AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in New Westwood: How It Happens and How to Prevent It
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then set this page down a moment, keep the ignition and engine off, and call 0333 366 0103. In New Westwood, catching it before your motor turns normally leaves draining and a thorough flush on the spot. The rest of this page covers why it happens and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you're reading before it has happened.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel motor need its own filler?
Diesel goes to your motor — but plenty of current diesels seen about New Westwood and Jacksdale carry a second fluid as well. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There's a filler on every tank. 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 pump all the time. Much less frequently, the AdBlue side gets filled — mostly from a bottle, by a person working out where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank takes place around New Westwood
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it runs out altogether, the car drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Barrows Hill Lane before work, or in the car park at The Corner Pin on the way home.
Unfamiliar motors come next, as well. Hire cars, new motors and company vehicles place their fillers in new places, and the hand reaches for the cap it used on the old one.
Lastly, the bottle goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in as easily, and after the tip starts, no part stops it. It's a few seconds, whether in Westwood or bang in the heart of New Westwood.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
A couple of seconds is all the checks take — so run through them before you tip anything, on a drive in Selston Green or a forecourt around New Westwood.
- Colour and marking: an AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- The size. On plenty of motors the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: many cars carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- The handbook shows which it lives when the filler is not next to your diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park outside Langley Mill? Check with the person who drove it last before leaving, not once the light goes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
When the light comes on, wherever across Nottinghamshire, use this routine.
- Stop somewhere level, motor off, with time in hand — not hurried on the side of New Westwood.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, till it's full or the bottle runs out.
- Shut the cap, then look once more — confirm your diesel filler stayed shut throughout. After that, start the vehicle.
Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Skip stage five entirely.
New Westwood: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start your motor. The fuel pump starts on many diesels as soon as the ignition goes on — and so leave it off. Do not top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
The attendants at BP, another forecourt nearby or another forecourt will usually lend a hand to push the car away when you ask. At home around New Westwood? Then your car stays put.
Where the motor has run already, stop safely then switch it off. New Westwood lies under 3 miles from the M1; there, use the first exit. A short hop across New Westwood is a smaller job than a run towards Nottingham, under 15 miles away, and so tell us about how far it went.
What occurs when our technicians turn up in New Westwood
By Westwood Infant and Nursery School, close to St Mary's or on your own drive: wherever the vehicle has stopped, we come to it. Our engineers ask what went in, roughly how much, and whether it has run, since the replies determine the work and our price. You get that quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
The fuel system is then purged thoroughly, once that tank is cleared. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own — which is why the flush matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Next we fire it up and confirm it runs properly before leaving.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour job after arrival. The kit is safe on a busy forecourt, and quiet enough for a residential street after dark. The insurer usually wants the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours once the job is done. Payment is on the day, with no deposit. It's worth checking your policy as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover is included with many policies.
About New Westwood itself
New Westwood is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Nottinghamshire, with an elevation of around 89 metres. New Westwood lies approximately 10 miles south of Nottingham and 119 miles north of London, near the communities of Westwood and Barrows Green. New Westwood has a population of around 1129 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. New Westwood forms part of the wider Nottingham urban area, with nearby places including Toadhole.
AdBlue drains in New Westwood and across Nottinghamshire
Throughout NG postcodes, our teams covering New Westwood — a residential suburb — work the surrounding spots too, Toadhole and Barrows Green among them. Fastest of all: quote a NG16 5 postcode for the van.
There's no need to move the car. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Selston Country Park, a side street close to Miners Welfare: we drain the car where it is. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're near a border, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Jacksdale War Memorial.
New Westwood motorists: the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. AdBlue in your diesel tank regardless? Keep it switched off and phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, throughout Nottinghamshire.