Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Madeley Heath: Why It Occurs
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then put this page down for now, keep the ignition and motor off, and call 0333 366 0103. In Madeley Heath, catching it before the engine runs normally means draining and a full flush on the spot. Reading in advance? Then what follows covers how it happens and what to prevent it ever happening.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel motor need its own filler?
Plenty of newer diesels in Middle Madeley, like those in Madeley Heath, run on two fluids; your engine takes only the diesel. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Separate tanks, different fillers. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is filled at the petrol pump all the time. Rarely filled, AdBlue normally goes in from a bottle, poured by someone who must stop and think what cap it needs. The error lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank happen in Madeley Heath?
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the car, and letting it run dry leads to limp mode — so a rushed top-up, perhaps before work off Leycett Lane, or outside The Old Swan on the way home after work.
The old car's filler is where the hand goes — but a rental car, a new motor or a company car keeps the fillers elsewhere. That is the second thing: an unfamiliar vehicle.
Third, the bottle goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue filler, it slides in as easily, and after the pour begins, no part stops it. The same few seconds decide it, in the middle of Madeley Heath or out in Finney Green.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
A few seconds is all these take — so check them before you tip anything, on a drive in Madeley or a forecourt around Madeley Heath.
- Where it sits misleads; the cap doesn't. AdBlue caps tend to be blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel caps usually don't.
- Plenty of cars fit AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: many vehicles have a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If the filler isn't 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 Longport, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Staffordshire that is.
- Park then switch off. Not on a slope, not with your motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Agger Hill.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Daft, perhaps, but it does the trick.
- The two behind a single flap? Then make sure the cap on your diesel filler is still shut ahead of raising the bottle.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check again. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
Discover at the second or third stage that AdBlue went into the wrong filler? That's where you stop. Never go on to stage five.
Put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Madeley Heath already?
The short order of things, starting with no starting your motor. The fuel pump starts on plenty of diesels as soon as your ignition goes on — so leave it off. Filling up with diesel will not thin it: instead, AdBlue drops to the bottom of that tank, just where the fuel is taken from.
Ask the staff to help roll your car clear of the pump if you are at a forecourt — the Shell, the Morrisons or anywhere else. Leave it where it is if you are on your own driveway in Madeley Heath.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if the motor has already run. Come off the M6 — under a mile out of Madeley Heath — at the first exit. A short hop across Madeley Heath is a smaller job than a run towards Stoke-on-Trent, under 10 miles away, so tell us roughly how far it went.
What happens when our technicians get there around Madeley Heath
Our technicians come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside The Meadows Primary School, near Leycett Miners Memorial or on your own driveway. The replies determine the work and the quote, and so our engineers ask what went in, about how much, and if it's run. That quote comes over the phone, ahead of any van leaving.
Then that tank is drained and your system purged thoroughly. More than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and nothing washes away on its own, however long it is left. Testing comes at the end: before that, clean diesel is added, and the filter is cleaned or replaced as needed. Your engine is started next and checked to be sure it runs properly, all before our technicians go.
Unrun vehicles usually mean a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The kit is fine on a live filling station, and quiet enough for a residential street late at night. Paying happens on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Before we get there, have a look at your policy; plenty include cover for misfuelling.
About Madeley Heath
Madeley Heath is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated near the River Trent and characterised by its detached housing stock. Madeley Heath sits at an elevation of 146 metres, overlooking the surrounding countryside and located approximately 6 miles from Stoke-on-Trent. Madeley Heath is close to nearby places such as Finney Green, Leycett, and Little Madeley, and is part of the wider West Midlands region. Madeley Heath has a population of around 602 residents.
AdBlue drains around Madeley Heath, and Staffordshire beyond
Being a residential suburb, Madeley Heath has the same vans as nearby areas — Leycett, Little Madeley — right through ST postcodes and the wider area around them. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting ST5 6.
Your car does not need to move. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to The Brackens, a side street close to WWI & WWII War Memorial: our engineers drain it where it stands. Ring and ask rather than assuming if you're close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Heighley Castle.
The short version for Madeley Heath motorists
Read the cap before you tip. Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, anywhere across Staffordshire, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank anyway — and so leave the car off then call 0333 366 0103.