What Happens If You Put Diesel Fuel In Your Car?

First of all, let me start by saying, I know you're sooooo not supposed to do that.  But it is one of those questions where I KNEW it was bad, and I knew it would probably K.O. my car, but... what actually happens, you know? I admit, I'm curious. Now, I'm not curious enough to go putting diesel fuel in my little Corolla.  Don't get it twisted. But, I found this video on YouTube....and I thought, "Well, If I wanna know, maybe THEY wanna know?"

For the young people or any new drivers, let's explain it first. Firstly, it would be really hard for you to do this by accident.  The nozzles on diesel pumps are slightly bigger than the ones on regular pumps.  So unless you have a really old car, they won't fit in your gas tank.

But if you did somehow get diesel fuel in your tank, it wouldn't be good.  I'll keep it to a simple explanation so that I understand it. Gas engines use spark plugs to ignite the fuel.  Diesel engines do it with compression.  That's one reason they need different types of fuel.  And the two fuels really ARE different.  It's not like Coke vs. Pepsi.

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If you somehow ended up with diesel fuel in your car, it wouldn't run for very long.  It might go for a while if there was still some gas mixed in there.  But pretty soon it would start making weird noises.  And eventually it wouldn't work at all.

Best case scenario, you'd have to flush the whole system, and replace some parts.  Depending on the car, that might cost between $500 and $1,500.  Or you might have to replace the whole engine.  Obviously that would cost a lot more.

So if you ever do end up with diesel fuel in your car, don't drive it.  Turn the engine off, and have it towed to a mechanic.  Otherwise you'll just make the damage worse.

Now, we've all learned a little something about what NOT to do. Go forth and be knowledgeable!

Diesely yours,
Behka