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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

Maybe Klaus will be reading this as well as others so comments/advice welcome.
Our young friend left for Twin Cities in her XC90 on the wkend and while refueling in a small city on the prairies had her fuel tank mistakenly filled with diesel. She didn`t get far when the XC90 started to lose power & finally quit. She had the vehicle towed to a non Volvo shop(this is the middle of nowhere!) She told them it seemed to be a fuel or fuel delivery problem but their response was "Yeh, right!!" Anyway, it was finally determined that indeed the tank had been filled with diesel so they flushed the tank, etc. The service station covered her tow bill, 2 nites in a motel plus shop costs. Apparently, their fuel supplier has done this 3 times over the previous 18 months.....time to get a new supplier??
Anyway, my question is: could there be any potential residual damage?
Thanks,
Rich








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

My sister did that once in a Honda, but it was her mistake and not the station. Why not standardize the color of the pump handle for diesel fuel? Our local station uses green for diesel, but some others I know use green for E85.

Anyway, she will need to have the very thick fuel oil purged from the system. She will need a new fuel filter, if her car has one (the newer cars do not). Her injectors will need cleaning. The fuel pump might need cleaning as well as the level sensor.

The diesel will wash off and out of the system with gasoline, but rather slowly. Some shops require the tank to be removed and steam cleaned, not a small operation... The XC has saddle tanks, so there are 2 fuel pumps.

Tell her that she needs to keep her tank more than 1/4 full at a minimum, until she starts to feel comfortable with the way it runs.

This is not a Volvo only shop repair, except for removal of the 2 fuel filters. Other makes have the same resolution.

--
My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

Thanks Klaus. She should be in Minneapolis by now........any recommended shop/dealer for changing fuel filter?
Here in Canada there is a standard color for diesel, green as you mentioned. The problem was that the tanker truck filled the the station gas tanks/reservoirs with diesel instead of gasoline.
I`ll pass your suggestions along to her husband.
Rich








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

There are 2 good ones. Slightly cheaper is Quality Coaches, turn right on 38th if going south on Nicolette Ave.
http://quality-coaches.com/
Good people, honest, and they restore British cars! Ask Valerie for free advice.

The other is Volvo only, Glascow: http://glasgowauto.com/
Not the best location in town and light rail construction is making it hard to get to. More expensive, but they only use OEM parts. Slightly less than dealer prices.

--
My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

Thanks, Klaus........have passed the info to Craig.








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-fuel-filter-s60-v70-xc90-30636704
--
My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

My only experience with this was with a carburated car in the '80s that was filled with diesel by mistake. It ran fine after having the the diesel siphoned off and a complete fill-up with gas.

Diesel is higher octane than gas, so I doubt that it actually did any damage.

If it were mine, I'd want to read the OBD codes, reset them and watch for recurrences. Having a shop with full code reading capability look it over might make sense.








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XC90 tank filled with diesel by mistake XC90 2008

"...Having a shop with full code reading capability look it over might make sense..."

Yes, and send the bill to the gas station! Maybe bill them for a new fuel filter also, just to make sure.

How about the catalytic converter? It would be a bummer if that failed a year from now as a delayed result.







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