Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1vquhsy/tifu_by_putting_the_wrong_fuel_on_a_rental_now/

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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Inayori on 2026-08-17 14:50:25+00:00.

TL;DR: A van I'm renting is broken because I put the wrong fuel in the tank, and it costs me $800.

So I'm currently moving away from one city to another. I am actually choosing to live closer to where I work. That's why I decided to rent a van for a couple of days for my house move as well as a friend's.

This is already a big cost: for the duration of my house move, I had to pay about $400 + insurance (150) + letting a caution check that they currently hold (which is about $1500) in case something happens to the van.

Naturally, I only had two jobs: making sure nothing happens to the van and filling it with fuel before I give it back.

Nothing happened to the car

Except I filled up the tank. With E85 fuel instead of diesel.

And I drove about a hundred meters before I realised the engine had an issue.

I haven't checked that the car only takes Diesel since 1) I have never had to drive a diesel car ever; 2) force of habit 3) I was in a hurry and spent the last couple of days driving east and west to give a hand to friends (taking care of the cats; dropping the keys in a letter box for a friend; moving stuff around). But I forgot to do the one thing so simple I am stupid to have forgotten about it: think twice and read the type of engine. And I had neglected to notice the "Diesel" sticker next to the tank.

I had to call someone to tow the car, siphon the tank, have the diesel filter replace, discard the 80 Liters (20 gallon) of E85 mixed with diesel which I CANNOT REPURPOSE, and fill the tank again before giving it pack to the renral company.

Now I just need to hope that they let me keep the $1500 of aution and that the engine isn't damaged. But the cost of this misadventure is about $800, which I shouldn't have had to pay in the first place if I had put the right fuel type in the first place.

I think it's the biggest mistake of my entire life. Hopefully, no one got hurt.