AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Kirriemuir: How It Occurs and How to Stop It
Pause reading a minute if your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then ring 0333 366 0103. Around Kirriemuir, catching it before your motor turns normally means draining and a thorough flush where it stands. The remainder of this page explains why it happens and how to ensure it does not — handy if you are reading ahead of time.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Diesel goes to the motor — but many modern diesels seen around Kirriemuir and Maryton carry another liquid as well. AdBlue's own tank keeps it, and from there it goes to the exhaust, and there a spray cleans the fumes.
Each tank has its own filler. Under one flap, side by side: that is the layout on many motors. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler is beneath the bonnet or in your boot instead. Topping up your diesel side at the pump happens constantly. Someone who has to stop and think where it goes normally tops up the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less commonly. That gap is where the error lives.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank occurs in Kirriemuir
It is hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a drive off High Street before work, or in the car park outside Three Bellies Brae heading home: that's where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the vehicle warns you, and once it is empty, limp mode kicks in.
Next, the hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old car — because a rental car, a new motor or a company car places the fillers where your last one didn't.
Third, the bottle goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue filler, it goes in just as easily, and once the tip starts, no part stops it. Wellbank or the heart of Kirriemuir: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
A couple of seconds is all these take — so run through them before you tip anything, on a drive in Northmuir or a forecourt in Kirriemuir.
- Where it sits can mislead; the cap doesn't. AdBlue ones tend to be blue or carry the name "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally don't.
- Many cars give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: many vehicles carry a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- In the boot or under the bonnet: that is where the filler sits if it is not by the diesel cap, and the handbook tells you which.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you collect a hire car or company car — from the nearest station's car park, say — not once the warning comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Angus that is.
- Turn off after you park — flat ground, motor stopped, and never in a rush by Bank Street at the roadside.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and reading it. Silly, yes, yet it works.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the car on.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Before starting your car, shut the cap and look again that the diesel cap never came off.
Discover at the second or third stage that AdBlue went in the wrong filler? That is where you stop. Step five is out.
Put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Kirriemuir already?
Short list, then. First: the motor remains off. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch the car on. Thinning it with extra diesel won't work, because AdBlue sinks to the base instead of blending — and that is where your fuel is sucked from.
The attendants at Autosales, Shell or another forecourt will usually lend a hand pushing your car away if asked. Leave it where it is if you're on your own drive around Kirriemuir.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the motor has already run. Kirriemuir sits under 25 miles from the M90; there, take the first exit. A short hop across Kirriemuir is a smaller job than a run towards Dundee, under 15 miles away, and so tell us about how far it went.
Kirriemuir: what takes place when we turn up
By the local primary school, near Peter Pan Statue or on your own driveway: wherever your car has stopped, our technicians come to it. Those replies determine this work and the quote, so we ask what got in, roughly how much, and if it has run. The quote comes on the call, ahead of any van leaving.
Then the tank is emptied and the fuel system flushed thoroughly. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why that matters more here than with petrol. The filter flushed or, where needed, replaced; fresh diesel in; and then a check of the car. Next our technicians start the engine and make sure it runs properly before we go.
Unrun vehicles mostly need a half-hour visit after arrival. The equipment is safe on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. Nothing in advance; you settle up on the day. Afterwards, the VAT invoice and a report from the engineer are handed to you for the insurer. Misfuelling cover is included in many insurance policies — so make use of the wait to look at yours.
About Kirriemuir
Kirriemuir is a town situated in a riverside setting in Angus, with a mix of detached housing and other types of accommodation. Kirriemuir sits at an elevation of 133 metres, near the South Esk River, and is located close to the nearby places of Wellbank, Tillyloss, and Southmuir. Kirriemuir has a population of around 6011 people and is approximately 14.9 miles from the city of Dundee. Kirriemuir is also relatively distant from London, at a distance of 375.4 miles.
AdBlue drains in Kirriemuir and across Angus
Tillyloss and Southmuir are among the places around Kirriemuir, a riverside town, that the same teams cover, throughout DD postcodes. Our van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting DD8 4.
No need to shift the car. Wherever it stands — near Kirriemuir Victoria Cross Winners Memorial, on a layby heading to Kirriemuir Conservation Area, at home — that's where it is cleared. Guessing won't help behind Gateway to the Glens Museum, on a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
The short version for Kirriemuir drivers
Before you pour, read the cap. Even so AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can empty it wherever it is, anywhere around Angus: keep the car off then call 0333 366 0103.