Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Drayton: Why It Happens
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? Then set this page down a moment, leave the ignition and engine off, then call 0333 366 0103. A drain and a full flush, done right where the vehicle sits in Drayton, is normally what it takes if caught before the engine runs. The rest of this page explains why it takes place and how to ensure it doesn't — handy if you are reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Diesel feeds your motor — yet plenty of newer diesels driven round Drayton and Binton carry another liquid as well. Its own tank keeps it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, where spraying treats the gas.
Different tanks, separate fillers. Many of vehicles share a single flap for both, while some put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is topped up at the petrol pump all the time. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less commonly, normally from a bottle, and usually by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. It is in that gap that the mistake happens.
AdBlue in your diesel tank in Drayton: how it takes place
It is hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a message from your car, and letting it run out means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Drayton Manor Drive, or at the pub in the village on the way home that evening.
Unfamiliar cars come second, too. Hire cars, new motors and company motors put their fillers differently, and the hand goes for the cap it used on the old one.
A spout-topped bottle finds no resistance at a diesel filler no more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, once started, keeps on. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of Drayton or out in Lower Binton.
The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart
Look at these first, on a forecourt around Drayton or a driveway over in Luddington. A few seconds, that's all.
- Read the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue ones are frequently blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel caps usually aren't.
- Check the size: the smaller neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Many motors say there which fuel goes where.
- In the boot or under the bonnet: that's where the filler is if it is not by your diesel cap, and the handbook tells you which.
- Ask the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — when you collect a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park outside Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever in Warwickshire that is.
- Turn off once parked — level ground, motor stopped, and never in a rush by Mayfly Close on the verge.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Silly, yes, but it does the trick.
- The two under a single flap? Then confirm the cap on your diesel filler is still closed before raising the bottle.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Shut the cap, then look again — confirm your diesel filler stayed shut the whole time. Only then, start the car.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Leave out step five altogether.
Drayton: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
The short order of things, beginning with not starting the engine. The fuel pump runs on many diesels the moment your ignition goes on — and so keep it off. AdBlue does not mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is drawn from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
Ask the attendants to help push your car clear of the petrol pump if you are at a forecourt — the Texaco, the Morrisons or somewhere else. Your own driveway around Drayton is where it stays.
Already run? Pull over when it is sensible, then switch off. On the M40, under 10 miles from Drayton, that means the next junction. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Coventry, under 25 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Drayton.
Our arrival in Drayton, and what happens next
Anywhere the car came to rest, be it by Bishopton Primary School, beside Anne Hathaway's Cottage or on your own drive, our van travels to it. The replies settle this work and the quote, and so our technicians ask what went in, about how much, and whether it's run. No one heads out until you've had our price by phone.
Next: draining, then a full flush of the entire system. More than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and nothing clears away on its own, no matter how long it is left. The filter cleaned or, if it must be, replaced; clean diesel in; then a check of your vehicle. The engine is started next and tested to make sure it runs properly, all before our engineers go.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The kit is fine on a busy forecourt, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Drayton itself
Drayton is a small hamlet in Warwickshire, situated in the West Midlands region of England, with a population of around 545 people. Drayton lies approximately 48 metres above sea level, near the villages of Lower Binton and Shottery. Drayton is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Drayton is located about 18 miles from Coventry and 84 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about Drayton, and Warwickshire beyond
Throughout CV postcodes, the vans that cover Drayton — a rural hamlet — work the surrounding locations too, Billesley and Shottery included. A postcode starting CV37 9 gets our van to you fastest.
Your car does not need to shift. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street near Our Lady of Peace, a lay-by on the way to Mary Arden's Farm, a drive. Tricky to pin down, like the back of St Andrew? Close to a county line? Checking beats guessing, so phone.
The short version for Drayton people
Always, the cap; after that, the tip. Still AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will drain it where it is, wherever around Warwickshire: switch the car off and ring 0333 366 0103.