Picked up the wrong tap - now it's getting expensive!

Recently updated on September 22, 2023 at 02:22 am

Be clever - avoid engine damage – Wrong refueling is the order of the day in Germany. According to AvD (Automobile Club of Germany) every tenth breakdown is caused by incorrect refueling. Hundreds of drivers use the wrong tap every day. The ADAC alone deploys 20000 times a year to help in such situations.

"We know the problem of the breakdown service well enough and have misfuellings at our gas station several times a week. From small cars to tuned sports cars, diesel and gasoline, women and men - it's all there.”Reports Daniel Horn from the Horn / ADAC breakdown service.

If you make the mistake, you have to pay yourself

If you accidentally fill up the tank incorrectly and drive off, you risk major engine damage. The annoying thing is that neither insurance companies nor automobile clubs or letters of cover cover the follow-up costs. The problem of misfuelling is known to the insurers and is increasingly moving into their focus. The insurers also provide information, publish advice, etc., but there is no real solution to the problem. When it happens, drivers are left with the costs.

A handful of companies now provide protection for up to 500 euros in their protection letter. However, this is only enough for towing, pumping out, disposing of the fuel mixture and perhaps cleaning the injection system. In the case of automobile clubs, only the ACV explicitly pays. At other clubs, it takes a real breakdown for the breakdown service to take over. Because filling the tank incorrectly is not considered braking, operational or breakage damage and is therefore not part of the range of services offered by these automobile clubs.

What happens in the engine

Incorrect refueling causes engine damage. Modern diesel engines are dependent on the lubrication of the diesel in the injection system (diesel is oil). If there is no lubrication from the accidentally added gasoline, the injectors will be damaged and metal chips can even get into the engine compartment. In newer models with a high-pressure fuel pump, it is sufficient if the fuel pump is running when the ignition is switched on. If you press z. For example, if you press the start button for a second on a 6-cylinder Audi, you have caused a shockingly high damage of 8000 euros.

With gasoline engines, the situation differs from car to car and is hardly better: "Most of the time, the injection system is also damaged. This is why it is fundamentally important not to start the engine under any circumstances and always seek professional help”Advises Daniel Horn.

Wrong sense of security

Most motorists know about the danger, but at the same time think that it only ever happens to others:

“I know what to fill up. I know my car. "

Practice shows: With a few exceptions, all false tankers know what to refuel. Ignorance is not the cause, but a lack of attention due to stress, distraction, fatigue, time pressure, etc.

"I'm a good driver, it certainly won't happen to me."

Incorrect. TÜV Nord states that “Even experienced drivers accidentally use the wrong tap".

"I have a gasoline engine, nothing can happen to me."

Whether normal diesel or tuned gasoline - both variants can be refueled incorrectly. Theoretically, the thicker diesel fuel nozzle does not fit into the smaller filler neck of the gasoline engine, but it doesn't have to either: If you are under stress, insert the pistol as far in as you can, jerk a little back and forth and then pull the trigger! The pressure opens the flap and lets the diesel into the tank.

How can you protect yourself?

The ADAC has been warning of misfuelling for years and demands that all cars be equipped with misfuelling protection as standard and across the board, as well as the best possible labeling in the area of ​​the fuel filler cap.

Unfortunately, to date only a few manufacturers offer such a protective device. These are then only available for certain models and usually only for diesel cars. Alternatively, the market offers retrofit tank caps that do not allow petrol into a diesel tank. They are vehicle-specific and cost around 50 euros and up.

The bottom line is that the best thing to do is: watch out! Because, strictly speaking, misfuelling is not a technical problem, but a human-psychological one! Man makes the mistake. This is precisely why there are now clever helpers who ensure that nothing can go wrong when refueling. The whole thing doesn't have to cost a lot, but it can protect against fatal consequences. A new, universally suitable helper for diesel and gasoline engines, the tank friend, to have we even tried it.

Of course that had not happened yet!

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