Urgent - petrol in diesel!

My mum is currently in Germany with her 2012 Freelander and her and my dad have somehow managed to put petrol in the fuel tank.

I don't know all the details, she reckons 3 gallons worth. My questions are thus;

Is it easy to drain it (like at the roadside with little knowledge of cars) or can they top it up with diesel and give it a go? How much petrol could it take mixed in before it would do damage?

Was it empty, how much diesel will it take, has it been started?

As above - if there was a reasonable amount of diesel already in tank, then top up with more diesel, cross-fingers...and give it a go.
If tank was almost empty...and has been driven - start praying! (or is that paying????)

Petrol in diesels doesn't usually cause problems apart from a little rough running.

Not sure what size the tank is but 15l in a full tank isn't a serious issue. The worst case scenario is some sensors might get a bit confused and fault codes might need clearing later.

Brim the tank a few times to dilute and carry on.

modern very high pressure pumps arent keen on petrol, id drain as much out first, its a later vehicle than i used to but usually disconnecting the fuel line between engine and tank and using vehicle pump to empty tank is how i would doit

Do they have a recovery service? Over here the AA can pump fuel from the tank, I don't know about Germany but I'd imagine someone could do it for a fee.

jamesmartin said:

modern very high pressure pumps arent keen on petrol, id drain as much out first, its a later vehicle than i used to but usually disconnecting the fuel line between engine and tank and using vehicle pump to empty tank is how i would doit

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The last time I tried that on a modern vehicle it would only pump for about 2 secs presumably because the 'tronics realised something was wrong.

Cue 40 mins of turning the ignition on....off....on....off.....

jamesmartin said:

modern very high pressure pumps arent keen on petrol, id drain as much out first, its a later vehicle than i used to but usually disconnecting the fuel line between engine and tank and using vehicle pump to empty tank is how i would doit

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Need something to pump it into - which can be an issue at the roadside. I am sure the German's would not take kindly to it being dumped on the road!

Beneagles said:

Need something to pump it into - which can be an issue at the roadside. I am sure the German's would not take kindly to it being dumped on the road!

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A gallon or so in through the window generally does the job

Beneagles said:

Need something to pump it into - which can be an issue at the roadside. I am sure the German's would not take kindly to it being dumped on the road!

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Push the car over a drain, stand around whistling noncalantly with hands in pockets.

blue beasty said:

The last time I tried that on a modern vehicle it would only pump for about 2 secs presumably because the 'tronics realised something was wrong.

Cue 40 mins of turning the ignition on....off....on....off.....

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ive not tried on a 12 plate freelander but it worked for a d3,its not ideal but simpler if you have little other choices

Don't even switch the ignition on!it will circulate fuel as James said the pumps don't like petrol they need diesel for lubrication so all must be removed to prevent costly damage!
Best contact a local garage

Beneagles said:

Need something to pump it into - which can be an issue at the roadside. I am sure the German's would not take kindly to it being dumped on the road!

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obviously ,but they cant be far from a garage or containers if they were going to top it up with fresh diesel

I told them not to switch on the ignition so luckily they didn't, it turns out their Land Rover extended warranty covers pretty much everything under the sun so a very nice German man came and took them to the nearest dealership who are presumably going to fix it all for free. Not a bad turn out!

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Merryck said:

I told them not to switch on the ignition so luckily they didn't, it turns out their Land Rover extended warranty covers pretty much everything under the sun so a very nice German man came and took them to the nearest dealership who are presumably going to fix it all for free. Not a bad turn out!

Thanks for all the advice guys!

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nice ending

Yeah alright for some, I'm sure if I called up Land Rover from my 89 90 they'd laugh in my face.

Then again I'm not sure it would make it all the way to Germany!

Merryck said:

Yeah alright for some, I'm sure if I called up Land Rover from my 89 90 they'd laugh in my face.

Then again I'm not sure it would make it all the way to Germany!

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I think a 27 year extended warranty might be pushing your luck!

After a recent cock up. I really really wouldn't. It cost me a small fortune for around 5 ltrs of petrol.

I put a jerry can from my garage into mine thinking it was the diesel one and drove 3 miles to fuel station. About half a mile up the road and a few hundred yards from the station it started to run really bad. I then realised I'd put my petrol one for the motorbike in so topped the tank to the brim and kept filling it as much as possible.
Cost me a fuel pump, a fpr and all kinds of agro. I'd never advise anyone to just splash it now.