PriceProtect™
DriveShield™
GarageGuard™
Services
Insurance
Car Insurance
Compare Car Insurance with Jerry
Jerry’s Expert Advice
Car Insurance Estimates
Home & Renters Insurance
Renters Insurance
Loans
Car Loan
Compare Car Loans with Jerry
Jerry's Expert Advice
Car Loan Guides
Repairs
Car Repair Estimates
Repair Estimates for Popular Services
Advice
Read Car Content
Browse Jerry Car Advice
Check Out Expert Car QnA
Learn About How We Create Content
Jerry Data & Research
What does it mean if there’s fuel dilution in my engine oil?
My wife and I have a “summer car.” A convertible we bought a long time ago that only leaves the garage in the summer. We took it out recently and the engine was running strangely. The mechanic looked at it, and now I’m wondering what it means if there’s fuel dilution in the engine oil. Have you guys ever heard of this? They’re saying we need to drive it more.
Matt Terzi · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
We’re glad the mechanic caught it before it became a more serious issue. Fuel dilution in engine oil can lead to your engine wearing out more quickly than it should, leading to expensive repairs.
To put it simply, fuel dilution in engine oil means gasoline is leaking into your car’s oil, reducing how effective the oil is at doing its job.
Tiny amounts of gasoline and oil are going to mix—there’s nothing you can do to stop that—but if the fuel mixture with oil gets to be around 2.4 percent for a gasoline engine or 4 percent for a diesel engine, you’ll begin to notice performance issues like the ones you encountered. And that means the engine’s components are at risk of damage.
In your case, driving the car small amounts only in the summer, with lengthy periods of sitting in the garage, led to the fuel dilution issue.
Your mechanic was spot on in encouraging you to drive the car more. Get it out of the garage and drive around town to get the mixture back to normal levels. And take it out for drives in the fall, winter, and spring too. You don’t want to leave your car idle for too long.
We hope this helps you nurse your convertible back to summer cruising fun. And don’t forget to use
Jerry
, America’s #1 rated car insurance
broker app, to help you find huge savings on insurance for every car you own, all without needing to make a single phone call!View full answer
- Gregory R.
WHY YOU CAN TRUST JERRY
Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
Join 4M+ members in lowering their car insurance
You Might Also Be Interested
Read Advice From Car Experts At Jerry
What Others Are Asking
Browse More Content
Insurance in Your State
Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance
No long forms
No spam or unwanted phone calls
Quotes from top insurance companies
