AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Howwood: How It Occurs and How to Avoid It
Leave the motor and ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103 now — reading can wait if AdBlue is already in the diesel tank. A drain and a thorough flush, done just where the vehicle stands in Howwood, is usually all it needs if caught before the motor runs. The rest of this page explains why it takes place and how to make sure it does not — handy if you're reading before it has happened.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Diesel goes to your motor — yet plenty of modern diesels seen round Howwood and Tandlehill carry a second fluid as well. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. Under one flap, side by side: that's the layout on a lot of cars. On others, AdBlue's filler is under the bonnet or in your boot instead. Topping up the diesel side at the pump happens all the time. Someone who has to stop and work out where it goes usually tops up the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less regularly. It is in that gap that the slip lives.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank happens around Howwood
Rarely is it carelessness: normally three things line up.
On a drive off Station Road before work, or in the car park at Howwood Inn heading home: that's where the hurried top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low your car warns you, and once it is empty, limp mode follows.
Then the car is unfamiliar. A hire car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't, and your hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old one.
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. Whether it occurs in Spateston or the middle of Howwood, it is the same few seconds.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
A few seconds is all these take — so run through them before you tip anything, on a driveway in Cartside or a forecourt in Howwood.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is commonly blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap usually doesn't. Trust the cap, not its position.
- On many cars, the size tells: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Plenty of motors say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook says where it lives if the filler isn't next to your diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- Check with the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — if you collect a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at the nearest station.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever in Renfrewshire that is.
- Not in a rush on the side of George Street, not on a slope, not with your engine running: park and switch off first.
- Locate the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and speak the word "AdBlue" out loud while you unscrew it. It seems silly. It works.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Gently is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the car, close the cap and check again that your diesel cap never opened off.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you have already poured into the diesel side. Don't carry on to step five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, in Howwood?
Brief order, then. First: the motor stays off. Do not switch your ignition on; on many diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
The attendants at Morrisons, Esso or another forecourt will normally help pushing the car clear if you ask. If you are on your own driveway around Howwood, leave it where it stands.
Already run? Pull over once it's sensible, then switch off. On the M8, under 10 miles from Howwood, that means the next exit. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Glasgow, under 15 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Howwood.
Howwood: what occurs when our technicians turn up
Our van comes to your car anywhere it stopped — your own drive, beside Howwood Village Hall, or by the local primary school. Our technicians ask what was put in, about how much, and if it has run, because the replies determine this work and the quote. On the call itself, you hear our quote — before dispatch.
The fuel system is then cleaned thoroughly, once that tank is drained. More than with petrol, it matters here: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and none of that clears out on its own, no matter how long it sits. Testing is at the end: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the fuel filter is flushed or replaced as needed. The engine is fired up next and checked to make sure it runs properly, all before we go.
Most jobs are done in roughly half an hour after we arrive, provided the engine hasn't run — and the pumps our technicians use are fine on a busy forecourt and quiet at night beside a house. Paying is on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents an insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Howwood
Howwood is a village in Renfrewshire, situated on the banks of a river at an elevation of 43 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Howwood lies approximately 13 miles west of Glasgow and is surrounded by nearby places such as Spateston, Corseford, and Millikenpark. Howwood has a population of around 1546 residents and is located in a scenic riverside setting. Howwood is also relatively distant from London, being around 348 miles away.
Howwood and Renfrewshire: AdBlue drains across the area
As a village, Howwood shares its vans surrounding places — Corseford, Millikenpark — all the way across PA postcodes and the wider area beyond. Fastest of all: quote a PA9 1 postcode for the van.
Your car doesn't need to shift. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street near Howwood Parish Church, a lay-by on the way to Corsehead Wood, a driveway. Awkward to pin down, like the back of The Church Of Christ The King? By a county line? Asking beats assuming, and so phone.
Howwood people: the short version
Read the cap before you tip. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere in Renfrewshire, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless — and so leave the car off then call 0333 366 0103.