GeekBleep - Latest Comments in What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

d.j. aguirre — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:43:36 -0000

I loaned my '87 bmw 320I to a friend. he said that he put 20 euros worth of diesel in my almost empty gas tank. a local mechanic claims that it'll cost 1300. euros to fix. i am relieved after reading all these reports. looks like this misinformed mechanic is trying to make an extra euro. maybe, he is under the impression that i have a diesel engine. especially since he has said that my car in a ticking time bomb. i'll know more when i return to italia next week. grazie mille for all your experinces. CIAO

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Joan — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:09:25 -0000

Our local Turkey Hill had diesel fuel put into the unleaded regular underground tank. Up to 50 cars filled up at the pump before the mistake was discovered. My daughter's van started jerking a couple of miles away and the engine began to smoke. The tank was almost completely empty when she fueled up. Turkey Hill will pay to have the van towed and repaired, but what a nightmare!

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Vince — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:38:45 -0000

My wife mistakenly added about 4 gallons of diesel to the 5 gallons of gas remaining in the tank of our Honda Element. She wondered why the nozzle wouldn't go into the filler hole, so she didn't fill up all the way. She made it home OK, but she couldn't get it started the next day. It didn't take long to figure out what happened, and we decided to remedy the situation ourselves instead of following any of the $600-$1000 estimates we got to flush the tank and lines, replace the iridium plugs and fuel filter (part of the in-tank fuel pump), and inspect the injectors. I uncoupled a quick disconnect in the fuel line just before the fuel rail at the front of the engine, stuck on a 6 foot plastic hose leading to a large container on the floor, and turned the key to the "run" position until the fuel pump stopped (about 3 seconds.) After the initial surge, gravity took over, and the tank was drained as dry as possible after about 5 hours. While this was going on, I cleaned the carbon off of the spark plugs and filled gas cans with 14 gallons of premium gas, and bought a bottle of Techron fuel system treatment. When the tank was empty, we poured in the Techron and premium gas, got the fuel pump going again to flush the last of the gas/diesel mix out of the fuel line, and reconnected the fuel line. After 4 tries to start the engine and 10-15 seconds of rough idling, the car ran fine. I'll check the plugs again after a couple more tanks of gas.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

jasmine — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:44:57 -0000

I put 3 gallons diesel into my new jeep! drove for a mile. engine started to go rough so I pulled over and just realized what I did! my question is should i take it to a mechanic or the dealership??

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Alex — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:48:48 -0000

First I would like to know how you get the diesel pump into your gas car the diesel pumps "ends" are larger than the gas pumps that is what baffels me the most.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

eliz — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:12:03 -0000

I drive a vw diesel jetta. Never did this before, but filled it with gasoline this AM, car is at mechanic for weekend, will find out later...I drove it for awhile not realizing the problem, then if felt like a fuel problem, had it towed. Gas station I went to is not one of my regulars, the pump had mutiple selections including diesel. This time Diesel was:YELLOW, I usually get diesel at two or three stations, all self pump and all are GREEN. Bad mistake!

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Garry — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:09:41 -0000

My wife drives an 04 Jag XK8. She only use premium gas and only buys at Costco and Safeway in California. Neither Safeway nor Costco sell Diesel in our area and yet, when her car quit the dealor says that there is diesel fuel contamination. The car would run for a while and then die. It would restart and go alittle longer(several miles). The dealor put many miles on the car road testing and it would be OK for awhile and then quit. Does anyone have an asnswer for us. Thanks.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Samantha — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:33:59 -0000

I am so happy to have found this site and see I am not alone in this easy mistake. I did the same thing a few nights ago, but I drove it not knowing that I shouldnt have for about 5 mins before my car stopped in the intersection. Luckily someone helped me to move my car to the side of the road and my roadside asstistance came and towed it to the dealer. I almost passed out when I was told it was going to cost over almost $1000!!!I guess I will have to suck this up to a learning experience.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Shaun — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:52:23 -0000

