How It Occurs and How to Avoid It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Hambleton
Pause here a minute when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Hambleton, catching it before the engine runs normally means a drain and a full flush where it stands. The rest of this page explains why it occurs and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you're reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Plenty of newer diesels on the roads about Hambleton and Thorpe Wood carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the motor. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is fed into your exhaust stream and cleans it.
There's a filler for every tank. Under one flap, side by side: that is the arrangement on many motors. On others, AdBlue's filler is under the bonnet or in the boot instead. Topping up the diesel side at the pump goes on all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less often, usually from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. Mistakes happen in that gap between the two.
AdBlue in the diesel tank around Hambleton: how it happens
It is hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a warning from the vehicle, and letting it run out means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, maybe before work off St Mary's Approach, perhaps outside Red Lion on the way home after work.
Then, your hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old vehicle — since a hire car, a new motor or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one did not.
Nothing halts the pour after it has started, because a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as readily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. Gateforth or the middle of Hambleton: it is the same few seconds either way.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you pour anything, whether on a drive in Biggin or a forecourt around Hambleton, check these. They take a few seconds.
- Where it sits can mislead; the cap does not. AdBlue caps tend to be blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally don't.
- Look at the size: the smaller filler neck is, on many vehicles, the AdBlue one.
- A label inside the fuel flap often says which fuel goes where, on many cars. Look for it.
- The handbook shows which it lives if the filler is not next to your diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- Check with the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — when you pick up a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at Sherburn-In-Elmet.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
The day the light goes on, wherever around North Yorkshire, follow this routine.
- Pull in somewhere level, motor off, with time in hand — not rushing on the side of Gibson Close.
- Locate the AdBlue filler, read the cap, and say the name "AdBlue" out loud while unscrewing it. It sounds silly. It works.
- The diesel cap stays on. Where both share a flap, confirm it's closed before the bottle comes up.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check once more. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Step five is out.
Hambleton: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
The short order of things, starting with not starting your motor. Do not switch your ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Filling up with diesel won't thin it: instead, AdBlue sinks to the base of your tank, just where fuel is drawn from.
Ask the staff to help roll the vehicle away from the pump if you're at a forecourt — the Tesco, the BP or anywhere else. If you are on your own drive around Hambleton, leave it where it sits.
If the motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. On the A1(M), under 5 miles from Hambleton, that means the next junction. A short hop across Hambleton is a smaller job than a run towards York, under 15 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
Hambleton: what happens when our engineers arrive
Outside Hambleton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, near St Mary's Church or on your own drive: wherever your car has stopped, we come to it. Both the work and the price depend on three replies — which liquid, what quantity, and if it has run — so we ask. No one sets off until you have heard the quote over the phone.
Draining that tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not wash out on its own — which is why the flush counts more with AdBlue than with petrol. Filter cleaned or, if needed, swapped; fresh diesel in; and then a check of the car. We do not leave until it has been fired up and is running correctly.
Unstarted vehicles usually mean a half-hour job from arrival. The kit is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a residential street late at night. Nothing upfront; you settle up that day. At the end, a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for the insurer. While we travel, take a look at your policy; many carry cover for misfuelling.
About Hambleton itself
Hambleton is a village in North Yorkshire, situated near the city of York and surrounded by other small settlements like Gateforth and Thorpe Willoughby. Hambleton sits in a low-lying area at an elevation of around 11 metres, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Hambleton is located approximately 13 miles from York, making it a commuter base for the city. Hambleton has a population of around 1358 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across North Yorkshire, Hambleton included
As a rural village, Hambleton has the same vans as surrounding areas — Gateforth Park, Thorpe Willoughby — all the way across YO postcodes and the wider area beyond. A postcode starting YO8 9 gets the van to you fastest.
The car remains where it is. Anywhere it sits — beside Hambleton Village Hall, in a layby heading to Hambleton Hough, at home — that is where it gets drained. If you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Thorpe Willoughby Sports Association, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Hambleton drivers: the short version
Read the cap before you pour. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere in North Yorkshire, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless — and so leave it off then phone 0333 366 0103.