Wrong fuel put in the tank

Tiny
C700121
  • MEMBER
  • 2015 CHEVROLET SONIC
  • 25,000 MILES
My husband recently put diesel fuel in our car listed above. He is seventy five years old and has early dementia. When he finally noticed he put the wrong fuel in the vehicle we had someone drain the gas tank and clean out the gas lines. We changed the spark plugs and cleaned the fuel injectors. We put premium unleaded in the tank after we did that and put seafoam in the tank. There is white smoke coming from the tail pipe. The vehicle is not idling right and if you try and drive it it loses power. It will shut off on us but it will start back up with the same symptoms. The check engine light came on when this happened but we took the battery cables off the car and waited awhile and put them back on and the check engine light went off. When the check engine light first came on it was reading misfire. What else could be the problem? They also checked the oil filter on the rail and it said over fifty percent. Please reply.
Sunday, November 19th, 2017 AT 6:39 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
How much mileage was put on the vehicle since then? There could be some residual diesel inside the system and it requires some time before it all clears off. Keep the engine running for a while more and monitor the situation.
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Sunday, November 19th, 2017 AT 10:03 PM
Tiny
C700121
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
It was driven 10 to 2o miles trying to see if it runs. When it happened it was driven about 3 miles until it cut off and wouldn't start again. It will start now but the idling is not right and if you try and go up a hill it will start to be sluggish and lose power and cut off but it will start back up. The plugs are still getting carbon on them. Will they do it till the disel burns off.
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Monday, November 20th, 2017 AT 5:35 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Yes, it would continue to perform badly if diesel is still present in system.
How much fuel did you add to tank after repairs? If the amount is not much, then the ratio of diesel/gas could still be high as cleaning fuel systems usually do not completely clear residual diesel in system.
I would still recommend running the engine for a longer period of time before you attempt any repairs. Top up fuel if initial refill was not too much.
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Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 AT 7:03 AM

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