Oh ****, petrol in the D4!

**p38arover** · 13th January 2016, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by scarry

Are you sure?

I asked them a couple of years ago and i am sure they said it was covered,but maybe it was for dirty fuel only?

I raised this question during a coffee break with an NRMA patrolman a couple of weeks back. He's been to a few of these (not LR). He's replaced the filter, drained the tank and, in most cases, all has been well.

He did mention the insurance companies no longer cover it.

DiscoMick · 13th January 2016, 01:48 PM

I'd get legal advice about making a warranty claim on the basis the misfuelling device failed to perform as promised, leading to the damage.

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**vnx205** · 13th January 2016, 02:33 PM

People are suggesting that the damage is caused by the fact that petrol does not provide the same lubrication as diesel.

If that is correct, then how much lubrication is needed to avoid damage?

If the tank was still 1/4 full of diesel and it was topped up with petrol, would there be enough lubrication to survive a few kilometres?

Might that be the reason some people seem to have avoided expensive repairs while others who had less diesel left in the tank didn't have enough lubrication available and suffered the consequences?

Could it be that if your tank was stlll almost half full of diesel, you stand a good chance of getting away with it and that if the tank was almost bone dry you will almost certainly be facing a big bill?

**ADMIRAL** · 14th January 2016, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by vnx205

People are suggesting that the damage is caused by the fact that petrol does not provide the same lubrication as diesel.

If that is correct, then how much lubrication is needed to avoid damage?

If the tank was still 1/4 full of diesel and it was topped up with petrol, would there be enough lubrication to survive a few kilometres?

Might that be the reason some people seem to have avoided expensive repairs while others who had less diesel left in the tank didn't have enough lubrication available and suffered the consequences?

Could it be that if your tank was stlll almost half full of diesel, you stand a good chance of getting away with it and that if the tank was almost bone dry you will almost certainly be facing a big bill?

If the petrol to diesel ratio is high, the vehicle will not run, or at least not start. Saves the day. If there is a low ratio of petrol in the mix, it may run, but will be rough. I guess if you persist in using the vehicle under these conditions, damage may result.

As a matter of interest, the fuel save device is useless when service stations have different size nozzles for the different octanes. My first incident was at a BP garage, and the nozzle for petrol ( can't recall for which octane ) was the same size as the diesel. I have since removed the fuel save device. The best way to check you have the correct fuel selected, is to check the price and fuel type when it comes up on the pump. No point in relying on a mechanical block when there are so many variables in the fuel delivery setups at service stations.

**Nicky** · 14th January 2016, 08:20 AM

Good advice!

**Celtoid** · 15th January 2016, 01:25 AM

Why is this a warranty question? Sorry but.

Owner puts wrong fuel in the car .... It's clearly posted on the car and the pump .....

Why is this a warranty issue?

**Meken** · 15th January 2016, 06:22 AM

I was told on collection that there is a misfuel device that prevents you putting petrol in instead of diesel - device obviously failed as the wife put petrol in

**RHS58** · 15th January 2016, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by Meken

I was told on collection that there is a misfuel device that prevents you putting petrol in instead of diesel - device obviously failed as the wife put petrol in

It's definitely a question worth asking of LR.
I'd bet the initial response will be in the negative.
Then worth asking again though and pushing the issue.

**Nomad9** · 16th January 2016, 11:16 AM

Hi There,
Drain the fuel, refill with diesel change the filters, bleed as best you can and go for a start. See how it goes. Whilst warranty would be a nice option as mentioned I don't think you will get very far with this. The vehicle has diesel written everywhere, the diesel bowser you filled up from also has diesel written on it, petrol was chosen.
Friend did the same recently with his Jeep, drained it out and ran it, still going fine his was only three weeks old. That was what Jeep did not him himself, Jeep maybe not the best example however that's what happened.
Hope you have a favourable outcome.

Cheers Marty

**Celtoid** · 16th January 2016, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by Meken

I was told on collection that there is a misfuel device that prevents you putting petrol in instead of diesel - device obviously failed as the wife put petrol in

Don't get me wrong, I'm sympathetic to the OP, I'd hope that LR are too 'cause mistakes do happen. However, the reality is they may not cover operator error. That's my only point.

Being an owner of D4s for over 5 years now and fairly familiar with the mis-fuelling device, it's nothing more of an alert that you have tried to put the wrong fuel hose down the hole, it's not activated by fuel type. The device can be triggered by Jerry Can fillers and fuel funnels.

The most noteworthy part is the fact that you can still add fuel to the car with the device deployed .... it just takes longer and the nozzle won't go in as far.

I know this 'cause I refuelled my car a couple of times with the mis-fuel device deployed (after using a Jerry whilst camping) and didn't even realise. I just thought the fuel bowsers were a bit temperamental. It was only when the sunlight illuminated the refuel hole at just the right angle, that I saw the colour of the device.

So the device in this case maybe didn't fail, it's just not designed (for whatever reason) to completely block the filler. Maybe in case the owner doesn't have the tool with them or such like. So rather than strand the owner, it 'MAY' alert them to the problem but still allow them to fuel up (hopefully with the correct fuel). I notice the OP states that the device hadn't deployed at all .... which is an issue. However, after the fact, trying to 'prove' to LR that this is an issue could be difficult .... unless it still doesn't work maybe.

I didn't notice mine deploy but was struggling singlehandedly with the Jerry and filler hose at the time. Maybe it would have been more obvious if it had happened using a standard bowser?

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