Some 29% of people have accidentally filled their cars, bikes or vans with the wrong type of fuel, according to new research from Go.Compare.
The comparison site asked over 1,000 motorists, who either own or rent a car, motorbike or van, if they’d ever accidentally filled up at a petrol station using the wrong type of fuel. It found that:
- Men are more likely to ‘misfuel’ than their female counterparts – with a third (33%) of men saying they’ve accidentally used the wrong fuel to fill up, compared with 23% of women.
- Younger motorists seem to be more at risk of misfuelling with over half (54%) of those aged 18-24 admitting that they’ve previously used the wrong pump to fill up their vehicle, compared with just 12% of motorists aged 55 and over.
- London-based motorists are more likely to use the wrong pump than any other region, with 48% of those based in the capital saying that they have used the wrong type of fuel.
Go.Compare found that 62% of car insurance policies do not cover drivers for loss or damage as a result of using the wrong fuel.
Tom Banks, Go.Compare car insurance spokesperson, said: “Our research shows that misfuelling is a surprisingly common mistake that people make – and with many car insurance policies not covering this as standard, it could be a really costly error.
“If your policy does cover misfuelling, this could help pay for the cost of draining and flushing your tank. Some policies may also cover the cost of repairs needed because of misfuelling, but it’s important to check, as many car insurance policies might exclude misfuelling altogether, leaving you unprotected.”
He added that it was important, if you realise you have accidentally filled up with the wrong fuel, not to start the car or try to drive away as this can potentially cause thousands of pounds worth of damage. “Provided you haven’t started the engine, you may be able to fix the problem by draining and cleaning the tank. Most breakdown policies will cover the cost of draining your car’s fuel tank and taking it to a garage if needed.”
