--- title: Hotwells: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank, Explained canonical: https://www.petrolinadieselcar.co.uk/adblue-in-diesel/hotwells-bristol/ location: Hotwells county: Bristol latitude: 51.450910 longitude: -2.621070 service: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank updated: 2026-10-09 --- # Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Hotwells: Why It Occurs Pause reading for a moment when your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. A drain plus a thorough flush, carried out right where the car stands around Hotwells, is normally all it needs if found before your engine runs. Reading before the event? Then what follows covers how it comes about and what to stop it happening at all. ## AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers Many newer diesels on the roads about Hotwells and Canons Marsh carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the engine. Your exhaust, not your engine, is where AdBlue ends up: dosed into the fumes to clean it, from a separate tank. There's a filler for each tank. Other cars put the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; a lot more place both together behind one flap. At the petrol pump, your diesel side is topped up all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and usually by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. That gap is where the mistake lives. ## How AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place in Hotwells Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is seldom one of them. On a driveway off Hopechapel Hill before work, or in the car park at Rose of Denmark heading home: that is where the hurried top-up takes place. What is the reason for the rush? As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and if it is empty, limp mode kicks in. Next, the hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old car — since a hire car, a new car or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one didn't. Nothing halts the tip after it has started, since a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. Clifton Wood or the middle of Hotwells: it takes the same few seconds in both. ## The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart Check these first, at a forecourt around Hotwells or a driveway over in Bower Ashton. Seconds, that's all. - Read the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue caps are frequently blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones normally aren't. - The size. On many vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two. - Look inside the fuel flap: plenty of motors have a label there showing which fuel goes where. - The handbook. If the filler isn't by the diesel cap, it is in the boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which. - Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Clifton Down? Check with the person who drove the vehicle last before leaving, not when the light goes on. ## AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever in Bristol that is. - Stop somewhere level, motor off, with time to spare — never hurried on the side of South Green Street. - 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 — and leave it on. - Gently is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it is full or the bottle is empty. - Close the cap and check a second time. Make sure the diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the vehicle. Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you have already poured into the diesel side. Leave out step five entirely. ## Put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Hotwells already? Do not start your engine: that's how the short order of things begins. Leave the ignition off as well, since on plenty of diesels it alone runs your fuel pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is sucked from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it. Ask the attendants to help roll your car clear of the petrol pump if you're on a forecourt — the Esso, the Harvest Energy or somewhere else. If you are on your own drive in Hotwells, leave it where it is. Where the motor has been run by now, pull over safely then turn the vehicle off. Hotwells sits under 3 miles from the M32; on it, use the first junction. A short hop across Hotwells is a smaller job than a run towards Bristol, under a mile away, and so tell us about how far it went. ## Our arrival around Hotwells, and what takes place next Anywhere the vehicle has stopped, be it outside Hotwells Primary School, beside Mr Robert Young or on your own drive, the van comes to it. What fluid was put in, the quantity, and if it ran: our engineers ask because the answers decide the work and price. The price comes over the phone, ahead of any van leaving. The fuel system is then rinsed thoroughly, once that tank is cleared. Much more than with petrol, it counts with AdBlue: the crystals form, certain metals are attacked, and nothing washes out on its own, however long it sits. A test comes last: before that, fresh diesel goes in, and the filter is cleaned or replaced if necessary. Before leaving, our engineers start the engine and check that it is running smoothly. Unstarted cars usually need a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive. The equipment is fine on a busy filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway late at night. No money upfront; you settle up that day. At the end, the VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. Before we get there, take a look at your insurance documents; many carry cover for misfuelling. ## About Hotwells, briefly Hotwells is a riverside suburban area in Bristol, situated near the city centre and overlooking the River Avon. Hotwells has a relatively low elevation of 22 metres and is close to nearby places such as Clifton Wood and Leigh Woods. Hotwells is predominantly composed of flat housing and is located approximately 0.9 miles from Bristol city centre. Hotwells is also near Victoria Park, a popular local green space. ## AdBlue drains in Hotwells and across Bristol Leigh Woods and Victoria Park are among the towns near Hotwells, a residential suburb, that the same teams cover, throughout BS postcodes. A postcode starting BS8 4 gets our van to you fastest. Your car doesn't need to move. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Dowry Square, a side street close to Peter Ware: our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. Guessing doesn't help behind Hope Chapel, close to a boundary, or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check. ## In short, for Hotwells motorists First, the cap; after that, the tip. AdBlue in the diesel tank after all? Keep the car off and ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it on the spot, throughout Bristol.