AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Bridge End: How It Occurs and How to Stop It
Stop here a minute if the diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then ring 0333 366 0103. A drain plus a thorough flush, done just where the car sits around Bridge End, is usually what it needs when found before the motor runs. Not happened yet? Further down, the page explains the reasons it happens and the how to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers
No single fluid but two: that's what plenty of newer diesels near Bridge End and The Cape run, with diesel for the motor. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Different tanks, separate fillers. Under one flap, next to each other: that is the arrangement on many cars. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler is beneath the bonnet or in the boot instead. Diesel gets filled on every forecourt call-out, again and again. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and normally by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. The mistake lives in that gap.
AdBlue in your diesel tank in Bridge End: how it happens
Carelessness seldom causes it. What does is three things lining up at once.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a warning from the car, and running dry leads to limp mode — so a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Brooke Close, perhaps at New Bowling Green on the way home that evening.
The old car's filler is where your hand reaches — but a rental car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That's a second thing: a new vehicle.
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. Warwick or the heart of Bridge End: it takes the same few seconds in both.
The AdBlue filler and the diesel filler: telling them apart
A few seconds is all these take — so check them before you pour anything, on a drive in Emscote or a forecourt around Bridge End.
- Check the cap rather than going by where it sits: AdBlue caps are commonly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones normally aren't.
- On many vehicles, the size tells: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Many motors say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If your filler isn't by your diesel cap, it is in your 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 Warwick's car park, perhaps — rather than when the light appears.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
Wherever around Warwickshire the light comes on, here is a routine for that day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Bridge End, not on a slope, not with the engine running: park and switch off properly.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once finding the AdBlue filler and read it. Silly, yes, but it works.
- Both behind a single flap? Then make sure the lid on your diesel filler stays closed before raising the bottle.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Shut the cap, then check once more — confirm the diesel cap remained shut the whole time. Only then, start the vehicle.
Find at the second or third stage that AdBlue went into the wrong filler? That's where you stop. Don't carry on to step five.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank in Bridge End?
What follows is a short order of things, starting with not starting the engine. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, and so don't switch the vehicle on. Do not top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is drawn from.
The attendants at Esso, Tesco or any forecourt will normally help pushing your car away if you ask. If you are on your own driveway around Bridge End, leave the vehicle where it stands.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if the engine has already run. On the M40, under 3 miles from Bridge End, that means the next junction. A short hop across Bridge End is a smaller job than a run towards Coventry, under 10 miles away, so tell us roughly how far it went.
What occurs when our technicians turn up in Bridge End
Outside Coten End Primary School, near Warwick Boat Club or on your own driveway: wherever the car has stopped, our technicians come to it. Our technicians ask what got in, about how much, and whether it's run, because the answers settle the work and our price. During the call itself, you are told the price — before anything else.
Then the tank is drained and your system rinsed thoroughly. More than with petrol, it counts with AdBlue: crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and none of that clears out unaided, however long it is left. Testing comes last: before that, fresh diesel goes in, and your filter is cleaned or changed as needed. Before we leave, our engineers fire it up and make sure that it's running smoothly.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive. The equipment is safe on a busy forecourt, 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 Bridge End itself
Bridge End is a suburban area located on the riverside in Warwickshire, with a relatively low elevation of around 50 metres. Bridge End sits near the city of Coventry, approximately 9.5 miles away, and is also close to other nearby places such as Warwick and Packmores. Bridge End has a population of around 1857 people and predominantly consists of flat-type housing. Bridge End is situated in the West Midlands region, about 81.7 miles northwest of London.
AdBlue drains round Bridge End, and Warwickshire beyond
Throughout CV postcodes, the teams that cover Bridge End — a residential suburb — work the nearby spots too, Packmores and Cliff Hill among them. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting CV34 6.
Moving the vehicle isn't necessary. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street close to Warwick Trebuchet, a lay-by on the way to Mill Garden, a driveway. Ring and ask instead of assuming if you are near a border, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Warwick Castle.
Bridge End drivers: the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless, leave the vehicle off and phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel drains it where it sits, anywhere across Warwickshire.