As crazy as it may sound, it is a common mistake across the UK – in fact motoring organisations reckon it happens to another unfortunate motorist every 3-4 minutes. All it takes is a hint of tiredness, stress or distraction and you could see yourself falling as the next victim at the fuel station.

You may think this is the end of your car, but the real damage is only done when you turn the key and drive off – so as long as you spot your mistake at the pump, you could only endure the wait and cost of having your fuel tank pumped instead of thousands of pounds of repairs to the engine.

Turning the key is the biggest mistake you can make, as even if you don’t actually start the engine, illuminating the dashboard lights could mean your fuel pump whirrs into life. It’s supposed to prime the engine with diesel before it starts, but instead could be sucking petrol up the fuel lines. This means they’ll need draining and flushing as well as the fuel tank. If you get as far as starting the engine, there’s a whole lot more that can go wrong besides.

If you get as far as driving your car the most important thing is not to panic!

Many drivers even get off the forecourt of the fueling station without realising their mistake – until the engine starts to stutter and stall a few miles down the road that is.

It’s important to note at this point that driving your car a very short distance on the wrong fuel is not guaranteed to damage vital components. However, driving with petrol in the tank of a diesel car will cause serious and expensive damage in a very short period of time and the potential costs of repair are not worth the attempt to drive home. Therefore as soon as you realise your mistake, you should pull over and call for recovery.

5 Top Tips:

1. Stop fuelling immediately: If you’ve only put in a splash of petrol, some experts say there’s a chance you can get away with it – as long as there’s not more than 5 per cent petrol in your diesel. If you do want to risk driving on, stop frequently to top up the diesel and thus reduce the percentage of petrol in your tank as quickly as possible.
2. Inform the filling station attendants: They will take it in their stride, as it happens to hapless motorists all the time. If they want you to move your car, ask them to help you push it – remembering to turn the key in the ignition just far enough to unlock the steering. Don’t illuminate the dashboard lights or start the engine!
3. Call your breakdown service or a specialist misfuelling service: The filling station will likely have contact details for a suitable company if your breakdown service can’t assist. Don’t be harassed into using an operator you’re not comfortable with though, as you can find well-known nationwide operators using google and a smartphone.
4. Wait with the car (as long as it’s parked safely): The tank can usually be drained and flushed in situ in around 30-40 minutes. Afterwards you’ll be able to fill it up again – hopefully with the right fuel this time – and drive away.
5. Lock the car and leave it if you can’t wait: Don’t worry about locking the doors with central locking if you don’t want to wait with the car. It won’t affect the fuel system.

Tips and advice from autoexpress.co.uk