AAARRHHH! I put unleaded in my diesel - please help an idiot out

[gIzzE]

I can't believe what I did yesterday, my last cars were a 320d touring, audi a4 tdi avant, audi a4 tdi saloon and now I have an ML270cdi.
And yesterday I put BP's ultimate unleaded in my car! Like an idiot I didn't even read the pump properly, I had filled up with ultimate diesel a couple of times at a station on the other side of town and when I pulled into the station a few hundred yards from my house was chuffed that the ultimate logo was on the pump with a nice blue handle. Didn't realise that the unleaded and diesel both use blue handle just different shades to distinguish them

The car had around 1/4 tank of diesel in it, I realised what I had done after £10 or 14 litres worth. I got the car the few hundred yards back to mine but do not want to run it any further without advice, don't really fancy calling MB either, rather they didn't know.

I can get a pump to get the fuel out but can you actually get to the fuel from the filler cap ?

I live in the city too, so it would be difficult for me to drain it where it is located at the moment, where is the fuel drain located ??

If anyone can tell me my best option, the friend I was with last night did virtually the same thing with his c220cdi a couple of years back, he was on reserve and put around 12 litres in it of unleaded, he just filled the car up with diesel so there was around 80/20 mix of diesel/unleaded and he said it was fine.
My car has a 70 litre tank with 14 litres of unleaded in it so if i filled the rest up with diesel it would leave me with a 80/20 mix, is this a real gamble though? a few people have said you should be alright, but I would rather hear someone say you will be alright than should.


Any advice would be most appreciated, earlier the better, need to get this sorted one way or another today, as I have appointments tomorrow.

thanks all.

 

[mercmanuk]

costly mistake

a mate of mine filled his 2 week old ml cdi with unleaded ,drove 1/2 mile then it stalled ,he called mercedes whitefield who towed it back,kept it a day and gave him a bill for £1500,and kept the petrol....wont happen again....also told him if the engine developes a fault that could be caused by this mistake in the future while still under warranty it might not be covered by mercedes...

 

[gIzzE]

That's why I didnt want to get MB involved.
I think my best bet is to get it drained and replaced the filters, there is a garage at the end of my street, I will ask if they can do it for me.

did he fill the whole tank with unleaded or just a few litres ?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Sp!ke]

Do you have home start?

I believe the AA are quite used to this kind of thing

 

[gIzzE]

I don't, I have the mercedes one that comes with the car, but for obvious reasons I do not want to call them.

I think it is get the car drained and filters changed, I was sort of hoping someone was going to say fill the tank full of diesel so it is diluted and keep filling it up as you use a tenners worth over and over until the unleaded has gone.

 

[kusanku]

Don't drive it. Diesel has a lubricating quality, whereas petrol acts as a cleaner, so your pump will sieze up rapidly. Petrol in a diesel car is much worse than the other way round. Draining the tank and changing the filters sounds like the best course of action.
BP are complete twats for having both diesel and unleaded in blue. Have nearly made the same mistake myself as a result of this. Hope you can sort it without too much stress.
Simon

 

[miro]

I can't believe what I did yesterday, my last cars were a 320d touring, audi a4 tdi avant, audi a4 tdi saloon and now I have an ML270cdi.
And yesterday I put BP's ultimate unleaded in my car! Like an idiot I didn't even read the pump properly, I had filled up with ultimate diesel a couple of times at a station on the other side of town and when I pulled into the station a few hundred yards from my house was chuffed that the ultimate logo was on the pump with a nice blue handle. Didn't realise that the unleaded and diesel both use blue handle just different shades to distinguish them

I saw a group of people do this in a Great Race reality show. Several of them just got under the car and dumped the petrol, had the 4WD towed back to the pertrol station and refilled with diesel.

I have no idea how it affects reliability but I tend to think engines are designed for contained explosions and so long as you have plenty of those you can move forwards.

 

[jaymanek]

We own a service station. We normally go for the dilute option if the customer has only put a bit in. You should be ok, but never done it on an ML.
If you want to be safe then drain it out...

 

[NormanB]

The car had around 1/4 tank of diesel in it, I realised what I had done after £10 or 14 litres worth. I got the car the few hundred yards back to mine but do not want to run it any further without advice, don't really fancy calling MB either, rather they didn't know.


I live in the city too, so it would be difficult for me to drain it where it is located at the moment, where is the fuel drain located ??

.

Hi
I have done this the other way round!
The AA will just tow you to a garage and they just love the opportunity to fleece you -environmental charges. I got them to tow me home (1 mile)

I think you have too much unleaded in there to be 'safe' the rule of thumb is less than 10% then don't worry.

I siphoned mine out and put it into old oil (1 gallon) plastic containers - had to enlist the help of neighbours to rustle up all that I needed (4.5gallons). It only took me an hour!!!!!

I dumped it in the local amenity tip - dirty oil recycling tank - well it is an oil product

Just syphon as much as you can out and then brim it with diesel should be OK.

Good Luck

NormanB

 

[gIzzE]

thanks for all the replies.

you sure I can syphon it out ??? I have a pump to do that with but presumed there would be security measures to stop me getting in the tank that way.

The tank is 83 litres with just under 14 litres of unleaded in it, so I have decided, with advice from 3 seperate people, to fill the rest up with diesel with a little 2 stroke oil in it to help lubrication, and drive it over to my father in laws to drain it all out and then fill it up again with diesel.

 

[jaymanek]

yes, you may have to find the drain plug as most cars have anti syphon now.

Jay

 

[NormanB]

thanks for all the replies.

The tank is 83 litres with just under 14 litres of unleaded in it, so I have decided, with advice from 3 seperate people, to fill the rest up with diesel with a little 2 stroke oil in it to help lubrication, and drive it over to my father in laws to drain it all out and fill it up again with diesel.

Thats a lot of contaminated mix to find a 'home' for

 

[gIzzE]

Is there a drain plug on it? I thought that maybe the tank needed removing.

 

[guydewdney]

no drain plug listed..

 

[NormanB]

thanks for all the replies.

you sure I can syphon it out ??? I have a pump to do that with but presumed there would be security measures to stop me getting in the tank that way.

Try it - it will do no harm. OR suck it and see!

 

[pammy]

Not unsympathetic to your cause in anway - but something that might at least give you a smile about it:


http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/795/

On the first page select other and type in visitor - needs Quick Time to run



And on a serious note - IF the handles are so close in colour making it a ridiculously easy mistake to make etc - is it worth complaining to BP about it - surely they are at least partly responsible and you are prob not the only one to have done it.

 

[smartbrabus]

You could always go and park near some pikeys - they'll have the tank drained in a jiffy. You may have to fix the drill holes afterwards though...

 

[Ian B Walker]

http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/795/

On the first page select other and type in visitor - needs Quick Time to run

Hmmm, another busy day at the office

 

[pammy]

Hmmm, another busy day at the office

just grabbing a few min's before I go off for a couple of hours or so - so just behave while I'm away

 

[Ian B Walker]

- so just behave while I'm away

Yes Ma'am