AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Dudden Hill: How It Occurs and How to Prevent It
Stop here for a moment when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, and ring 0333 366 0103. Caught before the motor runs, it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Dudden Hill. Not happened yet? Further down, the rest of the page covers the why it takes place and the ways to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the engine — but many current diesels seen round Dudden Hill and Church End hold a second liquid too. Your exhaust, not your engine, is where AdBlue ends up: dosed into the gas to fresh them, from a separate tank.
Each tank has a filler of its own. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. Diesel goes in at every filling station visit, again and again. Rarely topped up, AdBlue normally goes in from a bottle, tipped by a driver who has to stop and think what cap to use. Mistakes happen in that gap between them.
AdBlue in your diesel tank around Dudden Hill: how it occurs
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
On a driveway off Geary Road before work, or in the car park at Tony's on the way home: that's where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the vehicle warns you, and if it is gone, limp mode follows.
The old car's cap is where the hand reaches — yet a hire car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That is a second factor: a new motor.
No part stops the pour once it has started, since a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. It takes seconds, whether out in Neasden or right in the heart of Dudden Hill.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Check these first, on a forecourt around Dudden Hill or a driveway over in Brent Park. Seconds, that's all.
- Blue and lettering: an AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Trust the cap, not its position.
- Plenty of motors fit AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- A label inside the fuel flap often says which fuel goes where, on plenty of vehicles. Look for it.
- Cannot see it next to the diesel inlet? In that case look beneath the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- Picking up a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Brent Cross West? Check with whoever drove the car last before leaving, not once the light goes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching the diesel tank
The day the light comes on, wherever in Greater London, use this routine.
- Stop on level, motor off, with time in hand — not hurried on the side of Kendal Road.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Leave the diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Stop once your tank is topped up or the bottle runs dry; until then, tip gently using the built-in spout.
- Close the cap, then check again — confirm the diesel filler stayed closed the whole time. Only then, start the vehicle.
Spot at stage two or three that it's already gone into the diesel side? So stop just there. Stage five is off limits.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank in Dudden Hill?
Don't start your motor: that is where the short order of things begins. Don't switch your ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where the fuel is sucked from.
On a forecourt — Esso, Texaco or another — the attendants will normally help roll your car clear, when you ask. If you are on your own driveway in Dudden Hill, leave it where it is.
Where your motor has been run by now, stop safely and switch it off. Dudden Hill sits under 3 miles from the M1; there, use the next exit. A short hop across Dudden Hill is a smaller job than a run towards Westminster, under 10 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
When we get there in Dudden Hill, what takes place?
Our van reaches your car wherever it has come to rest — your own driveway, near St Francis of Assisi, or by Northview Junior and Infant School. Both the work and our quote depend on three answers — which liquid, which quantity, and if it's run — so our engineers ask. That price comes over the phone, before any van leaves.
Then that tank is emptied and the system flushed thoroughly. More than with petrol, it counts with AdBlue: crystals form, certain metals are attacked, and nothing washes away on its own, no matter how long it sits. After the fuel filter has been cleaned — or replaced, if required — fresh diesel is added, and then the car gets tested. The engine is fired up next and tested to confirm it runs smoothly, all before our engineers head off.
If the motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. Paying happens on the day, not upfront, and you receive the documents your insurer asks for: an engineer's report and a VAT invoice. Wrong-fuel cover is part of many insurance policies — so use the wait to look at yours.
About Dudden Hill itself
Dudden Hill is a suburban area in northwest London, situated approximately 5.8 miles from the city centre. Dudden Hill sits at an elevation of 41 metres, near the neighbourhoods of Neasden, Willesden, and Dollis Hill. Dudden Hill is predominantly composed of flat dwellings, which house its population of around 12330 residents. Dudden Hill is close to Westminster, which is about 6.1 miles away.
Dudden Hill and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
As a residential suburb, Dudden Hill shares its vans surrounding places — Willesden, Dollis Hill — right through NW postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. A postcode starting NW10 1 gets the van to you fastest.
No need to move your car. The drain takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a street near Assembléia de Deus - Ministério do Belém, or a lay-by on the way to Gladstone Park. If you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Neasden - St Catherine w St Paul, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Dudden Hill drivers: the short version
Always, the cap; then, the pour. Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, anywhere in Greater London, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless — and so leave the car off and ring 0333 366 0103.