{"id":5043,"date":"2024-09-25T05:40:20","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T02:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/?p=5043"},"modified":"2024-09-25T05:40:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T02:40:20","slug":"fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I tell whether my car runs on diesel or petrol? @KenyanTraffic"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past, diesel cars were easy to spot: you could tell by the tractor-like sound of the engine! Modern diesel engines have made it a lot harder to tell the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the two types of engine are still completely different. And you can cause serious damage by putting diesel in a petrol car, or the other way around. Aside from draining the fuel tank, a mechanic might have to clean or replace the entire fuel injection system, which can cost a tidy some.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your insurance most certainly won\u2019t cover the cost, so you\u2019ll have to foot the bill yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

So \u2013 how do you tell which fuel to put in and the logbook is out of reach?<\/span><\/p>\n

Look for a sticker<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Fuel<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes car makers put stickers in different places around the car to tell you which fuel to use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Try opening the little \u2018door\u2019 over the fuel cap to see if there\u2019s a sticker on the inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t find a label\u00a0anywhere, then it\u2019s time to look for another clue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check the model name<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Car<\/span><\/p>\n

There might be a clue on the back of the car itself. Often, cars that have diesel engines will have a \u2018D\u2019 in the model name. For example, the name \u2018Ford Mondeo TDCi\u2019 tells you that the car is a Turbo Diesel with Common Rail Injection\u2026 not that anyone\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0needs to know what common rail injection is.<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nCar manufacturers use a lot of model names, such as \u2018TDI\u2019, \u2018HDi\u2019, \u2018GTD\u2019, \u2018dCi\u2019, \u2018JTD\u2019 and so on. If your car has a badge like this on the back with a \u2018D\u2019, it\u2019s likely to be a diesel car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See if the fuel pump will fit<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve searched the entire car from bumper to bumper and still not found any clues, you may be tempted to just go ahead and fill up. This will require you to get out of the car and follow the attandant. What you might not know is that diesel pump nozzles are thicker than petrol ones. So putting diesel in a petrol car can be pretty difficult: if it feels like you\u2019re really having to force a diesel nozzle into the \u2018fuel neck\u2019, it could mean the car uses petrol.<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nHowever, putting a thinner petrol nozzle into a diesel car is, sadly, very easy. And, because petrol doesn\u2019t have any lubricating qualities\u00a0(like diesel does), putting petrol into a diesel can be particularly bad for mechanical components such as the fuel pump.<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nUltimately, if you\u2019re still not sure what fuel to use, it\u2019s best to contact an expert \u2013 before you fill up.<\/span><\/p>\n

What to do if you get it wrong<\/span><\/h2>\n

We all make mistakes from time to time, so don\u2019t panic if you realise you\u2019ve put the wrong fuel in the engine. The most important thing to remember is not to start the car, even if the impatient driver behind you is getting frustrated. Starting the engine will begin\u00a0the fuel circulating \u2013 and that can do some serious damage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask the fuel station staff to help you move the car out of the way safely and then contact a qualified mechanic, who will help you get back on the road.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past, diesel cars were easy to spot: you could tell by the tractor-like sound of the engine! Modern diesel engines have made it a lot harder to tell the difference. But the two types of engine are still completely different. And you can cause serious damage by putting diesel in a petrol car,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1954,1674,1914,1903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-literacy","category-driving-advice","category-how-to","category-howto"],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sej6K6-fuel","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-content\/uploads\/pretol-or-diesel-magaripoa.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magaripoa.com\/gari\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}