AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Benthall: Why It Happens and How to Avoid It
Keep the engine and ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103 first — the rest can wait if AdBlue is already in your diesel tank. In Benthall, finding it before the engine turns normally means draining and a thorough flush where it stands. If you are reading before it has happened, the remainder of this page is about why it occurs and how to make sure it does not.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel feeds the motor — yet many modern diesels seen around Benthall and Madeleywood carry a second fluid too. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has a filler of its own. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. At the petrol pump, the diesel side is topped up all the time. Far less often, the AdBlue side is filled — mostly from a bottle, by someone thinking about where it goes. The mistake grows in the gap between the two.
AdBlue in the diesel tank around Benthall: how it happens
Rarely is it carelessness: usually three things coincide.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the vehicle, and running dry means limp mode — hence a hurried top-up, maybe before work off Lodge Lane, perhaps outside The Ironmaster on the way home that evening.
Next, your hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old motor — since a hire car, a new motor or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one did not.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the tip after it has started. Whether it takes place in Posenhall or the middle of Benthall, it's the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these before pouring, on a forecourt in Benthall or a drive over in Jackfield. Seconds, no more.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap normally isn't. Read it rather than going by where it sits.
- On many vehicles, the size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- Check inside your fuel flap: many cars have a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- In your boot or under the bonnet: that's where the filler is if it is not by your diesel cap, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Telford Central, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
For the day the warning comes on — wherever it is around Shropshire — a simple routine to follow.
- Stop on level, engine off, with time to spare — never hurried on the side of The Avenue.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it works.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the vehicle on.
- Finish once the tank fills or the bottle is empty; before that, tip slowly through its built-in spout.
- Close the cap and check a second time. Make sure the diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the vehicle.
Find at the second or third step that AdBlue went in the diesel filler? That is where you stop. Leave out stage five entirely.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Benthall?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start the engine. Leave your ignition off too, because on many diesels it alone starts the fuel pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
Ask the attendants to help roll your car clear of the pump if you are on a forecourt — the the nearest petrol station, the Esso or anywhere else. Your own driveway in Benthall is the place it should stay.
Already started? Pull over once it's safe, then switch off. The next exit is the place to come off if you are on the M54, under 10 miles from Benthall. A short hop across Benthall is a smaller job than a run towards Wolverhampton, under 25 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
Benthall: what takes place when we get there
We come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Broseley CofE Primary School, near St Bartholomew's or on your own drive. Both the work and our price depend on three replies — what liquid, what amount, and if it's run — so our engineers ask. The quote comes over the phone, before any van leaves.
Then that tank is emptied and the system rinsed thoroughly. Not like petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and neither washes out unaided. Hence it matters more. A test is last: before that, fresh diesel goes in, and your filter is cleaned or changed if necessary. We don't leave until it has been fired up and is running properly.
Unrun cars mostly mean a half-hour job after the moment we arrive. The equipment is safe on a live forecourt, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. No money upfront; you settle up on the day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer are handed to you for the insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Benthall, for a moment
Benthall is a small village in Shropshire, situated on the shores of a lake at an elevation of 188 metres. Benthall lies near the towns of Broseley and Wyke, and is approximately 15 miles from Wolverhampton. Benthall has a population of around 501 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Benthall is also close to the village of Posenhall, and is about 126 miles northwest of London.
AdBlue drains across Shropshire, Benthall included
Broseley and Wyke are among the places near Benthall, a village, that the same vans cover, throughout TF postcodes. Give a postcode beginning TF12 5, and our van gets there fastest.
Moving your car is not necessary. The drain happens on the spot, be it a driveway, a road by Benthall Hall, or a layby towards Benthall Hall Gardens. Ring and ask instead of assuming if you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Broseley Pipeworks.
The short version for Benthall drivers
Tip no AdBlue until you've read the cap. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Keep it off then phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, throughout Shropshire.