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Misfuelling incidents, as they are commonly referred to, happen on a daily basis to hundreds of motorists across the UK. If you have recently switched cars, are driving a hire vehicle for the day or simply have your mind on other things it is all too easy to pick up the wrong nozzle when refuelling your car.
The crucial thing to remember is not to start your engine or turn the ignition key to minimise any damage to your vehicle. Under no circumstances try and drive the vehicle as this will simply intensify the damage and in turn, add to the repair bill. Report the incident immediately to a local garage or breakdown company who will arrange for your vehicle to be towed away and repaired. At the very least the garage will need to drain the fuel from the vehicle and in extreme circumstances, where too much contamination has occurred, it may be necessary to remove the likes of the fuel rails to ensure all remnants of the ‘foreign’ fuel are removed.
If you are one of the unfortunate few who fail to realise the error of your ways before starting up the engine and driving away, it will soon become obvious that something is wrong as your car will splutter to a halt just a few yards down the road. Neither a petrol nor diesel engine can run on the wrong fuel so the engine will simply just give up.
The cost of fixing this error can run into the hundreds once you’ve added up the cost of the fuel you have wasted the towing and repair costs plus replacement fuel for the empty engine – it will be an expensive mistake you hope never to repeat in the future. However be safe in the knowledge that you will not be the first or last to make this mistake and if you asked a group of friends or colleagues if they have ever made the same mistake, you’ll be surprised at how many will put their hand up and admit it.
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