AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Cricklade: How It Happens and How to Stop It
Stop here for a moment if the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then ring 0333 366 0103. A drain plus a thorough flush, carried out just where your car sits in Cricklade, is usually what it takes if found before the motor runs. Nothing happened yet? Further down, the page explains the why it takes place and the how to prevent it altogether.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel car need its own filler?
Plenty of current diesels on the roads about Cricklade and Hornbeam Grange carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the motor. AdBlue's own tank keeps it, and from there it goes to the exhaust, where a spray treats the gas.
Separate tanks, different fillers. Some motors put the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; a lot of others have the two side by side behind one flap. Diesel goes in on every forecourt visit, again and again. Rarely topped up, AdBlue usually comes from a bottle, tipped by a driver who must stop and think which filler it needs. The mistake grows in that gap between the two.
Cricklade: how AdBlue in the diesel tank occurs
Rarely is it carelessness: usually three things line up.
On a drive off High Street before work, or in the car park outside The Old Bear heading home: that's where the rushed top-up happens. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and once it's empty, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's cap is where your hand goes — but a rental car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That's a second thing: a strange motor.
Lastly, the bottle goes in: diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in as easily, and once the tip begins, no part halts it. Horsey Down or the middle of Cricklade: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you pour anything, whether on a driveway in Hailstone Hill or a forecourt around Cricklade, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- Colour and marking: an AdBlue cap is often blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally doesn't. Trust the cap, not where it sits.
- The size. On many cars the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- 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.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park at Swindon? Ask the person who drove the car last before you set off, not when the light goes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
Anywhere in Wiltshire the light comes on, this is a routine for the day.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with your motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Calcutt Street.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft and it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the car on.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start the car: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Never carry on to step five.
Put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Cricklade already?
Short list, then. First: the motor stays unstarted. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch the car on. AdBlue does not mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is drawn from — so don't top up with diesel to thin it.
On a forecourt — Esso, BP or any other — the attendants will usually help roll the car away, if you ask. Leave it where it is if you are on your own drive in Cricklade.
If the motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Cricklade lies under 10 miles from the M4; there, take the next junction. Mileage matters — a quick hop across Cricklade is a smaller job than heading under 25 miles towards Gloucester — so tell us about how far it went.
Cricklade: what happens when our engineers turn up
Anywhere the car has stopped, whether by St Sampson's Church of England Primary School, near Cricklade Town Banks or at home, the van travels to it. We ask what went in, about how much, and if it has run, because those replies determine the work and the price. Nobody heads out until you have heard our quote by phone.
Draining that tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the fuel system. Much more than with petrol, it counts here: the crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and nothing clears away unaided, no matter how long it sits. A test comes last: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the fuel filter is cleaned or changed as needed. Next our technicians start the car and check it runs correctly before we leave.
With pumps fine on a working forecourt and quiet enough for use outside a house at night, most jobs where your motor has not run need roughly half an hour once our technicians arrive. No money upfront; you settle up that day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and the report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. Misfuelling cover is part of many insurance policies — and so use the wait to look at yours.
About Cricklade
Cricklade is a small town situated on the banks of the River Thames in north Wiltshire, with a population of around 4030 people. Cricklade sits at an elevation of 89 metres, close to the nearby villages of Horsey Down, Calcutt, and Eysey. Cricklade is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its history of growth and development. Cricklade is located approximately 74.8 miles west of London and 22.7 miles south of Gloucester.
AdBlue drains across Wiltshire, Cricklade included
Being a riverside town, Cricklade shares its vans nearby areas — Calcutt, Eysey — all the way across SN postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting SN6 6.
Moving your car isn't needed. Anywhere it stands — near Jenner Hall, on a layby heading to Millennium and Jubilee Woods, at home — that is where it is cleared. Ring and ask rather than assuming if you're close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Cricklade Town Council.
The short version for Cricklade people
Read the cap before you pour. AdBlue in the diesel tank after all? Keep it switched off then call 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, across Wiltshire.