AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Benfieldside: Why It Occurs and How to Stop It
Pause reading for a moment when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, and phone 0333 366 0103. A drain and a full flush, carried out right where the vehicle stands in Benfieldside, is normally what it takes if caught before the motor runs. Nothing happened yet? Below, the page covers the reasons it occurs and the how to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle, and its separate tank
Diesel feeds your engine — but many current diesels driven around Benfieldside and Consett carry another fluid too. Kept in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into your exhaust gas and cleans it.
Every tank comes with one filler of its own. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is topped up at the pump all the time. Far less frequently, the AdBlue side gets topped up — mostly from a bottle, by someone thinking about where it goes. The mistake grows in that gap between the two.
AdBlue in your diesel tank in Benfieldside: how it occurs
Seldom is it carelessness: normally three things coincide.
Haste follows from the warning. The vehicle warns you as AdBlue runs low, and an empty tank sends the vehicle into limp mode — so the top-up happens quickly, before work on a drive off Newstead Rise, or heading home in the car park at The Miners Arms.
New-to-you motors come next, as well. Rentals, new cars and company cars place their fillers differently, and habit reaches for the cap used on the old one.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, so nothing stops the tip after it has started. Whether it happens in Shotley Bridge or the middle of Benfieldside, it is the same few seconds.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Be it a Benfieldside forecourt or a driveway over in Daisy Hill, spend a few seconds on these before anything is poured in.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap normally is not. Read it rather than going by where it sits.
- Plenty of cars give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: plenty of vehicles carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- The handbook shows which it lives when your filler is not next to the diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you pick up a hire car or company car — from Stocksfield's car park, perhaps — rather than when the warning comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
Wherever in Durham the light comes on, here is a routine for the day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Benfieldside Road, not on a slope, not with your motor running: park and switch off properly.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Both under one flap? So confirm the cap on your diesel side stays closed before raising the bottle.
- Slowly does it, through the bottle's own spout, till it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start your car: close the cap, check once more, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Don't go on to step five.
Put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Benfieldside already?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start the engine. The fuel pump starts on many diesels as soon as the ignition goes on — so keep it off. Do not top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is drawn from.
The attendants at Tesco, Morrisons or another forecourt will normally help to push the vehicle away when you ask. Leave it where it is if you are on your own driveway around Benfieldside.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if your motor has already run. Come off the A1(M) — under 15 miles out of Benfieldside — at the next junction. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Durham, under 15 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Benfieldside.
What happens when we turn up in Benfieldside
Our technicians come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Benfieldside Primary School, near Shotley and Benfieldside Tennis Club or on your own drive. The answers determine this work and our quote, and so we ask what got in, roughly how much, and whether it's run. You get that quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Your system is then purged thoroughly, after the tank is emptied. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. After the filter has been flushed — or renewed, if required — clean diesel is added, and then the car gets tested. Before we go, we start it and check that it's running correctly.
Unrun vehicles usually need a half-hour job after arrival. The kit is safe on a live forecourt, and hushed enough for a residential street after dark. Payment happens on the day, not upfront, and you receive the paperwork your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. It is worth checking your insurance as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover is included with plenty of policies.
About Benfieldside and where it is
Benfieldside is a suburban area situated on the riverside in County Durham, with a mix of semi-detached housing and a population of around 5724 residents. Benfieldside sits at an elevation of 159 metres, near the towns of Shotley Bridge and Consett, and is located approximately 12 miles from the city of Durham. Benfieldside is part of the wider commuter belt around Durham, with easy access to the city and its amenities. Benfieldside has a relatively low elevation compared to the surrounding hills, making it a popular choice for families and commuters.
AdBlue drains across Durham, Benfieldside included
Being a residential suburb, Benfieldside shares its vans nearby places — Bridgehill, Blackhill — all the way through DH postcodes and the wider area beyond. Quickest of all: quote a DH8 0 postcode to our van.
The car doesn't need to shift. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street close to St Cuthbert's Church, Benfieldside, a lay-by on the way to Oakybank Wood, a drive. Guessing won't help behind Blackhill Baptist Church, on a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
Benfieldside motorists: the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. Even so AdBlue in the diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can empty it where it is, wherever around Durham: keep the car off then ring 0333 366 0103.