Petrol in diesel car – BIG MISTAKE?

Cars today have become very complex. They come loaded with many features & technology which may confuse a buyer and lead him to make a mistake. However, there are some mistakes that have been happening since time immortal. One of them is putting petrol in a diesel car. Though it is a rare occurrence, still there have been instances. For today’s article, we will be seeing what happens when you put petrol in a diesel vehicle (this is actually a BIG MISTAKE).

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Let’s first learn the basics

To get it straight, the major difference between petrol and diesel is their viscosity. Petrol is more fluid while diesel is thick. Also petrol and diesel work quite differently. As you might know, petrol engines use spark plugs to ignite the fuel that leads to a blast in the engine, which pushes the piston, in turn, producing power. On the other hand, diesel engines use compression pressure to increase the temperature and auto-ignite the fuel.

Petrol in a diesel engine?

So what happens when you accidentally put petrol in a diesel car? Fuel pumps in diesel engines are lubricated using the fuel itself, reducing friction and leading to optimum performance. As mentioned above, petrol is thinner and fails to lubricate the pump leading to higher friction. This friction leads to a chain of events. This friction causes the scraping of metal leading to the circulation of microscopic metal particles inside the system. These particles then travel to high-pressure fuel injectors.

Normally, these injectors push diesel inside the cylinder chambers via small openings designed for the required spray pattern. With petrol, these microscopic particles block these openings, thus no fuel enters the cylinder. This is not a bad thing as it protects the cylinder. However, if any petrol enters the cylinder, it will undergo premature detonation damaging the engine internally.

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Petrol in diesel vehicle – Solutions

What should you do in such a situation? The first thing you need to do is avoid turning on the car. Just contact a mechanic and get the fuel drained. After that, you can refuel the tank with diesel. However, in the worst-case scenario, if you have turned on the engine, it could lead to major problems. It is better if you tow your car to a mechanic. The cost involved in replacing the injectors and fuel pump is quite expensive on diesel engines. This is the reason why putting petrol in diesel is a BIG MISTAKE.

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