Why It Happens and How to Avoid It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Bicester
Stop here for a moment when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, and phone 0333 366 0103. A drain plus a full flush, done just where your vehicle stands around Bicester, is normally all it takes when caught before the motor runs. If you're reading before it has happened, the rest of this page is about why it occurs and how to make sure it doesn't.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Many modern diesels in Langford Village, like those in Bicester, run on two liquids; your motor gets just your diesel. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank comes with a filler of its own. Many of motors have a single flap for both, whereas others move the AdBlue filler to the boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is filled at the pump all the time. The AdBlue side is filled far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. The mistake grows in that gap between them.
Bicester: how AdBlue in your diesel tank occurs
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and if it runs out completely, the car drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a drive off Causeway before work, or in the car park at The Kings Arms Hotel on the way home.
Next, the hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old motor — since a rental car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, so nothing stops the pour once it has started. Whether it occurs in Kings End or the middle of Bicester, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these first, at a forecourt around Bicester or a driveway out in Bure Park. Seconds, that's all.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap normally isn't. Read it instead of going by position.
- Check the size: the smaller filler neck is, on plenty of vehicles, the AdBlue one.
- A label inside your fuel flap frequently says which fuel goes where, on many vehicles. Look for it.
- In your boot or under the bonnet: that is where the filler is if it is not by your diesel cap, and the handbook says which.
- The previous driver will know. Ask when you pick up a hire car or company car — from Bicester Village's car park, perhaps — rather than once the warning appears.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
On the day the warning comes on — anywhere it is in Oxfordshire — a simple routine to use.
- Park then switch off. Not on a slope, not with the motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Chapel Street.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after you find the AdBlue filler and reading it. Daft, perhaps, but it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the car on.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check again. Make sure the diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Don't carry on to step five.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Bicester?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start the engine. The fuel pump runs on plenty of diesels as soon as your ignition is switched on — and so keep it off. Topping up with diesel won't thin it: rather than mixing, AdBlue drops to the base of the tank, right where fuel is taken from.
Ask the staff to help push the car clear of the petrol pump if you are on a forecourt — the Shell, the BP or anywhere else. On your own drive around Bicester? So the vehicle remains where it is.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if your engine has already run. The next junction means where to come off if you are on the M40, under 3 miles from Bicester. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing Bicester is smaller a job than a run of under 15 miles to Oxford, and so tell us.
Bicester: what occurs when we arrive
Our engineers come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside Longfields Primary and Nursery School, near Catholic Church of The Immaculate Conception or on your own drive. Those replies determine the work and the quote, so our technicians ask what went in, roughly how much, and whether it has run. You get that quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
The system is then cleaned thoroughly, once your tank is drained. Unlike petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks some fuel-system metals, and none of that washes out unaided. That is why it counts more. A test is at the end: before that, clean diesel is added, and your filter is cleaned or changed if necessary. Before leaving, our engineers fire it up and make sure that it's running correctly.
Most jobs are done in about half an hour after our technicians arrive, provided the motor hasn't run — and the pumps our engineers use are safe on a busy forecourt yet quiet at night outside a house. Your insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both once this job is done. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. While we travel, have a look at your policy; many carry cover for misfuelling.
About Bicester and where it is
Bicester is a town located in the heart of Oxfordshire, England, situated inland and within reach of the city of Oxford. It is known for its historic town centre, which features a range of independent shops and eateries. The town is also home to a popular shopping destination that draws visitors from afar. Bicester's charm and character are reflected in its conservation area and bustling local market.
AdBlue drains across Oxfordshire, Bicester included
Bicester Village and Highfield are among the towns around Bicester, a town, that the same teams cover, throughout OX postcodes. Our van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting OX26 6.
No need to move the vehicle. We drain it where it is — a side street close to The John Paul II Centre, a lay-by on the way to Garth Park, a driveway. If you are near a border, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of Saint Edburg, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Bicester people: the short version
Always, the cap; after that, the tip. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Keep the car switched off then call 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it on the spot, across Oxfordshire.