Amen Corner: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Avoid It?
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? In that case put this page aside for now, keep the ignition and motor off, and phone 0333 366 0103. Around Amen Corner, catching it before the motor turns usually leaves draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Reading in advance? Then the rest explains why it comes about and how to prevent it ever happening.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers
Not one liquid but two: that is how plenty of newer diesels around Amen Corner and Skimpedhill run, with diesel for your motor. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There's a filler on every tank. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is fuelled at the pump all the time. Much less regularly, the AdBlue side gets filled — mostly from a bottle, by a person working out where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank happens around Amen Corner
Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
Hurry comes from the warning. The car tells you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts it into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off North View, or heading home in the car park at Okingham Belle.
The old car's cap is where your hand reaches — yet a rental car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers somewhere else. That's a second factor: an unfamiliar car.
A spouted bottle meets no obstacle at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. So the tip, once begun, keeps on. Whether it takes place in Popeswood or the middle of Amen Corner, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these before pouring, at a forecourt in Amen Corner or a driveway over in Priestwood. A few seconds, no more.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is commonly blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap usually is not. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- On many motors, size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- Look inside your fuel flap: many cars carry a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- Cannot find it beside your diesel inlet? Then look beneath the bonnet or in your boot — the handbook says which.
- The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park outside Bracknell, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
When the light goes on, anywhere around Berkshire, use this routine.
- Turn off once parked — flat ground, motor stopped, and never rushed beside Berkshire Way on the verge.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap works — after you've located your filler and read the cap.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the vehicle on.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap, and look again — making sure the diesel filler stayed shut throughout. After that, start the vehicle.
Spot at step two or three that it has already gone into the diesel side? So stop right there. Don't carry on to stage five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, around Amen Corner?
Do not start your engine: that is where the short order of things begins. Leave the ignition off as well, because on plenty of diesels switching it on alone starts the fuel pump. Do not top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
If you're at a forecourt, whether it's the Shell or the Esso, ask the attendants to help roll your car away from the petrol pump. Leave it where it is if you're on your own driveway around Amen Corner.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the motor has already run. The next junction is the place to come off if you're on the A329(M), under a mile from Amen Corner. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Westminster, under 50 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Amen Corner.
Our arrival around Amen Corner, and what takes place next
Anywhere the car came to rest, whether outside King's Academy Oakwood, beside Farleywood Community Association or on your own drive, the van travels to it. The replies decide the work and our price, so our technicians ask what went in, about how much, and if it has run. The price comes on the call, ahead of any van leaving.
Your system is then rinsed thoroughly, after that tank is emptied. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why the flush counts more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. The engine is fired up next and tested to confirm it runs correctly, all before our technicians go.
Unstarted vehicles mostly need a half-hour job after arrival. The equipment is fine on a live filling station, and quiet enough for a residential street after dark. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Amen Corner, briefly
Amen Corner is a suburban area in Berkshire, situated inland at an elevation of around 70 metres, and forms part of the commuter belt around London. Amen Corner is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting the area's residential development. Amen Corner is close to nearby places such as Popeswood, Farleywood, and Temple Park, and is approximately 29 miles from central London. Amen Corner has a population of around 3066 residents.
AdBlue drains across Berkshire, Amen Corner included
As a residential suburb, Amen Corner has the same vans as surrounding areas — Farleywood, Temple Park — all the way across RG postcodes and the wider area around them. Give a postcode that starts RG12 8, and our van gets there quickest.
The car does not need to shift. Anywhere it stands — beside Jennett's Park Community Centre, in a layby en route to Big Wood, at home — that's where it is drained. Awkward to pin down, like the back of Melody Rocket? Close to a county line? Checking is better than guessing, so ring.
Amen Corner drivers: the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere in Berkshire, if AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank all the same — so leave the car off then phone 0333 366 0103.