There’s no shame in admitting to being guilty of putting the wrong fuel in your tank. If you’ve been in a rush, been stressed or had a momentary lapse in concentration, it happens to the best of us!
The most important part of this is to know what to do when you’ve made this mistake, as all is not lost.
Notify the petrol station that if you’ve done this whilst filling up – this way they can either cone off the area in which your car is parked or have someone help you to move your car to a safer area of the station.
If you’ve miss-fuelled and haven’t noticed until you’ve driven off, your engine will more than likely stop in its tracks, sooner rather than later. If this happens whilst you’re out and about make sure that you get your car to a safe area (that might mean pushing it)
Call your breakdown cover emergency line – most standard breakdown cover policies will take you to the nearest garage or to your home. But draining the tank might come at an extra cost.
Some breakdown providers offer a drainage service as an add-on to their cover, so it’s worth checking beforehand. Whether you’re covered or not under your insurance is a trickier matter. Some insurers may include miss-fuelling cover as standard, but this isn’t the norm, so check.
You might be able to claim for a drain-and-refuel under the accidental damage part of your policy. However, any resulting damage to the engine may not be covered. In any case, it’s best to check the small print of your policy to make sure.
For further information on what to do if you put the wrong fuel in your vehicle, or to make sure you’re covered for an unfortunate event such as this, call a member of the Macadams team on: 0370 4285191