Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Ayton: Why It Happens
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case put this page down a moment, leave the ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. Around Ayton, catching it before the motor runs usually leaves draining and a full flush where it stands. The remainder of this page explains why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you are reading before it has happened.
AdBlue in a diesel car: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the engine — yet many newer diesels seen round Ayton and Lambton carry another liquid as well. 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 is a filler on every tank. Under one flap, side by side: that's the layout on a lot of vehicles. On others, AdBlue's filler sits beneath the bonnet or in the boot instead. Topping up the diesel side at the pump goes on all the time. Someone who has to stop and think where it goes normally fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less commonly. The slip lives in that gap.
AdBlue in your diesel tank around Ayton: how it occurs
Rarely is it carelessness: usually three things coincide.
On a driveway off Emerson Road before work, or in the car park outside Board Inn on the way home: that's where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the car warns you, and if it is empty, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's cap is where the hand reaches — yet a rental car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That's the second factor: a new car.
Lastly, the bottle fits: diesel filler or AdBlue filler, it goes in as readily, and after the tip begins, nothing halts it. Whether it happens in Portobello or the middle of Ayton, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you pour anything, whether on a driveway in Birtley or a forecourt around Ayton, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- Position misleads; the cap does not. AdBlue caps are often blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally do not.
- The size. On many vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Open the flap and check for a label — many vehicles mark which belongs in each filler just there.
- The handbook. If the filler isn't by your diesel cap, it is in the boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you collect a hire car or company car — from Chester-Le-Street's car park, say — rather than once the warning comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
Anywhere in Tyne and Wear the light comes on, this is a routine for the day.
- Pull in somewhere level, motor off, with time in hand — never rushing on the side of Mallard Close.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap works — after you have located the filler and read it.
- The diesel cap remains on. Where both sit under a flap, confirm it's shut before lifting the bottle.
- Stop once your tank fills or the bottle runs dry; before that, tip slowly through its own spout.
- Close the cap, then check once more — making sure your diesel cap remained shut throughout. After that, start the car.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Never go on to step five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, around Ayton?
Do not start the motor: that is where the short order of things starts. Leave the ignition off as well, because on plenty of diesels switching it on alone starts the fuel pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
On a forecourt — BP, JET or another — the attendants will normally help roll the vehicle clear, if you ask. If you are on your own drive around Ayton, leave the vehicle where it stands.
Already started? Pull over when it is safe, then switch off. On the A1(M), under a mile from Ayton, that means the next junction. A short hop across Ayton is a smaller job than a run towards Newcastle upon Tyne, under 10 miles away, and so tell us roughly how far it went.
When our technicians get there around Ayton, what takes place?
By Holley Park Academy, near Oxclose Church or on your own driveway: wherever the vehicle has stopped, our engineers come to it. Our technicians ask what got in, about how much, and whether it has run, since the replies settle the work and our quote. That price comes over the phone, before any van leaves.
Next: draining, then a full flush of the whole system. With AdBlue that counts more than with petrol: it crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own. After your filter has been cleaned — or replaced, where required — clean diesel goes in, and then the car gets tested. Before we leave, our technicians fire it up and confirm that it is running correctly.
Most jobs are done in roughly half an hour after our engineers arrive, provided the motor has not run — and the pumps we use are fine on a busy forecourt yet quiet at night outside a house. No money in advance; you settle up on the day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. While we travel, have a look at your policy; many carry cover for misfuelling.
About Ayton and where it is
Ayton is a suburban area located inland in Tyne and Wear, approximately 6.2 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne. Ayton sits at an elevation of 92 metres, surrounded by other nearby places such as Portobello, North Side, and Oxclose. Ayton has a population of around 3148 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Ayton is situated in the North East region of England, about 241.3 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about Ayton, and Tyne and Wear beyond
Ayton is a residential suburb, and our teams that cover it also work the towns near it, North Side and Oxclose among them, across the NE postcode area. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting NE38 0.
The vehicle remains where it is. Anywhere it stands — near Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, on a lay-by heading to Ayton Park, at home — that is where it is emptied. Assuming doesn't help at the back of St John Boste, on a boundary, or anywhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
Ayton drivers: the short version
Read the cap before you tip. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank all the same, leave the car off then phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it sits, anywhere across Tyne and Wear.