Unleaded in my 55 plate BMW 318D SE

[adw_uk]

I'm in a cold sweat!

On Sat 23rd I absent-mindedly added 14 litres of unleaded to 1/3 tank diesel! I have not started the car and it has been recovered to my dealer, Cooper BMW Tunbridge Wells, who will be giving me the estimate in a few hours time.

My boss did the same thing last year with his new Audi A4 and it cost him just £400 to have it drained and flushed but Lind BMW Maidstone (called for their opinion) are saying that because I opened the door to put it in neutral and take off the handbrake for loading onto the lorry it may cost many thousands to repair as the fuel system was primed!

Can anyone offer me some hope that they will be able to drain and flush it for a reasonable fee or are BMW going over-the-top to make more money off me? Also, what do insurance companies do about this, I am hoping my 'accidental damage' cover will pay if it's over my excess of £400.

I live in Maidstone, Kent so does anyone know of an alternative garage/service centre who may drain and flush if BMW are indeed ripping me off/erring on the side of caution?

Finally, if so much damage can be caused by such a simple (and common as I'm finding out) mistake what are BMW doing to take out the human error element at the pumps? Nowadays it should be simple to fit a microchip inside the rim and one to the pump that only allows flow if they match.

And why are diesel pumps different colours at different stations. Most are black but at Sainsbury's they are yellow!

Regards,
Andrew

Edited by adw_uk on Thursday 28th December 11:58

[agent006]

adw_uk said:

are BMW going over-the-top to make more money off me?

It's a grey area, so they most probably will. If you opened the door and put it in neutral then it won't have primed the pumps, unless you turned the ignition on.
Tell them to drain and clean the tank and no more, keep a tight hold on the keys so they can't "accidentally" prime the pumps on your behalf.

[adw_uk]

Lind BMW Maidstone told me authoritatively that the new 318d SE (55 plate) has a fuel system that is electronically triggered by the door opening and primes in anticipation of you wanting to put the electronic key into the dash then push the Start button.

Cooper BMW Tunbridge Wells tell me this morning that as long as I haven't started it it should just be a case of draining it and they expect the bill to be well under £400.

The suspense is killing me!

Edited by adw_uk on Thursday 28th December 11:59

[M5Dave]

My dad's friend did this with his 530d not long after he got it. He didn't start the car and the local dealer just drained the tank and refilled it, he's now had the car four years and it's been as right as rain ever since.

I also know someone who did the same with a two month old Jaguar S-Type diesel and ran the car for a few miles before realising his mistake. The dealer wanted to replace the fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel pump and injectors at a cost of £3,500. He took the car to a local garage who charged £250 to drain the tank and flush the fuel system, and again the car is now over two years old and he's never had any bother.

[adw_uk]

I've just called Alex at BMW UK Customer Services to request a third opinion and she put me onto a 'Steve James' technician who said if it was coming in to them they would drain it, flush it with diesel and see how it was. I think maybe they are a bit cautious in case someone says they haven't started the engine but the actual evidence suggests they may have.

[jhoneyball]

Last year I rather stupidly put 50 litres of diesel into my '89 xpack Aston Martin Vantage. Not the most sensible thing I've ever done, I admit... :-(

[blackspider]

Steve James,nice lad and talks sence.The later dervs will prime the fuel system when the vehicle is unlocked.

If it was my car..
Firstly drain and flush the tank out.As the first priming pump is out when you do this I would clean it out-Ideally rig the pump up to 12v and earth(safely),submerge the pump in a bowl of diesel and run.Refit all and put diesel in tank(20 l ish).

Secondly disconnect fuel line in front(engine side)of the second priming pump under the n/s of the vehicle-fit a pipe to the pump long enough to go into a large can(10L +)-then turn the ign on(not start)this will activate the pumps-let it run for about a minute(this will come out at 4bar so a bit of safe working needed(googles etc).Ign off Reconnect pipe.

Thirdly now turn the ign on(not start) and let the pumps prime-after about a minute ir so the pumps will switch off-turn the ign off,wait for a short while and do the same 3 more time-this will push the rest of the fuel up to the HP pump and then back to the tank(the HP pump should be ok if the engine hasnt been cranked.)

Fourthly now remove the remaining fuel from the tank and refil.This should hopefully remove almost all traces of unleaded.(it all takes about 2.5 hours)

You can go further and remove the injectors and lines but if the engine hasnt been cranked then they should be ok-Warning-If anyone has the urdge to crack off an injector pipe to bleed or force the fuel out with the engine running-DONT-this is at a pressure of anywhere upto 1600bar and will kill you.

We have done many of these-if the the engine hasnt been started I do this method(never had one come back)If the engine has been started then its only a matter of miles before injetors fail and the HP pump so it tend to be a system replacement.

[adw_uk]

Thanks for your detailed post blackspider, it's appreciated. I'm an IT Manager myself working with computers 40 hours a week but still occasionally answer IT questions in my spare time in forums like www.experts-exchange.com just to help those (like me in this case) in a bit of a flap!

