Apparently, there are tens of thousands of motorists who put the wrong fuel in their car every year. In the main, more of those motorists are putting petrol into diesel cars rather than the other way around as the nozzle on a diesel pump tends to be too big to fit into the filler cap on a petrol tank.
So, what are some of the problems when such a mistake is made? Well, there is the cost involved in having your fuel tank drained and cleaned even if you have not turned your engine on after making the error. It is estimated that the cost could be anywhere between £120 to £1,000. However, if you have started your car engine then the cost could potentially run in several thousand pounds as damage could have been caused to parts of the engine.
You may find it of interest to note that some car insurance policies do include cover for misfuelling as standard and some provide it as an optional extra. There are some insurers who do not offer such cover at all in their car insurance policies. If they do not then it may be possible to obtain such cover independently.
However, some car insurance policies that do offer such misfuelling cover may only offer to pay for the cost of draining and flushing your fuel tank and may not also include cover to repair any resulting damage from you mistakenly putting in the wrong type of fuel. Therefore, you really should check the policy wording to establish exactly what you are covered for.
You should also check if there is a limit upon how much an insurer will pay out in the event of a claim for misfuelling. Another thing to consider is if there is an excess amount that you have to pay when making a claim for misfuelling.
If you have put the wrong type of fuel in your car and identify this before starting your car make sure that you do not put the ignition on. Put the car into neutral and push it to a safe place and then arrange to get help to have your fuel tank drained and cleaned. If you have started the car before realizing you have put in the wrong type of fuel then, when safe to do so, turn off the engine, move the car to a safe place and get some assistance from the likes of your insurer or breakdown recovery company.
Let us hope that you never put the wrong fuel in your car but if you do you will probably have been grateful that you had made sure that you are insured for such an unwelcome mistake.
