Put petrol in your diesel? — free glovebox guide

Put petrol in your diesel? What to do in the first ten minutes, and how to fix it at home.

It happens to thousands of people a year, and it's fixable. If you catch it early and there's no damage, it's about $150 out of pocket instead of hundreds for a drain service, or thousands if it was driven.

One PDF, everything in it:

• Page 1 is the glovebox card. The first ten minutes, on one page. Print it and keep it in the car.
• The honest damage check: did it run, and on how much petrol?
• DIY, mobile service or mechanic, starting with the NRMA's advice, then how I did it myself.
• The full fix, one step per page: drain, rinse, fuel filter and prime, with simple diagrams and tick-boxes.
• A shopping list, safety rules, and how to get rid of the old fuel.
• Reference photos at the back, labelled, from the real job.

Written from a real job on my 2004 Prado 120 diesel, including what went wrong and how it got sorted.

Answer first. One job per page. Nothing to remember.

Glovebox Guides for your ADHD toolkit, because S#!T happens.

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General advice only, not professional mechanical advice. Check your owner's manual for your car's figures.