Audi Misfuelling Protection: No More Gas in Diesel Engines

In the last few years, a rather disturbing goof has started to become more and more present in the everyday automotive landscape. We are talking about misfuelling, a mistake that can have severe consequences for a car’s engine, resulting in a hefty servicing bill for the owner of the affected vehicle.

Recent statistics show that the number of drivers who fill diesel-powered cars with petrol is on a rising trend. One automotive maker that is making efforts to correct this is Audi, which has created a new fuel filler cap that is design to prevent users from feeding petrol to their diesel vehicles.

Audi’s misfuelling protection system uses a fuel filler neck that has been re-engineered to use contact points that open the internal fuel gate only when pressure is applied by the larger diesel pump nozzle.

The petrol nozzles have a smaller diameter that doesn’t allow them to push the internal fuel flap, ensuring that the gate does not allow the fuel to enter the tank.

The system has already reached the production form. It will be implemented on Audi vehicles starting with the 2011 model year cars, with the first ones to receive it being the A4 sedan, A5 coupe and sportback and the Q5 medium-sized SUV using TDI diesel units.

According to Audi, the misfuelling happens due to the fact that the new generation diesel engines use advanced engineering techniques that allow them to offer increased refinement, running smooth just like the petrol powerplants.