I have a 2012 Passat Volkswagen. My son put approx 3 gallons of gasoline into my diesel Passat. I’m keeping the fuel tank full of diesel. Is my car ruined? It starts and runs after I try to start a tcouple of times. I put diesel injection cleaner in the Passat topping off a full tank of diesel. Help!
Bring the vehicule to a garage because they need to syphon out the tank with a pump.
How to Remove Diesel from a Gas Tank
So now what do you do? It depends on how much diesel you put in your tank. If you caught your mistake early on, filling the rest of the tank with mostly gasoline might be an adequate remedy. When you fill the majority of your tank with diesel, it’s a whole different story.
The first step is to stop your car and have it towed back home. You need to fix the problem immediately, as the longer diesel sits, the more damage it can do to the fuel system, engine and injectors. Next, use a siphon pump to remove the diesel from the tank and fill it up with gasoline. In some cases, it could take a while for your vehicle to start up, and the ride might be bumpy until all the diesel naturally flushes out.
The other solution, and most times the safest one, is to call a professional. A mechanic will properly flush out the entire fuel system and clean up the surrounding parts. In some cases, the spark plugs and filters might need to be replaced if they were seriously affected by the blunder.
@COROLLAGUY1
It’s a diesel engine, they accidentally put 3 gallons of gas in, then topped it off with diesel
I’d have the car towed to a mechanic, have the fuel tank drained, and repair/replace whatever else needs to be done.
You need to change your title.
I used to put some gas into the diesel tank deliberately in the very cold parts of the Winter. Without it diesel fuel at -20 will jell and not flow through the system to the injectors. I had a block heater, so I could start it, but could not run higher than idle because not enough fuel got to the engine fast enough. The gasoline helped. The station would not let me put kerosene into the tank from their pump because there was no road tax paid on it.
Best method is to drain the tank, and refill with fresh diesel. I doubt any permanent damage was done.
I have never used gas but have used kerosine in that situation.
I think I would drain the tank and refill with the correct fuel.
Most likely 3 gallons of regular gas diluted in a 12 gallon tank of diesel wouldn’t be too much cause for concern but in this situation I would rather be safe then sorry. The fuel pump on these are prone to failure by mis-fueling.
I had a diesel for 480,000 miles and just mixed 1 and 2 in the winter. A guy at work with a diesel used to put a little gas in during the winter but I cautioned him not to do it. I had heard that it is very explosive but don’t know. I think it would be best to drain the tank but might want to consult with the dealer. Injector pumps require lubrication from the more oily diesel and are very expensive compared to a couple hundred to drain the tank.
A story though: My wife was in Norway with her cousin and others. He was in charge of military transportation but put gas in a diesel rental that was not labeled as diesel. The car absolutely stalled after a short while and would not run. I think there was serious damage done to the injector pump and maybe the injectors. He never heard since the rental company just replaced it.