I was hard at work when my wife continually tried reaching me on the cell. Finally got time to answer and received the bad news that she had put diesel into our Rav4. She did want to start because her friend told her not to run the car and to call the dealership. I asked how much she pumped - are you ready for this? - it was only $0.20 or $0.30 worth! (She's not blonde either but...) So I told her since she was nearly on empty (I had drove the Rav4 the night before and knew it was near empty) that she should just fill it up with Regular and be on her way. She said she would just let me fill it up and I told her she had better do it while she was there and BEFORE she drove it with diesel in the tank - even though at today's prices that was maybe about 5-6 drops of gas! She even told me that she was wondering why the nozzel didn't fit into the tank - HINT HINT HINT! I'll have to drive it to see if there is any lingering effect, but I doubt enough got in there to make any difference (Rav4 has about 14 gallon tank and she only got 20 to 30 CENTS worth). Guess we were lucky she caught it before any true damage was done. Came across this site while being interested in what would have happened if.....

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Kerrie — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:49:24 -0000

I am thrilled to find this website, but my problem is on a tad smaller scale than an automobile. Nevertheless, I'm hoping that all you savvy engine techs can help me out! I have a chainsaw that was relatively new that my brother-in-law borrowed....unaware that a chain saw has to have a gas/oil fuel. He filled it with regular gas. Is there hope, or is this chainsaw pretty much history? I appreciate any and all input!

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Lisa — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:57:35 -0000

I'm so glad to find this website. On mothers day I put diesel into my friends truck. It was on empty and I put approximately 9 gallons in it. We were over a hundred miles from home!!!!! We tried siphoning it but could not get a hose into the tank!! Truck would not start so I had it towed to her house and 2 days later to the dealership. Still waiting to hear the verdict on $cost and repairs but they seem to think emptying tank and flushing the fuel lines would work. I'm paying for my mistake and was prepared to essentially buy her a new truck. So glad it doesn't look that way now. Guess I cannot be trusted to pump any kind of gas.
I learned that if the pump handle is green it is not gasoline! Also, if it is too big, it's not gasoline! I'm not blonde, I swear. I don't normally do stupid stuff, but this was definately not smart!!

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

shawn — Wed, 16 May 2007 11:59:18 -0000

am really glad i came across this thread. last evening, i put 6 gallons of seemingly bad gas in my suburban. the vehicle was on empty when i put the gas in and i drove about 15 miles on it when all of the problems (sputtering,dying,etc..) began, so i'm down to about 5 gallons left in it. rather than taking it to my mechanic, i believe i will buy the fuel cleaner and fill it up with the high octane stuff. really hoping that does the trick, since i have a 42 gallon tank, i'm only looking at about 12% bad fuel in the system. it should be pretty easy to get it diluted.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Mallory — Thu, 10 May 2007 14:27:50 -0000

Well, after reading these comments I feel alot better about my situation. I am boring my moms explorer for the weekend. My friend and I decided this morning we would drive 2 hours to go shopping. I run out of gas, go to the gas station and put 7 gallons of diesel in it! I am freaking out calling dealerships and they are saying tow it. Finally, I talk to this sweet old man and he said fill the rest with gas and I made it home. Is everything gonna be okay from here on out?

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

burbank — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:58:09 -0000

hi..1
its a nice experience...
..if im you,i will help those people which realy need a help...i mean those people that in the in dangerouse...
cause of accident...

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Rose — Sat, 05 May 2007 02:09:57 -0000

I madevery stupid mistake today to put half tank of diesel in to my just brought second hand Toyota05I started the engineer and only run about 5 min , the car was terriably choking and then stopped. Good thing is I was lucky enough to pull over in the sideway not at the dead end intersection. I was told by my friend , the cost to repair is at least $1000. so I just treat them as a lose from stock market otherwise I will go crazy...

