AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Deepdale: How It Happens and How to Avoid It
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case put this page aside a moment, leave the ignition and engine off, then call 0333 366 0103. Caught before the motor runs, it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Deepdale. Reading before the event? Then the rest explains why it happens and what to prevent it ever happening.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel car
Diesel goes to the motor — yet plenty of current diesels seen round Deepdale and Preston carry another liquid as well. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into your exhaust gas to clean it.
Separate tanks, different fillers. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. At the petrol pump, the diesel side is topped up constantly. Seldom topped up, AdBlue usually comes out of a bottle, tipped by someone who has to stop and think what cap it needs. It's in that gap that the mistake happens.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank occurs in Deepdale
Rarely is it carelessness: normally three things line up.
On a driveway off St George's Road before work, or in the car park at The Royal Consort heading home: that's where the hurried top-up takes place. What is the reason for the rush? As AdBlue gets low the vehicle warns you, and if it is gone, limp mode follows.
Next, your hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old car — since a rental car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers somewhere your last one did not.
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. Holme Slack or the middle of Deepdale: it takes the same few seconds either way.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Whether a Deepdale forecourt or a drive out in Adelphi, spend a few seconds over these before anything is poured in.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally doesn't. Trust the cap, not its position.
- Look at the size: the smaller neck is, on many motors, the AdBlue one.
- A label inside the fuel flap frequently says which fuel goes where, on plenty of motors. Check for it.
- Can't find it next to your diesel filler? Then check below the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you pick up a hire car or company car — at Preston's car park, perhaps — not when the warning comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
The day the light goes on, anywhere around Lancashire, follow this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Goldfinch Street, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park then switch off first.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and reading it. Silly, perhaps, but it works.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the vehicle on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Shut the cap, and look again — confirm your diesel cap remained closed the whole time. Only then, start the vehicle.
Find at step two or three that it has already gone into your diesel side? Then stop right there. Never go on to step five.
Deepdale: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start the motor. The fuel pump starts on many diesels as soon as the ignition goes on — so leave it off. Filling up with diesel will not weaken it: rather than mixing, AdBlue drops to the bottom of that tank, right where fuel is taken from.
If you're at a forecourt, whether it's the Asda or the Sainsbury's, ask the attendants to help push your car clear of the pump. Leave it where it is if you are on your own drive in Deepdale.
Already started? Pull over when it is safe, then turn off. On the M6, under 3 miles from Deepdale, that means the next exit. Mileage counts — a short hop across Deepdale is a smaller job than heading under a mile towards Preston — so say about how far it went.
What happens when we turn up in Deepdale
Anywhere the car has stopped, be it by Deepdale Community Primary School, beside Deepdale Labour Club or at home, the van travels to it. What fluid went in, the amount, and whether it ran: our engineers ask since the answers set the work and quote. On the phone call itself, you hear our quote — ahead of anything else.
Next: draining, then a thorough flush of the whole system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why the flush matters more here than with petrol. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Before leaving, we fire it up and make sure that it's running correctly.
Unstarted cars usually need a half-hour job from the moment we arrive. The kit is safe on a live filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. The insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours once this job is done. Payment is on the day, with no deposit. Misfuelling cover is part of many insurance policies — and so make use of the wait to look at yours.
About Deepdale itself
Deepdale is a suburban area in Lancashire, situated on the riverside near Preston, with a mix of terraced housing and local amenities. Deepdale sits at an elevation of 41 metres, close to the city centre and nearby places like Holme Slack and Fishwick. Deepdale is home to a population of around 11,000 people, with a range of community facilities and services. Deepdale is located about 0.7 miles from Preston city centre, making it a convenient and accessible place to live.
Deepdale and Lancashire: AdBlue drains across the area
Deepdale is a residential suburb, and the vans that cover it also work the towns near it, Gallows Hill and Fishwick among them, across the PR postcode area. Our van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting PR1 6.
There's no need to move your car. Anywhere it sits — near Deepdale Stadium, on a lay-by heading to Moor Park, at home — that's where it gets emptied. Guessing won't help behind Masjid-e-Noor, close to a border, or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Deepdale drivers: the short version
Pour nothing until you've read the cap. Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, anywhere across Lancashire, if AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank regardless — so leave it off and call 0333 366 0103.