A VETERAN mechanic has reassured drivers that adding the wrong fuel is avoidable by looking at the size and color of nozzles.
When fueling up after a long day, mistakes can easily be made if you don't know what to look for.
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Accidentally putting gasoline in a diesel tank is a lot more common than most people would like to admit, but Dwayne Saunders, owner and mechanic at Genuine Automotive & Diesel in Austin, Texas says it can be avoided by knowing what to look for.
For starters, a fuel nozzle for diesel will almost always stand out from standard gasoline nozzles at fueling stations.
"The nozzle for the diesel pump is usually much bigger than gasoline pump nozzles, so it's actually pretty hard to put diesel in a gas tank," Saunders exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
"It's actually easier to accidentally put gasoline in a diesel engine."
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Additionally, Saunders notes that typically, nozzles for diesel fuel tend to be green, while gasoline nozzles tend to be black.
However, it depends on the fueling company, as there's no law currently in place that requires each fuel type to have the same colored nozzle.
According to AAA, nozzles for either diesel or gasoline can be either green, black, red, or yellow - it all depends on the station.
Some pumps can deliver different types of fuel through the same nozzle, so it's important to know exactly what kind of fuel your car requires, and be a vigilant label-reader.
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You can tell what type of fuel your vehicle requires by reading the owner's manual, or by reading the inside of the fuel door before fueling.
"The best advice we can give you: Read the pump label," read AAA's website.
"There are laws that require each type of fuel dispensed to be clearly labeled. A few extra seconds when selecting fuel can prevent many hours and hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in vehicle repairs."
Speaking of repairs, Saunders says there's no need to worry about draining a bank account as engines will usually not run long enough with the wrong fuel to cause detrimental damage.
"No matter which way you do it, your car is going to run badly immediately," Saunders said.
"It's hard for an engine to run off of the wrong kind of fuel, so it'll likely due within a few minutes or running."
If you start the vehicle and run it and notice it running badly, immediately shut the engine off and inspect what kind of fuel was added into the tank.
Should you notice the wrong kind of fuel was added to the tank, be sure to call a tow truck and have it towed to your trusted mechanic.
There, they'll drain the tank, flush out the fuel lines with fresh fuel, and clean it out with a fuel system cleaner.