Thanks a lot for all yr guys input and make me feel not that stupid and learn a lot of infomtion and experience.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Stan — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:23:53 -0000

Can someone explain why it would be neccessary to clean/replace fuel lines and filters if diesel were put into a gasoline car? I would think simply draining it as much as possible and diluting it with gasoline would be good enough.
How would diesel harm the fuel lines or clog the fuel filter of a gasoline engine?

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

jim — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:20:09 -0000

My brother put in about six gallons of gasoline in my turbo passat diesel. I drained it out and filled up the tank with kerosine (more refined diesel). Started up rough but ran and after five minutes was fine.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Rick — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 09:09:39 -0000

Theresa,

Having both diesel and gasoline equipment at my farm, I have worried about getting the two fuels confused. I quickly learned from a neighbor that gasoline should always be in red or orange containers and diesel fuel in yellow containers. You can find the yellow in most places that sell fuel containers. I have never had a problem after using the different colors. My daughter had a slight problem when she ran out of gas and her mother came to the rescue with a can of my chain saw gas and oil mixture. The car smoked a bit, but I guess nothing bad ever came of that. I actually had the chain saw gas in a red container and the mower gas with no oil in it in an orange container, but I guess my wife didn't realize that. The gas with oil in it has a much darker appearance, by the way.

Rick

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Benjamin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:12:24 -0000

I was tuning my engine (302 GT-40 stroked to a 347) in my 2000 F-150, popping a bit over 210 psi per cylinder. I ran to the gas station and filled up a 5 gallon gas can with super premium unleaded, added octane booster and lead addative to the tank and then added the gas(diesel!!!!! The funny thing is that the gas station doesn't even sell diesel. But sure enough, there was a bit left in the can and it was a blueish greenish color. Man, my truck didn't like it as I drove it to a gas station to fill up the rest of the way. 20 gallons of premium, three bottles of octane booster and lead addative, and the thing is still pinging at anything over 1/3 throtle. I am down to less than a quarter tank left so hopefully when I fill back up, the problem will be solved. Glad to know there are other people out there with simular issues!! Keep your heads high and your feet out of the pedal to mimimize pre-detonation as it will all come out in the wash/refil!

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

shane — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 22:43:36 -0000

well i feel like a idiot i filled my work truck brand new.first fill ever i was not famiarly with the the pumps was told by other driver that the digital pump system would only let me put diesel in but they gave me wrong chip and i did not even look at the label on the pump because where i fill up is all diesel for the last ten years and just was use to it this truck 220000 dollars. i started pumping the gas in it 12 gallons and realized it was gas and not diesel fuel this is a cement mixer truck and i felt sick all day and night and couldnt wait to talk to my boss who just dropped me off to pick up my new truck luckyfor me i did not start the engine and no gas got in the fuel line it was about 12 gallons gas and 30 gallons diesel we drained it and changed the fuel filter and it runs perfect still can not belive how stupid i was

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Teresa Beverley — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:33:27 -0000

thanks first and foremost to qmchenry and then of course all of your comments.

i will let you know what happens in my case: early this morning because i found my tank out of gas (i thought i had 1/4 of a tank and was leaving for work early to fill up the tank), i did some quick thinking and realized i had gas in my shed for my lawn mower. the plastc fuel container i found, i was told, had gas in it: i put approx 1 gal in it and drove to the nearest station to place more gas in it(approx 1 mile). it sputtered as i entered the station. i only put 2.5 gal of additional gas in it and began leaving the station. but it wasnt having it and quickly stopped (i learned later that afternoon that there were 2 plastic containers of fuel in my shed; i only saw the one that, yep you guessed it, had diesel in it). i had it towed to the dealership. thus far, no work has been done on it; and since i do not have $500.00, i am going to take option #1 and continue to pray. i will also consult a few more mechanics prior to making this grueling decision. but thanks for all of your input. hopefully the following suggestions will help as well:
1. take the time to smell: gasoline is much more potent smelling.
2. label your gas cans in your shed.
3. keep your tank at 1/4 tank so you dont run into the "out of gas" dilema and make crazy mistakes like this.
4. last, i did NOT learn today that i have cancer or receive some other tragic news. today, i learned that we need to slow down, think, be willing to arrive to our destination late... and call someone we know who truly is having a tragic day and need a shoulder.

