Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Chessington: Why It Occurs
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case put this page down for now, leave your ignition and motor off, then phone 0333 366 0103. Caught before your motor runs, it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Chessington. Nothing happened yet? Below, the page explains the why it happens and the ways to avoid it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
No single fluid but two: that's how many modern diesels near Chessington and West Ewell run, with diesel feeding the motor. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. Plenty of motors share a single flap for the two, while others put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. At the petrol pump, the diesel side is topped up all the time. Seldom topped up, AdBlue normally goes in out of a bottle, tipped by someone who has to stop and think which cap to use. Mistakes happen in the gap between the two.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank occurs around Chessington
It's rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a message from your car, and letting it run dry means limp mode — so a hurried top-up, perhaps before work off York Way, or at Chessington Oak on the way home after work.
Unfamiliar cars are second, as well. Hire cars, new cars and company vehicles place their fillers differently, and habit goes for the cap it used on the old one.
A spout-topped bottle finds no resistance at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. So the pour, once started, carries on. It takes seconds, whether in Hook or bang in the heart of Chessington.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Livingstone Park or a forecourt in Chessington, check these. They take a few seconds.
- Blue and marking: an AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap usually doesn't. Trust the cap, not its position.
- The size. On many vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Look inside your fuel flap: many vehicles carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- The handbook says where it is if the filler is not next to the diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park outside Chessington South, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching the diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Greater London that is.
- Switch off once parked — level ground, motor stopped, and not rushed beside Selby Close at the roadside.
- Silly as it sounds, speaking "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have located the filler and read it.
- Both behind a single flap? So confirm the cap on the diesel filler is still closed before raising the bottle.
- Finish once the tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; until then, pour gently through its own spout.
- Close the cap, and look once more — making sure your diesel filler remained closed throughout. Only then, start your car.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Skip stage five altogether.
Chessington: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Do not start your engine: that is where the short order of things starts. Leave your ignition off too, since on many diesels it alone starts your pump. Don't top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
If you are at a forecourt, whether it's the JET or the Texaco, ask the staff to help roll the vehicle away from the petrol pump. At home around Chessington? Then the car stays where it is.
Already run? Stop when it is safe, then switch off. Chessington lies under 5 miles from the M25; on it, use the first exit. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing Chessington is smaller a job than a run of under 15 miles to Westminster, and so say.
Chessington: what takes place when our technicians turn up
Anywhere the vehicle came to rest, be it by Ellingham Primary School, near St Mary the Virgin or on your own drive, the van travels to it. Which fluid got in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask because those answers set the work and quote. During the call itself, you are told our price — before dispatch.
The system is then purged thoroughly, once the tank is emptied. Much more than with petrol, it matters here: the crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and nothing clears away unaided, no matter how long it is left. After the fuel filter has been cleaned — or replaced, if needed — clean diesel is added, and finally your car is tested. We don't go until it has been fired up and is running correctly.
Most jobs are done in about half an hour once our engineers get there, provided your motor hasn't run — and the pumps we use are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet after dark beside a house. The insurer will ask for an engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both at the end. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. Before we get there, take a look at your insurance documents; many include cover for misfuelling.
About Chessington
Chessington is a suburban area in the Greater London borough of Kingston upon Thames, situated on the riverside at an elevation of around 52 metres. Chessington lies approximately 13 miles from central London and is close to nearby places such as Hook and Malden Rushett. Chessington has a population of around 4997 people and is characterised by semi-detached housing. Chessington is also near Manor Park, which provides residents with access to green spaces.
Chessington and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
Malden Rushett and Manor Park are among the towns around Chessington, a residential suburb, that the same teams cover, throughout KT postcodes. Quickest of all: give a KT9 2 postcode to our van.
No need to move the car. Anywhere it stands — near The King's Centre, in a layby en route to Sir Francis Barker Recreation Ground, at home — that is where it gets emptied. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you're close to a border, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Chessington Sea Life Centre.
In short, for Chessington motorists
Read the cap before you tip. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Leave the vehicle off then ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, across Greater London.