Have you ever known anyone who accidentally put diesel in a car that takes regular gas, and if so, how did things turn out?

Mixing is NOT good, may cost up to $3000 for parts and labor. Replacement of injector components (if diesel fuel got to engine) and removal then cleaning gas tank and lines to engine !

In Canada. In the 80’s I was in charge of filling the gas tank. I almost did what you described, but I was saved by the diesel nosel not fitting in the gas tank.

How did she do that? The diesel nozzle is deliberately wider than the unleaded nozzle for exactly this reason (to avoid mistakes).

Something is wrong with the facts of the story.

The mechanic said that the diesel nozzle is supposed to be bigger than the regular nozzle, but they break and the gas stations will put on a regular nozzle, even though they’re not supposed to. He implied that maybe the gas station could be held responsible, but I’m not planning to try to go after them because I don’t feel like dealing with a legal case, if it would even work. I’d have to ask an attorney for advice and even though it would be free advice, I just don’t feel like dealing with that.

Diesel was accidentally filled into the wrong tank in some gas stations in Florida before one of our hurricanes last year. DeSantis addresses it during one of the press conferences and said something along the lines of a little diesel mixed in shouldn’t be a problem. He wasn’t dismissing it, but rather just stating what I think he believed to be true. What I don’t know is how much might be too much. You said two gallons, but how much gas is in the tank otherwise?

Filling the rest kind of makes sense to dilute it, probably filling with high octane would be best, I think diesel will lower the octane, or do I have that backwards? Just going off what I have heard and remember, but don’t rely on me.

It is probably better to have the gas siphoned out and replaced with regular unleaded.

Before posting this question, I was googling and I found that it’s not a totally uncommon problem, so I am guessing that the nozzle issue is one that gas stations do fairly frequently (switching out the nozzle for a regular nozzle to get the diesel pump working, when the nozzles break).

I haven’t known anyone that did it personally, but I know what happens. The diesel fuel has different viscosity and flammability than gasoline. In today’s vehicles with the fuel injectors, there are a number of problems along the fuel system. The fuel filters will likely clog quickly, once the diesel starts flowing. The fuel injectors will likely clog as well. The pistons and cylinders will get coated in unburned diesel which will gunk them all up. As part of the fix the tank will have to be completely drained and cleaned and all the fuel lines will have to be replaced. At least that is my guess on it. I used to do analyses on different fuels so I know a lot of their characteristics and I learned diesel mechanics back in the navy and know how a diesel engine works and how a gasoline engine works. The diesel fuel will not burn in a gasoline engine. The conditions are not right for it to combust.

@seawulf575 That’s what the mechanic said, new fuel lines and something about dropping the gas tank. He said it’s labor intensive. He’s going to look at it Monday and let us know if the car can be saved.

I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced it and if how the car was after repairs.

Don’t know if this will give you more info or not:

https://topdriver.com/education-blog/what-to-do-if-you-put-diesel-in-a-gas-engine/

Thank you everyone! I’ll update tomorrow when we hear from the mechanic. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed it’s do-able. I am expecting a hefty repair bill but we’ll see if it’s even do-able.

I think the repair bill will depend a lot on how much she drove it with the tainted fuel and how tainted it was.

Don’t let them know you’re expecting a hefty bill, but you probably already know that.

We got the car back yesterday, and it was 750 dollars. I paid cash (and got a receipt) and saved on tax. With tax, it would have been about 840.

They replaced some engine seals, six spark plugs, One seal was 34 dollars, one was 24 dollars. Spark plugs were 72 dollars. 600 dollars for labor. He said he replaced the fuel lines but I don’t see a price for that on the receipt.

I haven’t driven the car yet but the mechanic said he drove it a few times and it runs great, and my daughter drove it home from the shop and she said it is fine.

I asked her if the car hesitates at all and she said no. I asked if she saw any lights on the dashboard and she said no.

I’ll drive it over the weekend but so far, I’m happy and I was relieved it wasn’t too expensive. I mean, it was expensive enough but it wasn’t crazy.

Great news!! Congrats!

Whew! :^)

He also didn’t charge for the tow, which I have no idea what that would cost because I have AAA and so haven’t ever paid for it, but my daughter doesn’t. I have to put her on my AAA but in the meantime, it was probably about 7 miles to the place. Once I said she was at the pump crying, he said he would send the truck right away, and he did.

Is the gas station paying for any of it?

@JLeslie i thought about it but since ideally she should have gone in to tell the gas station worker what happened, and she didn’t, and ideally she should have taken photos of the diesel pump with the regular nozzle on it, and she didn’t, I was thinking he’d say, or his attorney would say, what proof do you have that this occurred there? I could have tried, but since our ducks weren’t in a row, I felt we were on shaky ground. I wasn’t there, I was an hour away, so by the time I got to the area the car was towed and she was home.

@jca2 Understandable. Not worth the stress and hassle. It’s done now, and luckily everything and everyone is ok.