I stupidly have put diesel into my Mazda Demio car. Only 5 litres before I realised. Will it damage the car?

Answer 1

it shoulden damage it the question is will it run if it does it will ping like crazy your probally best to have it drained 1 liter in 10 is the most mine will run without pinging i experiance lower power also when i do this you dont need a flush just get as much out as possible and fill it up with new gas

if you want to know why i do that i am the one that sucks it out of peoples cars when they do that and i need to get rid of it somewhere as the other way to get rid of it costs 25 per liter

Answer 2

It wont do it any good, but if you are sure that you only put 5 litres in the tank, fill the tank with petrol, in essence diluting the diesel. The car will run, all beit a bit rougher than usual. When the tank is about half full/empty, refill the tank again with petrol, ie, try to keep as much petrol in the tank as possible for about 2 fills. It wouldnt do any harm when this is sorted to run a tin of fuel injection cleaner through the car which will help clean the system and also the catalytic convertor. If the amount is a lot more than 5 litres, i recommend having the fuel system drained and flushed before refilling with petrol. If you need to go this route, then enquire around the garages in your area as there is a system where the fuel pipe is removed at the injection bar in the engine bay and the fuel is basically sucked all the way from the tank into this device thereby preventing the need to remove the tank which is a right pain(costly too). Most breakdown recovery agents, AA, RAC etc will have access to this system or can put you in touch with the repairer.

Answer 3

Top it up to the brim with petrol. it will be ok to drive. it will smoke a bit when you are driving it, but don't worry. when you get down to about half a tank, top it up again. When that is empty after a week or two, it should be alright.
You may want to take the spark plugs out for a brush and clean them afterwards.
It's no different than driving a 2-stroke motor engine for a bit, where you mix the oil with the petrol.
I don't know if you have a catalytic converter fitted, but this amount of diesel is unlikely to do any harm to it.

(HOWEVER....If it was a diesel car, and you accidently put petrol in the tank, then it would have been bad news, but only if you had tried to drive it. That would have required some drastic action.)

Answer 4

I would fill it to the brim with petrol to dilute the Diesel and add some octane booster if your local garage has any, Diesel has a very low octane rating, like kerosene so will cause pinking, and has a lube oil content which will cause smoke and shorten the life of your cat. more than 5 litres better to drain the tank and refill, the garage will then use it in their van,

Answer 5

ok, 5 liters? and its probably more than a 40 liter tank? diesel is designed to burn slower (colder) than regular gassoline. you will notice a loss in power but THERE WILL NOT BE ANY DAMAGE to the engine. someone mensioned the catalitic converter, for that i have no idea, it could damage it, well, wear it out a little more than usual, it will still be drivable. now, if you put gassoline in diesel, do not start it...gassoline burns hotter than diesel and could seriously destroy your engine. for your problem, i would just drive it out, and would top it off with gas so the diesel is diluted as much as possible.

Answer 6

5 Litres will certainly damage the engine if you use it. the compression ratio for diesel is far to high to work a petrol engine. If you have used it already you may have enough petrol in their to dilute it and minimise the effect, but I strongly suggest you get the tank emptied.

Answer 7

Fill the tank with the correct petrol to dilute the diesel, it may be a bit rough for awhile but should be okay after that. Ring a local garage and check with them if what I am telling you is okay

Answer 8

Get a local garage to drain and flush you full tank and fuel system before embarking on any journey.....don't take the risk as it could damage your engine beyond repair....so for the sake of maybe £100 for the flush etc you could save thousands on a new engine/car

Answer 9

Don't Start the car, if you do it will cause a whole lot more damage, call the Mazda dealer, they'll just drain the tank for you. If you've started it and had it running then its going to cost you

Answer 10

Fill it to the top with petrol to dilute the diesel. After 50 miles refill with petrol. Repeat for a few hundred miles.