The "D" Sticker Story

Long story short, I filled a Benzin car with Diesel thanks to that sticker.

Being the auto enthusiast I am I've always thought I know almost everything about cars, however, not knowing what this little sticker stands for got me cornered for two days in Europe!

You see, for years and years I recall seeing these stickers on cars everywhere around the world even here in Kuwait. When I started liking things to do with cars I used to ask myself what this is and how it works and go look for it but those stickers were available way before my only knowledge resource, the internet, that's when I used to ask my parents, older brothers or friends regarding automotive inquiries and guess what? I've been told the "D" stands for "Diesel"! I remember every time I asked about those stickers I get the same answer so I took it for granted.

Now my unfortunate story starts here in Kuwait when I booked a "DIESEL" car online. The contract was "Opel Astra -or- similar". I flew to Germany to see the car I booked wasn't available therefore I got the "similar" car which was Seat Leon with the so-called "DIESEL" sticker. I drove all the way from Munich to Rust (about 4 hours drive) then after a couple of days I went out from Rust to Geneva (another 4 hours drive). On my way out the tank was half full from the first trip so I parked in a gas station, refill the car with DIESEL, and continue my journey. The moment I went out of that gas station I knew something was wrong, the car barely reached 100km/h. The 4 hours trip became 6 hours though I was lucky enough to reach Geneva before it died!

From there I was stuck in Geneva for two days going back and forth to resolve this issue with the rental company. I got leeched a couple of hundred KDs for that matter. I'm not happy but I caused this and I deserve it for not knowing better.

One piece of knowledge I got from this experience is... "It's acceptable to put Diesel in a Benzin car than putting Benzin in a Diesel car." Thank you Mr. Mechanic but I don't think I'll be doing fuel mixing anymore.