yes, i am upset with myself but i have all of you to thanks for this input - Teresa

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Jeff Korinko — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:42:48 -0000

I have a case where my client was driving his 2003 Chevy Silverado 3500 Diesel truck and pulling a large RV trailer. He stopped at a gas station and put in about 26 gallons of diesel fuel [per the receipt]. He got back on the highway and traveled about 46 miles before his engine died. His truck was towed to a Chevrolet dealership where he was told that his pistons and cylinders were burned up, likely due to gasoline in his diesel fuel. The gas station vehemently denies that its diesel fuel was tainted with gasoline. My client had traveled at least 1800 miles up until this incident without any mechanical problems. Does anyone have any insight into this issue? It is the reverse of the original problem.

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Gen — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 04:05:56 -0000

Yep, just put diesel in the car. Boy do I feel obtuse. I ran back to the service station just behind the gas station. Fortunately the service attendants near the gas station where I fueled checked the car and said it had a flush tap (luckily I live walking distance). All they will need to do is flush the fuel, change the filters and pump a bit of gas to get the cars started, about a $150-200 dollars for repairs…I cried like a baby, not about the money, last job on the car has cost $800; $150 was nothing compared to that. I cried because felt so lost and mortified. My friend said I feel bad now…but that we’ll look back at the incident and make fun of it (or rather make fun of me) in the future. I found this website doing a search on the damages the car could sustain. I’m happy I’m not the only one out there that has made the same mistake. Reading all your comments has helped me come down a bit and stop the weeping. I guess being a new driver is a scary thing. Your website has been really helpful to me. I’m in my early twenties, have live alone for many years, and I’m currently overseas. For parents out there be good to your kids when they make this kind of mistakes. I’m suffering right now and have no one to cry and hold on to. Make your kids feel comfortable, I really wish my mom was here. ;)

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

Colleen — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:26:47 -0000

My daughter who is 16 and just got her car, filled her car with diesel accidently... I forgot to give her the 411 about gas I guess... Her car had about 1/4 tank in it and she filled it up with Diesel. Luckily that was only minutes from our house, but she did drive it for about 5 min before it pooped out, around the corner from our house. It didn't want to go for sure... I moved it from where she parked it to our house around the block before I knew that she put diesel in it... she just thought the car crapped out or something... so, tomorrow I am going to call the towing company and have them take the car in to be drained and cleaned... She's only had the car for 2 weeks...

Re: What to do if you get diesel fuel in your gas vehicle

From Bea — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 13:29:23 -0000

We were on vacation in Carlsbad,CA. We pulled up to a Chevron station in Carlsbad and filled up our tank, with we thought was unleaded gas. I STARTED THE ENGINE, drove away and immediately my car (Nissan) seemed to be "choking". We went back to Chevron. The cashier told us we pumped diesel and that it happens all the time at that station. I had my car towed and the tow company said they get plenty of business from people due to this problem. We had to get home but had to an extra day. We went to a Nissan dealer paid $400 to get the diesel gas out and lines cleaned. I have called, written, emailed, sent certified mail to Chevron to help us with this expense. We get the runaround!! Their diesel pump is right next to the unleaded gas on the same line!!! BEWARE OF THE CHEVRON IN CARLSBAD. A driver happened to pull up while we were speaking to the attendant and told us that it had just happened to his mother. He told us to add a "cleaner" but we had filled up...we had to have it repaired correctly. This occurred in August '06 and I did not find anything on the website about this problem until I came across your webite. Has anyone else written about this gas station? (And yes, the diesel pump fits!)