Today I literally rolled into the petrol station out of diesel , I filled up and the car started no problem but 20 minutes later the car lost acceleration and there was a slight burning smell then either a small amount smoke from the engine . The engine failed and I had the car towed . Any ideas ? I have all weekend to stress about it . I know you should never get so low in fuel but I didn’t realise it could cause serious damage

 

I'm not familiar with diesels, but you might need to bleed the air out of the fuel line. At least that's my first thought.

 

But if the car started no problem after filling tank could there still be an airlock 20 minutes later ? I was collecting car after having new clutch fitted so the engine failure could be unrelated to running out of fuel possibly

 

In that case you might want to talk to who ever worked on it last. Another thought, could be a fuel filter full of water, stopping the flow of fuel thru it. Most diesels have a water separator though. Like I said, I'm not really familiar with diesels. And we didn't get a diesel engine in our Accords on this side of the pond.

 

hhmm that’s an interesting comment, I got the car back today they said they had tested everything and couldn’t find a fault however the receptionist said something about water when changing clutch bla bla . I didn’t have a clue what he was on about but perhaps some water had seeped where it shouldn’t. Nobody is admitting anything tho and I didn’t get another bill . Hopefully it will be ok . Thanks for yr comments I’m just happy I havnt destroyed the engine by letting it run dry !