AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Hawkesley: How It Happens and How to Avoid It
Keep your engine and ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103 now — reading can wait if AdBlue is already in the diesel tank. In Hawkesley, catching it before your motor turns normally means a drain and a thorough flush on the spot. Not happened yet? Below, the rest of the page explains the reasons it happens and the ways to prevent it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
Not one fluid but two: that's what plenty of modern diesels near Hawkesley and Walkers Heath run, with diesel for the engine. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. Plenty of cars share a single flap for the two, whereas others put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. At the pump, the diesel side gets filled all the time. Rarely filled, AdBlue normally comes out of a bottle, tipped by a driver who has to stop and think which filler it needs. The mistake grows in that gap between the two.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank occurs around Hawkesley
Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is rarely one of them.
On a drive off Longdales Road before work, or in the car park outside The Tunnel heading home: that's where the rushed top-up happens. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the car warns you, and if it is gone, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's filler is where the hand reaches — yet a hire car, a new motor or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That's the second thing: a new motor.
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 after it has started. Whether it happens in Red Hill or the middle of Hawkesley, it's the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
A few seconds is all the checks take — so check them before you pour anything, on a driveway in Kings Norton or a forecourt around Hawkesley.
- Position misleads; the cap does not. AdBlue caps are often blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally do not.
- On many cars, the size tells: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- Look inside the fuel flap: plenty of vehicles carry a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If your filler is not by the diesel cap, it is in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at Kings Norton, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
When the light comes on, wherever in West Midlands, use this routine.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with the motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Glenroyde.
- Silly as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" out loud while you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have found the filler and read it.
- The diesel cap remains on. Where both share a flap, confirm it's closed before lifting the bottle.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before you start your car, shut the cap and look a second time that the diesel cap never opened off.
Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you've already poured into the diesel side. Don't carry on to step five.
Put AdBlue in your diesel tank around Hawkesley already?
The short order of things, starting with no starting your motor. Keep the ignition off as well, since on plenty of diesels it by itself starts the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is sucked from — so don't top up with diesel to dilute it.
Ask the staff to help push your car clear of the petrol pump if you're at a forecourt — the BP, the Texaco or somewhere else. Leave it where it is if you're on your own driveway in Hawkesley.
Already run? Pull over when it's safe, then switch off. Hawkesley lies under 3 miles from the M42; on it, take the first exit. A short hop across Hawkesley is a smaller job than a run towards Birmingham, under 10 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
When our engineers arrive around Hawkesley, what occurs?
Anywhere the car has stopped, be it outside Hawkesley Church Primary Academy, near Hawkesley Academy or at home, the van travels to it. Which fluid was put in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask since the replies decide the work and price. The price is given over the phone, before any van leaves.
The fuel system is then flushed thoroughly, once that tank is emptied. Much more than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: crystals form, some metals corrode, and nothing clears out on its own, no matter how long it sits. Once the filter is cleaned — or replaced, where needed — clean diesel goes in, and then the car gets tested. Before we go, we start it and make sure that it's running smoothly.
If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there, using pumps that are fine on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. No money in advance; you settle up on the day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and the report from the engineer are handed to you for your insurer. While we travel, take a look at your policy; plenty carry cover for misfuelling.
About Hawkesley and where it is
Hawkesley is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Rea and close to the cities of Birmingham and other nearby places like Red Hill and West Heath. Hawkesley sits at an elevation of 166 metres, with a mix of terraced housing and local amenities. Hawkesley is located approximately 6 miles southwest of Birmingham city centre, making it a commuter-friendly location. Hawkesley has a population of around 3733 residents, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across West Midlands, Hawkesley included
West Heath and Bell Green are among the towns near Hawkesley, a residential suburb, that the same vans cover, throughout B postcodes. A postcode starting B38 9 gets our van to you fastest.
Shifting the car isn't needed. Anywhere it sits — beside Hawkesley Hall and Moat, in a lay-by en route to Shannon Road Public Open Space, on a drive — that's where it gets drained. If you are near a border, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of Hawkesley Hall, ring and ask rather than guessing.
For Hawkesley motorists, the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. Even so AdBlue in the diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will drain it where it is, anywhere around West Midlands: switch the car off then call 0333 366 0103.