Filled up with diesel and drove 3/4 of the tank

Tiny
BHUFFY
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 TOYOTA RAV4
  • 4,358 MILES
My daughter filled the gas tank of her brand new 2012 rav 4 with diesel and drove the vehicle until there was only 1/4 tank left. Most of it was interstate driving. Naturally she noticed smoke. The check engine light came on as did the Trac Off and 4WD warning lights. They have remained on. I took it to AutoZone and they ran diagnostics and got the error codes: P0300(Random Cylinder Misfire Condition) and P0301(Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected).

I called 2 different Toyota Dealerships and neither of the service people I spoke with had ever heard of someone driving an entire tank of diesel out. They said that with that much driving, the catalytic converter could be damaged, along with other sensors. My plan of action, since there was just a little diesel left: have her drive it until the fuel light comes on, then add some Lucas Fuel Treatment and fill it with gas. Run it about 1/2-3/4 empty and then disconnect battery cables and reset warning lights to see if they remain off. If not, take it to the dealership. Thoughts? Ideas?
Friday, August 24th, 2012 AT 6:37 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
That is a long time with diesel in the tank usually they die long before that. I always remove all of the disel change the fuel filter and flush everything out.I wouldn't drive it anymore with the disel fuel.
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Friday, August 24th, 2012 AT 6:44 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
I am surprised diesel fuel works on a petroleum engine. Most probably the amount of diesel is not much compared to the ratio of gas. After driving for so long, the damage had been done so there is no point in making any repairs of replacing parts.

What you need to do now is to get the system clean first and draining the fuel tank and filling with fresh fuel is the first thing to do. Run and refill at least 2 tankful before you start doing anything. Filter is intank so don't worry about it first.
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Friday, August 24th, 2012 AT 8:23 AM

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