Farnham Royal: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Prevent It?
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103. In Farnham Royal, finding it before your engine runs normally means a drain and a thorough flush on the spot. Nothing happened yet? Below, the rest of the page explains the why it takes place and the how to avoid it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
No single fluid but two: that is what plenty of newer diesels around Farnham Royal and Farnham Common run, with diesel for the motor. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Different tanks, separate fillers. Under one flap, side by side: that is the layout on a lot of vehicles. On others, AdBlue's filler sits under the bonnet or in the boot instead. At the petrol pump, your diesel side gets filled all the time. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less regularly, normally from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. The mistake grows in that gap between the two.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank occurs in Farnham Royal
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a message from the car, and letting it run dry leads to limp mode — so a hurried top-up, maybe before work off Park Road, or at The Duke's Head on the way home that evening.
Then, the hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old vehicle — since a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car puts the fillers where 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, so nothing stops the tip once it has started. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of Farnham Royal or out in Farnham Park.
The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart
Whether a Farnham Royal forecourt or a driveway over in Egypt, spend a couple of seconds on these before any goes in.
- Read the cap instead of going by position: AdBlue caps are commonly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones usually aren't.
- On many motors, the size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- Check inside the fuel flap: plenty of motors carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- Can't find it next to your diesel filler? Then check below the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Burnham? Ask whoever drove the vehicle last before leaving, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
Anywhere in Buckinghamshire the light comes on, here is a routine for that day.
- Switch off once parked — level ground, motor stopped, and not in a rush beside Beaconsfield Road at the roadside.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the vehicle on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check a second time. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the vehicle.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Don't go on to step five.
Farnham Royal: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start your motor. The fuel pump starts on many diesels the moment your ignition goes on — so keep it off. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to thin it.
If you are at a forecourt, whether it's the Texaco or the BP, ask the staff to help roll your car clear of the pump. If you're on your own drive around Farnham Royal, leave it where it is.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if your motor has already run. Farnham Royal sits under 3 miles from the Huntercombe Spur; on it, use the first exit. Distance counts — a quick hop across Farnham Royal is a smaller job than driving under 25 miles towards St Albans — so say roughly how far it went.
What happens when we get there around Farnham Royal
Anywhere the vehicle came to rest, whether by St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School, beside The Old Pump or at home, the van comes to it. What fluid got in, the amount, and whether it ran: our engineers ask since those answers decide both work and quote. The quote is given over the phone, ahead of any van leaving.
Then the tank is drained and the system purged thoroughly. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. Filter cleaned or, where needed, replaced; clean diesel in; and then a test of the vehicle. Your engine is fired up next and checked to make sure it runs correctly, all before we leave.
Unstarted cars usually need a half-hour visit after arrival. The equipment is fine on a live filling station, and hushed enough for a residential street late at night. Nothing upfront; you settle up that day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. It's worth checking your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with many policies.
About Farnham Royal
Farnham Royal is a village in Buckinghamshire, situated inland at an elevation of 51 metres, with Farnham Royal being close to several nearby places including Farnham Park and East Burnham. Farnham Royal has a population of approximately 1881 residents, with Farnham Royal predominantly consisting of detached housing. Farnham Royal is located near the city of St Albans, which is 19 miles away, and Farnham Royal is also within commuting distance of London, being 21 miles from the capital.
AdBlue drains around Farnham Royal and across Buckinghamshire
As a rural village, Farnham Royal shares its vans nearby areas — East Burnham, Britwell — all the way through SL postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. Quickest of all: quote a SL2 3 postcode to the van.
Your car stays put. The drain happens on the spot, whether a driveway, a street near Farnham Royal Village Hall, or a lay-by on the way to Monksfield Recreation Ground. Assuming doesn't help behind Farnham Royal Cricket Club, on a boundary, or somewhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
For Farnham Royal drivers, the short version
First, the cap; then, the tip. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere across Buckinghamshire, if AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank all the same — so leave the vehicle off and phone 0333 366 0103.