A major brand gas station?s distributer put diesel fuel in the unleaded tanks. Fortunately, the oil company has accepted responsibility. They paid for my daughter?s repairs ($1,300)to her new 2008 Toyota Corolla. Toyota says there is no lasting damage except that the catalytic converter may need to be replaced in the future. This is not a problem though as it has an unconditional 8-year warranty.
Toyota says there will be no future problems.
I would like to hear from others.
Thanks,
Booker
Other than the catalic converter there should be no ill effects. Years ago I put half a tank of diesel in my gas powered car. No cat converter and it had a carburator. Other than running rough until it burned up there was no problem with it. Modern cars of course will be much more sensitive to it, but still, if the fuel system were cleaned out in a timely mannner then there should be no problem.
Agree; if the diesel went through the fuel injectors, and throught the engine, the only thing it could have “poisoned” would be the catalytic converter. On the other hand, when converters were first introduced, many people accidently put some leaded gas through, and were told that a years’s driving with the coinverter warm would purge it of the lead.
Diesel fuel is just a heavy form of hydrocarbon fuel, and does not have any nasty additives.
If Toyota has the converter guarantee, you are off the hook. In some areas, you can have your emissions tested free by local auto clubs, before you go to the government test station.
Happy motoring.
I can’t see how it would cost $1,300 unless that included car rental for a month while you argued over it.
just curious: when she got the load of diesel in the tank, did the engine run? sputter, or just die?
how long from filling the tank to stopping use of the engine? minutes, hours, days?
I would assume some fuel injection components needed to be replaced and/or cleaned up.
She went about five miles with one stop at the office before it started running very rough at idle, put out dark exhaust, and then died. By the way, the gas station (major oil company) never denied the problem and they accepted full responsibility for repairs, car rental, and even gas (unleaded of course).
i would NOT worry about the catalytic converter because it sounds like the engine simply burned the gas in the fuel line, until it got to diesel, then it just stopped.
if she had gotten say half a tank of diesel, which was “diluted” by the other half tank of gas, and if the car sputtered for a while, and she kept driving it, then i would worry about the cat, but since it stopped cold turkey, it should be fine.
Thanks Cappy, and thanks everyone else for your thoughts on this issue.
Booker