Ack....regular gas added to diesel X35d

Originally Posted by ard

Really? You actually think you might do this and therefore is an item of caution?

I get annoyed with the whole "Americans fear diesel" thing.....

Agreed! People are getting so used to automation that there's no place for common sense any more. Diesel and Petrol! Two different nozzles, two different colors. What else could anyone do to differentiate them? Any ideas?

Originally Posted by ard

Really? You actually think you might do this and therefore is an item of caution?

I get annoyed with the whole "Americans fear diesel" thing.....

I know, I know...I think this can happen to anyone. The only diesel I have owned so far was a VW Rabbit back in high school. Never made the mistake then, but not so sure now. But then, I have NEVER put the wrong octane fuel in my cars over the years either.

To those who feel this is a silly mistake, all I can say is please, don't think you are infallible, you are human and you will mess up, GUARANTEED. Not necessarily with refueling, but with anything at all. Common sense should tell you that

Originally Posted by vinsk

Two different nozzles, two different colors. What else could anyone do to differentiate them? Any ideas?

Not everywhere.

BP uses Green for their Gasoline nozzles at most, if not all, of their stations.

Your stories are making me nervous. I bought the 2011 335d for my blonde, yoga instructor fiancee. I have her call me every time she stops for fuel so I won't have heart failure wondering if she put gasoline in the car. A couple of times filling up her car the guy in the station comes running out 'stop! you're putting diesel in that car!!!'

Originally Posted by Weston Bimmer

I have her call me every time she stops for fuel

Wow. Had to say something. My wife would Fing kill me if I did that to her.


But..... she's not blonde.

She doesn't drive close to 10k miles/year, so she will probably only get fuel herself about a dozen times a year, I usually fill it if I drive it and it has less than half a tank. And she would kill me if she saw this post, but cars interest her about as much as yoga interests me, so no chance she will see this

Originally Posted by Weston Bimmer

...cars interest her about as much as yoga interests me, so no chance she will see this

Maybe if you both performed some 'yoga' together inside the car, all of it would become interesting to both of you!

Sorry, that was low hanging fruit... for the record, my wife also loves yoga and she has managed to get me to do it (yoga I mean) a few times too. Not inside any car, though...not yet anyway.

I deliberately didn't tell my wife about the adapter, for just that reason. I'd rather have her run dry and call BMW Assist than use the adapter on a petrol pump and grenade the engine.

Of course, the BMW Assist dude could pour gasoline in, but then the repairs would be on their dime, not mine.

I think that some images of the women in question would definitely add to this discussion.


Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse typos and lack of links.

Originally Posted by quackbury

I deliberately didn't tell my wife about the adapter, for just that reason. I'd rather have her run dry and call BMW Assist than use the adapter on a petrol pump and grenade the engine.
e.

I could tell her about every adapter, I-drive trick, adjustment and quirk...and she'd STILL call me and complain first!

Originally Posted by quackbury

I deliberately didn't tell my wife about the adapter, for just that reason. I'd rather have her run dry and call BMW Assist than use the adapter on a petrol pump and grenade the engine.

I've read more than once that when a current-day diesel engine runs dry restarting it isn't as easy as just putting in fuel as is the case with gas engines.The fuel line has to be "primed",manually I think,before it will start.If that's true running out of fuel could well involve a tow to a mechanic.

Originally Posted by Weston Bimmer

Your stories are making me nervous. I bought the 2011 335d for my blonde, yoga instructor fiancee.

Wait a minute! You're buying a $50K vehicle for your fiancee? How about if I move up to the Gay State and you and I can get together.I'm balding,have 5 o'clock shadow at noon but I'm still kinda cute!

I think it depends on the fuel system. Some pumps require priming to get the air out of the lines and others do not. I would be surprised if the car engines required priming, but in any event it is never good to run a diesel (or any ICE) dry. If you have ever dropped a fuel tank it is amazing what kind of gunk you find in there. I remember my VW diesel had a rotary pump that did not, and my Mercedes had a bosch something that did. Both boat engines (a Ford Bedford and a VM turbo) did require pumping when I changed the fuel/water separator filters.

Listerone, $57k with options, and thanks, I needed a good laugh
We're moving to Malibu this summer, I hope I can find diesel there!
I just wish BMW made a nice convertible with a diesel...

West, lots of diesel in Malibu and it is the "premium" stuff thanks to the CARB which only allows that to be sold in CA.

Originally Posted by quackbury

I deliberately didn't tell my wife about the adapter, for just that reason. I'd rather have her run dry and call BMW Assist than use the adapter on a petrol pump and grenade the engine.

Of course, the BMW Assist dude could pour gasoline in, but then the repairs would be on their dime, not mine.

I'm not sure what how BMW's react to running out of fuel, but I have a good friend who ran his Ford F250 diesel out of fuel, and it cost him ~$500 to have the fuel system re-pressurized. Adding fuel alone wouldn't get it started...

I have a simple rule:

Someone gave me this piece of advice when I moved to this extreame climate area!!

Do not go below half-tank as much as possible. The reason is that moisture forms in the empty half and thus you get water in your fuel. Also the water in the fuel will freeze up in the fuel lines and thus no fuel to the engine and you cannot start the car in really cold weather. We are talking in excess of minus 40 C temperatures.

The second reason is that there is rust and other gunk that settles at the bottom of the fuel tank. You want to avoid thatas much as possible so that your fuel filter does not clog up.

Following this simple rule has given me trouble free use of my cars as far as fuel and filters are concerned.

I have heard back from Costco about ethanol in their gas.

They have said that there is no ethanol in their gas sold in Alberta.

That is good news as their gas is the cheapest around town and you get some money back if you happen to a premium member.

Originally Posted by RJ

Thanks for the warning about Costco Gas. I am not sure if it is any different here in Canada. I will surely be making an effort to find out about the level of ethanol in the gas here. I will also check with the dealer's service department to see if there is any problem with the Costco gas here in Canada.

One more thing. Here in Canada all diesel pumps are a bright yellow to diffentiate them from the gasoline pumps. However, people will still make a mistake when not paying full attention.

I disagree with having all this work done. I had a dodge ram before this and a few friends accidentally put some gas in their tanks, which they just topped off the tank and drove the fuel out. If it were me I would just drain the tank yourself and refill with diesel. Of course that was a Cummins but from what I know of diesel engines a few drops of gas won't hurt the motor. Gasoline has a lower energy content then diesel so it would be like putting a weak diesel in. I hope they don't charge you a 1000 bucks to drain an refill the tank should be more like 100 bucks.

just my two cents

Originally Posted by Weston Bimmer

my blonde, yoga instructor fiancee. '

Since you didn't forget to describe her, I think a bikini photo is a must here

Originally Posted by TireSmoke

Since you didn't forget to describe her, I think a bikini photo is a must here

Fixed.

Things you can never unsee....

Well at least the guy bragged about his yoga instructor fiance. You see the pic I would have posted if he was bragging about his 12 inch Johnson instead.