shrimant

It was my niece who just started driving and it was her first visit to a gas station accidentally not knowing what to fill put in around 5 odd gallons of Diesel into a 2006 Honda civic gas car, the car was not even able to exit the gas station and had to be towed home. That is when I started looking into youtube and all possible forums on what to do, no where did I find an exact step by step answer, and we had to fix it the hard way using trial and error, it took us around 4-5 hours but we did it..and that inspired me to write this write-up:

Step 1. DRAIN THE ENTIRE GAS TANK: All Hondas have a gas tank drain plug on the bottom of the tank usually towards the driver side just under the trunk, an approximate location schematic is provided as below from: https://www.wikihow.com/images/f/f3/...ar-Step-15.jpg , I think you would need a 17mm socket to open it. But before that please make sure the Gas tank lid(where you put in gas) is wide open and you have a drain container ready to collect the gas & Diesel mix, here is a link to a oil drain container from Walmart for $10:https://www.walmart.com/ip/16-Qt-Dra...ainer/44580714 , depending on how much gas/diesel is in the tank you might have to close the drain plug if the drain container gets full, pour the content into a paint bucket and restart the process. At the end lift the passenger side rear wheel with a jack that will ensure that everything is drained out that could possibly be drained. Then tighten the drain plug bolt back into the tank. Honda Gas tank drain bolt locationStep 2. OPEN ALL THE FOUR SPARK PLUGS AND CLEAN : This is required because diesel is not a volatile/flammable liquid and would have gone deep inside the plugs short circuiting it ..in other words would not cause a spark at the tip for which it is intended.
a)If you want to replace the spark plugs do not read any further for step 2 just open the old spark plugs and have the new ones ready, DO NOT TIGHTEN the new ones yet, leave them open.
b)Take the Spark plugs and place them in your cooking range making sure the flames are hitting the opening on the plugs(the end where the spark happens), leave them for around 10-15 minutes you shall see smoke and bit of extra flames. Leave it there to cool down for another 15 minutes and then sand the tips with sand paper.
I know this step might sound funny especially the cooking range part but believe me this step will make your old spark plug brand new ready to go for another 70K.

STEP 3. OPEN THE FUEL PIPE CONNECTING THE FUEL INJECTOR AND DRAIN: The easiest way to locate the fuel pipe connecting to the fuel injector is to locate the fuel filter that is near the back wall when you open the engine compartment somewhere near the battery, the picture below will guide you to what I mean. As shown in the 2nd picture below open that bolt make sure you save the washer and bolt that you opened safe, then get a empty milk gallon and insert the pipe that you just opened inside the milk gallon.
Then crank the engine(usually ask a friend to do so) you should see gas oozing out into the milk gallon , once no more gas in coming out into the milk gallon stop the process. This whole step ensures that there is no more diesel left out in the supply line and leaving the spark plugs still open in step 2 ensures that the engine cranks easily without too much load to the battery. Leave the pipe open for now.

NB: If you want you can replace the fuel filter too which other gurus might recommend too, but frankly speaking its not required.

The left image is a reference on Fuel Filter location and how to trace the pipe which connects to the fuel injector supply line.the image to the right is how the other end of the pipe connecting to the filter should look like.

Step 4: GET AT LEAST 2-3 GALLONS OF FRESH GAS and a CHEVRON FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER: Get 2-3 gallons of premium grade GAS from a gas station in a gas container and also get a fuel system cleaner fluid as shown below, usually you will find them in all gas stations or a local Walmart/Target or automobile store for around $4 to $7 .
First pour in half the gas that you bought into the gas tank and then pour in the Chevron fuel system cleaner into the gas container , give it a shake to mix it well and then pour the entire content into the gas tank. DO NOT FORGET the gas tank lid..find it and tighten it appropriately now.
Fuel system cleaner


SETP 5: CRANK THE ENGINE TO ENSURE FRESH GAS WITH FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER IS IN THE FUEL SUPPLY LINES: CRANK THE engine with a friends help and stop the moment you see gas coming out into the milk gallon. Locate the bolt and washer that you opened in step - 3 above and connect the pipe back into the injector fuel supply line. Crank the engine just 2-3 times to ensure the injectors also have fresh gas with the cleaner.

STEP 6: PUT THE NEW/CLEANED SPARK PLUGS IN PLACE : its time to put the spark plugs in place and tighten it. Make sure the spark plug wires are connected properly too and then close the engine compartment.

STEP 7 : START THE CAR: Crank and start the car, with 6-7 cranks the car has to start no matter what...go slow on the gas and give gas when the car seems to be dying..and then let go the gas on and off keep pressing in a pumping manner but not to the extreme. At this moment the back of the car should have a black smoke cloud which will eventually go away within a minute or so. Keep the car running for at least 15 minutes and then the next step is visit the gas station and fill it with premium grade gas at least for this time make sure you fill it with at least 8-10 gallons. Keep riding in streets for at least 15 more minutes before you hit the high way. In the mean time you might hear some unusual knocking sounds from the engine..which is normal and the fuel system cleaner is cleaning your fuel lines so nothing to worry.


This was specifically for a HONDA CIVIC but am pretty sure the steps above would fix any other gas car which has been accidentally filled with diesel.
NB: PLEASE dispose the Diesel/Gas mix at a appropriate location, do not forget the gas in the milk gallon too, its flammable ...usually auto part stores and oil changer places should take it.
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ARE MOST WELCOME.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

With the larger size filler nozzle used on diesel pumps.... how was it even possible to get in into the car ???

I got a diesel/gasoline mix once when the driver put diesel into the unleaded tank.

shrimant

Its California ..and the Gas station my niece was stuck in was a non-standard one I inspected it and did see that both the Diesel and the gas nozzle were almost the same size..some Patriot gas...but yes the diesel was definitely marked green

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

drain it...

shrimant

Wankenstein

Did you follow all the suggestions that the video you watched suggested?
Remove all spark plugs and crank engine for 10 seconds to help cylinders spit out/dry out any possible diesel fuel. While the plugs are out use compressed air to blow into the cylinder via spark plug holes.
Also, try cranking it with gas pedal to the floor (WOT) for about 10 seconds. If that doesn't work then spray some throttle body cleaner spray into the throttle body while cranking at WOT. Make sure battery has a full charge prior to cranking.
If still not running add a tablesoon of oil in each cylinder to raise compression momentarily.

Can also try disconnecting fuel line as shown in this link: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...-line-3229989/ and prime the fuel pump until new fuel gets to the point of the disconnection.

shrimant

Its all done bro...and the exact procedure followed was as listed in the initial post step wise, this post is specifically for someone who accidentally put in diesel on a gasoline car and wanted to fix by himself

shrimant

Its a home where do you get a powerful air compressor from other than buying it? Its all done...and this original post is for someone who has accidentally filled in Diesel in a gasoline engine...and wants to fix it with minimal cost right at his home

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

OK!

Thanks!

Glad to know that worked for you!

Sorry for our confusion

Wankenstein

Cool.
Well, I just added more ways and specificity (to 7th gen civic) to the information you gathered and posted.

Wankenstein

How would I know if you have one or not..it was just a suggestion.
A $100 150psi small pancake compressor will easily get the job done.