Cooper BMW have told me today that as long as I haven't cranked the engine (definately have not) they expect it to take 2 hours labour plus diesel to drain and flush the system on Tuesday.

I have printed this post and will take it in with me just so they know what they are doing!

Once it's all resolved I will post the results and costs incurred for anyone else who may experience this problem in the future.

[adw_uk]

Final Tally from Cooper BMW Maidstone:

£100.00 - Drain and fill fuel tank
£60.00 - Flush through fuel line/Tank open time
£4.95 - EPC Environmental waste disposal

£40.00 - Replace fuel filter
£21.11 - Fuel filter

£9.19 - Fuel

£235.25 - Net
£41.17 - Vat
£276.42 - Total

My insurance company 'Landmark' wanted nothing to do with me in my hour of need so I'm shopping around for an insurer who categorically (in writing) will cover it so Landmark will lose a £450 per year premium (no claims for 17 years)and a special mention must go to the lovely underwriter Mr. Clive Upton who's response was "yes we cover accidental damage but not if you accidentally damage the car yourself by putting in the wrong fuel, that is not covered as it is mechanical."

If anyone has a policy with this covered and I'm also thinking of a BDM remap to boost power by 35 bhp can they post the insurer here?

Regards,
Andrew

[Kinky]

Andrew - great news that it was only £275, as opposed to a £3k+ job - especially considering your insurance would not cover it.

A big weight off the shoulders I suspect.

As for potential insurance companies - pass - can't help there I'm afraid. Might be worth phoning around - and if so I'd personally recommend (as does MANY other PHers) A-Plan.

More info here: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=256657&f=23&h=0

Good luck - and I would be interested in the outcome, as I'm considering a diesel in the not to distant future.

K

[MrFlibbles]

adw_uk said:

Finally, if so much damage can be caused by such a simple (and common as I'm finding out) mistake what are BMW doing to take out the human error element at the pumps? Nowadays it should be simple to fit a microchip inside the rim and one to the pump that only allows flow if they match.

Sorry Andrew, I can't let this go without comment.

You can hardly blame the manufacturer for your mistake. Can't you read?

[olf]

adw_uk said:

My insurance company 'Landmark' wanted nothing to do with me in my hour of need so I'm shopping around for an insurer who categorically (in writing) will cover it so Landmark will lose a £450 per year premium (no claims for 17 years).

Christ, where do you live to pay that much insurance? I have a 330d with no points, parked on a driveway in not the nicest town in the country, 5 years NCB and only pay 550.

[adw_uk]

With regard to being able to read, I can, but on 22nd December and being faced with navigating the M20, M26, M40 etc and after a very busy week my mind was on anything but doing something I had done thousands of times over the last 20 years without incident, fill the tank using the green pump. Only having diesel since September which is as we all know the black pump, no actually it's yellow at Sainsbury's so I don't feel too stupid about this and if my boss can do it to his new Audi A4, my uncle did the same and drove off, the lorry guy who took the car home says he's called out all the time to drivers who've just switched to diesel and the BMW service guy in the dealership has done it twice in the past year it's not uncommon and we're not all thick.

I pay £450 a year for fully comp, pnc and live in a new house in a nice part of Maidstone, Kent. I haven't made a claim for 17 years but the maximum you can use with most insurers is five and all I'm looking for is cover for the time I absent-mindedly fill it with unleaded and drive off.

The only reason I created this thread is that others may do what I did at the pump then get home and google what they are to expect and hopefully find some information and guidance from experts like the very helpful blackspider.

Regards,
Andrew

[catherineJ]

Hi Andrew,

That is good news and of course accidents do happen. Now that we own a diesel and a petrol BMW it is my biggest fear that one day we will do what you have done by accident.

Agree with you about Blackspider he is an all round good egg.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I guess one day one will have a square nozzle, and one an oval one or something like that. (Mind you, the cross over period will be interesting )

but if you were cynical, you may say it's in every ones' interest, bar the motorist, to leave the potential for error

[blackspider]

Thanks for the comments

[IT10]

Apparently this is common ish in BP stations as the colour of the 'handles' for ultimate unleaded and ultimate diesel are similar (think thats right).
One of my colleagues put unleaded in his 3 series bimmer too and was told this, and I know he was talking to BP about getting them to pay for some of the cost as apparently they had on others.
I'll check this with him tomorrow if he is in the office and find out what happened

[adw_uk]

Do any of you experts have an opinion on Millers Diesel Power Plus fuel additive and if it can really enhance/clean/maintain/improve performance and economy?

I usually buy from Sainsbury's so would the Millers just put back in what's missing from the supermarket fuel but contained in BP Ultimate?

I'm planning to fill it up with diesel, add some Millers and drive straight up to my parents in the Midlands some 162 miles away.

BMW have said they don't recommend additive and a few threads on the web say it's just upper cylinder lubricant but others swear by them and insist they get 5mpg extra when they use it.

Edited by adw_uk on Thursday 4th January 17:13