2008 VW Golf TDI 1.9 - Misfuelling-have I caused damage by driving it

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Sat 8 Oct 2011 22:16
2008 VW Golf TDI 1.9 - Misfuelling-have I caused damage by driving it - kendall

My 2008 VW Golf TDI was nearly empty. I made the mistake of putting about 13L of un-leaded petrol in it. I was given the advice that if I filled the tank up diesel the car would be ok. It seems to be driving ok, but is taking 3 to 4 attempts to start. Also the oil warning light came on last time I started it. I'm worried I've caused damage, and would appreciate any advice.

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Sun 9 Oct 2011 02:50
2008 VW Golf TDI 1.9 - Misfuelling-have I caused damage by driving it - gordonbennet

Thats roughly 25% mix of petrol, that's a bit on the high side.

How far have you driven it since?

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Sun 9 Oct 2011 13:08
2008 VW Golf TDI 1.9 - Misfuelling-have I caused damage by driving it - Peter D

That's to high. If that's a PD engine then have the tank drained and the fuel filter changed and filled with fresh deisel. Regards Peter

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Sun 9 Oct 2011 20:57
2008 VW Golf TDI 1.9 - Misfuelling-have I caused damage by driving it - Robin the Technician

My son did exactly the same with his Mazda 6 - he put £20 worth of petrol in an empty tank. However he followed my advice and filled it to the brim with diesel. I told him to top it up at EVERY occasion and after a few fill ups it was fine. That was 3 years ago and the engine runs fine. If you'd have filled it with 75% petrol then you would have needed to drain the tank. 25% is just about ok - it'll be a bit clattery but as long as you don't thrash it it should be fine - and that's from someone who's been working on diesels for 40 years.

Hope this helps

Robin the Technician

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