Anyone here one of the 300 people who put the wrong fuel in their vehicle on a daily basis? news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3476815.stm
[tic mode on] Maybe should have put this under the "Bring back hanging for ..." thread, get the stupid people out of the gene pool [tic mode off]
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If I recall correctly, in the USA you can't get a diesel nozzle into an unleaded petrol tank because the opening is too small. That doesn't stop you filling a diesel tank with petrol, but it's a darn sight better than no difference at all. Why isn't it more widely used, one wonders.
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Years ago during the fuel strikes, we were late and in desperate need of petrol. WE pulled into a garage applauding ourselves at how we found one with NO queues. However, unleaded was out. Diesel was out. Oh dear. In desperate need, tried putting leaded in but the nozzle wouldn't fit. Bought a petrol can and filled it then filled the UNLEADED Polo with LEADED petrol. You may be thinking STUPID but it got us where we needed to be and through the crisis. A quick call to a mechanic friend revealed you shouldn't really do it but once won't damage it. Oh well...
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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Foggy and probably totally incorrect recollection, but am sure that my Polo manual said you could use leaded if needed, but that you should fill up with unleaded asap.
Am most probably totally wrong with that statement.
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It may well have done pdc - this was my mum's car and long gone so I wouldn't be able to confirm - I can remember it was a P reg 1.0L though.
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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pdc,
If car has a cat I thought I had read that any leaded petrol ruined the cat which had to be replaced. In cars without a cat leaded didn't matter
But like you am most probably totally wrong with that statement.
C
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I was drving my dad's Land Rover V8 when one of his workers (who liked to be on hand to help!!!) but diesel in as he was at the same petrol station as me.
I drove off for about 250 yards when it cut out.
I asked him why he put diesel in and he said that he thought that the engine sounded like a diesel!!!!! How anyone can think that a Rover V8 sounds like a diesel is beyond me!!!!
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Yet another reason to introduce compulsory eye testing.
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I have excellent eyesight yet I still managed to put about 2 litres of unleaded into a diesel van before I realized my mistake. Nothing to do with being able to see the pump labelled "unleaded" or the van filler cap labelled "diesel" but more to do with not really paying attention to something that has almost become second nature.
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Did it to a diesel S80. The car was on demo someone threw me the keys on my way out suggesting I try it.
In a hurry, it was hammering down with rain. Got in, radio already on shove into drive, off we go. Fuel light comes on - pulled into garage (still absolutely pouring with rain).
Fill up, get a few miles down the road - chug. Started looking around the car - jeeze it's a diesel! It wasn't quick but I put that down to a modest engine in a big car.
Anyway, still couldn't believe I'd done it. Checked fuel flap - Ahhh - "Unleaded Only"!!
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Yes, some years ago I put a couple of gallons of diesel in instead of leaded four star. The car smoked and pinked a bit. I drained the tank and refilled, and all was well. I used up the mixture in the lawnmower - it didn't seem to notice it.
The problem is partly just sheer carelessness, I admit that. But they don't make it easy by not having consistent hose colours, and also there are jokers who put the nozzles back in the wrong holsters.
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Funny that this should come up today. My boss's wife's A class Mercedes was spluttering at the weekend so he took it for a 'clear out' blast on the motorway. He said a lot of rubbish and smoke was coming out of the tail pipe and it sounded like a bag of nails. It went in for service yesterday and, yes, petrol in the diesel!
How much to fix it?
£1600 so far!
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Oh yes! Ten years ago.
Hired a 7.5 ton dropside. 1st stop filling station. 15 litres of petrol in (well, it would be plenty for the anticipated 50 miles on the day). Erk! Filled the entire remainder of tank with diesel. It chuffed a bit at first but generally ran OK. Hire co. never came back about it but it still cost me about £40 of extra fuel.
And how did prat come to do this? The mobile rang shortly before pulling into the filling station and I yakked my way through the whole event. This is probably the real reason you're not supposed to use a mobile in a filling station.
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"Anyone here one of the 300 people who put the wrong fuel in their vehicle on a daily basis?"
Yup guilty as charged your Honour. I put petrol into a diesel once.
(hangs head in shame)
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I had a mate for years who had diesels and then he changed to petrol. He filled up with diesel out of force of habit.
Didn't drive off the forecourt and called the AA. They came along drained his tank straight into the vans petrol tank. He seemed to be OK with diesel/petrol mix for his van!
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I have never (touch wood) done that...
...though I was stopped at a roadside check by police & C&E who were checking for pink diesel, I was in a petrol Transit at the time. Pink faces all round...
John R
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SWMBO put a gallon or so of diesel into our RS Turbo Escort before I noticed and shouted a warning to her. We were on the way to North Scotland, on a Sunday, so filled right up with leaded (which it used) and drove off carefully. After about 40 miles we stoppped and filled up again, to the brim. And again, and again. Didn't seem to do any harm, though. In fact the reduced speed driving we had to do did wonders for the mpg. (By the way, it was my fault she put the diesel in because we'd had a wee tiff earlier which had caused her to lose concentration!)
hey ho
8 ball
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Not once but TWICE I have filled my diesel Vectra with unleaded. Both times fully filling an empty tank with about £45 worth of fuel. First time I barely got off the forecourt, second time I got as far as the nearest traffic lights then caused a major hold up until the AA rescued me.
Each time cost about £50 to drain and clear the system plus the cost of the tankful of the light stuff.
Touch wood, haven't done it lately but I am a lot more observant now.
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Nearly did it once to a BMW 730, but there came a roar via a loudspeaker system from the pay desk, drawing everyone's attention to my idiocy. That was in the days when they kept the diesel well away from the petrol, too - a practice which should be revived, as a spastic friend recently came an awful purler in a supermarket car park through his sticks slipping in the film which spreads everywhere, quite apart from making these mistakes less likely.
Rudolf
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I've done it, filled the diesel cavalier up with unleaded. Drove about six miles before she got a bit sluggish and white smoke started to pour from the exhaust. Finally cut out another mile down the road, 800 yards short of a garage.
I'd filled it up at 6:30am, barely awake with my mind thinking about work. I'll admit to being braindead at that time of the day.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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I did it just the once.
I was doing a new car swap for a Franchise dealer. Our dealer needed a Vauxhall Bravo pickup and the other dealer needed an Astra.
Well, the Astra was petrol, so duly put the minimum £5 of petrol in to get me from Leicester to Derby, and drove said Astra to Derby.
Well, the Salseman who needed the Astra in Derby got so shirty with me for bringing him a car with a poor GM paint job on it, much to the amusement of the other staff there. Therefore I simply decided to treat him with complete contempt and switch off. I picked up the keys to the pickup and drove it out of the forecourt
I was still in "Do I really give a ****" mode when I pulled up outside a petrol station, now remember that when up until 10 minuits ago I had driven a petrol, so £5 petrol went in it.
....only I was now in a DIESEL!
Limped along to a garage and filled it to the brim with diesel, turned it over a few times and it ran fine!
Best bit? the pickup was not yet registered!
Hugo
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