/wrong-fue...n-diesel-faqs/

Regards