AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Covingham: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then set this page down a moment, leave the ignition and engine off, and call 0333 366 0103. A drain and a thorough flush, done just where the vehicle stands in Covingham, is usually all it needs when caught before the motor runs. Not happened yet? Below, the page covers the why it occurs and the how to prevent it altogether.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Diesel feeds your engine — yet plenty of current diesels driven round Covingham and Eldene hold another liquid as well. Kept in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into the exhaust stream and cleans it.
There's a filler for every tank. 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 fuelled at the petrol pump all the time. A driver who has to stop and work out where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less often. It's in that gap that the mistake lives.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank take place around Covingham?
Carelessness seldom causes it. What does is three things coming up together.
On a drive off Foxbridge before work, or in the car park at The Messenger on the way home: that is where the hurried top-up happens. What is the reason for the rush? As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it's gone, limp mode follows.
Then the vehicle is unfamiliar. A hire car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers where your last one did not, and your hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old one.
A spouted bottle meets no resistance at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. And so the pour, after started, carries on. It takes a few seconds, be it out in Nythe or right in the heart of Covingham.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these first, on a forecourt around Covingham or a drive out in Walcot East. Seconds, no more.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap usually isn't. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- The size. On plenty of cars the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- A label inside your fuel flap often shows which fuel goes where, on many vehicles. Look for it.
- Can't see it next to the diesel filler? Then look below the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual will say where.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park outside Swindon, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
Anywhere in Wiltshire the light comes on, here is a routine for the day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Kingfisher Drive, not on a slope, not with the engine running: park then switch off first.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after you find the AdBlue filler and reading it. Silly, perhaps, yet it does the trick.
- Leave the diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the vehicle, close the cap and check again that your diesel cap never came off.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Do not go on to step five.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, in Covingham?
Don't start your engine: that's where the short order of things starts. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not 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 pulled from.
At a forecourt — Esso, Onroute Truckstops or another — the attendants will usually help push the car clear, if you ask. At home in Covingham? So the car stays put.
If your engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The next exit is the place to come off if you're on the M4, under 3 miles from Covingham. Distance counts — a quick hop across Covingham makes a smaller job than heading under 25 miles towards Oxford — so tell us roughly how far it went.
What occurs when we get there in Covingham
Anywhere the car has stopped, be it outside Covingham Park Primary School, near Covingham Library or on your own drive, our van comes to it. What liquid got in, the amount, and whether it ran: our engineers ask since those answers decide the work and price. No one heads out until you've heard our price over the phone.
Your system is then rinsed thoroughly, after the tank is drained. More than with petrol, it counts here: crystals build up, some metals corrode, and none of it clears out on its own, no matter how long it sits. Testing is last: before that, clean diesel is added, and the fuel filter is flushed or replaced if necessary. We don't leave until it has been started and is running properly.
Most jobs are done in roughly half an hour once our engineers arrive, as long as your motor hasn't run — and the pumps we use are fine on a live forecourt yet quiet after dark beside a house. Your insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both at the end. Payment comes on the day, with no deposit. Misfuelling cover is included in plenty of insurance policies — so make use of the wait to look at yours.
About Covingham itself
Covingham is a suburban area in Wiltshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 97 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Covingham is located near the suburbs of Nythe, Dorcan, and Park North, and is approximately 24 miles from Oxford. Covingham has a population of around 4918 residents, and is within commuting distance of major cities, including London, which is 68.9 miles away.
Covingham and Wiltshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout SN postcodes, our teams covering Covingham — a residential suburb — work the nearby spots too, Park North and Dorcan included. Fastest of all: quote a SN3 5 postcode to our van.
The car does not need to move. Anywhere it sits — beside St Pauls Church Centre, on a lay-by heading to Swindon Rugby Football Club, on a drive — that is where it is emptied. If you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of Durocornovium Roman Site, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Covingham drivers: the short version
Read the cap before you pour. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank anyway, leave the vehicle off and call 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it sits, anywhere around Wiltshire.