--- title: North Common: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank, Explained canonical: https://www.petrolinadieselcar.co.uk/adblue-in-diesel/north-common-gloucestershire/ location: North Common county: Gloucestershire latitude: 51.449840 longitude: -2.467580 service: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank updated: 2026-10-28 --- # AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in North Common: How It Happens and How to Prevent It Stop reading for a moment when your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, and call 0333 366 0103. Around North Common, catching it before your engine runs usually leaves draining and a full flush on the spot. The rest of this page explains why it takes place and how to make sure it does not — useful if you are reading ahead of time. ## Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel car Many newer diesels around Oldland Common, like those in North Common, carry on two liquids; your engine takes just your diesel. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into the exhaust gas to clean it. Separate tanks, separate fillers. Plenty of cars have a single flap for both, while some move the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. Topping up the diesel side at the pump happens all the time. A driver who has to stop and think where it goes normally fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and much less commonly. Mistakes happen in the gap between the two. ## How does AdBlue in your diesel tank take place around North Common? It's rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up. The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low your car tells you, and if it runs out completely, the vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Victoria Road before work, or in the car park at Hollybush on the way home. Then, your hand goes for the cap it knew on the old motor — since a hire car, a new vehicle or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one did not. Lastly, the spout goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue filler, it slides in as readily, and once the pour begins, nothing stops it. Whether it occurs in Warmley Tower or the middle of North Common, it is the same few seconds. ## The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart Whether a North Common forecourt or a driveway over in Bridgeyate, take a few seconds on these before any goes in. - Blue and marking: an AdBlue cap is often blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap usually does not. Trust the cap, not its position. - Check the size: the smaller filler neck is, on plenty of cars, the AdBlue one. - Open the flap and check for a label — plenty of vehicles show which goes in each inlet right there. - The handbook. If your filler is not by the diesel cap, it's in the boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which. - The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at Keynsham, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on. ## Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Gloucestershire that is. - Stop somewhere level, motor off, with time in hand — not hurried on the side of Millers Drive. - Locate the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and speak the word "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft. It does the trick. - If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the car on. - Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty. - Close the cap and check once more. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car. Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into the diesel side. Stage five stays off limits. ## Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around North Common? Then the order of things is short. Don't start your motor. On plenty of diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch it on. Topping up with diesel will not dilute it: instead, AdBlue sinks to the base of your tank, just where fuel is taken from. At a forecourt — Esso, another forecourt nearby or another — the attendants will usually help push the car clear, when you ask. At home around North Common? Then the vehicle stays where it is. Already started? Pull over once it is safe, then switch off. Leave the M4 — under 5 miles out of North Common — at the next exit. Tell us about how far it went: a run towards Bristol, under 10 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across North Common. ## Our arrival in North Common, and what happens next Anywhere your car came to rest, whether by St Barnabas Church of England Primary School, near North Common Village Hall or at home, the van travels to it. Those replies decide the work and the price, so we ask what got in, about how much, and whether it has run. Nobody sets off until you've had the price over the phone. The system is then flushed thoroughly, after your tank is emptied. More than with petrol, it matters here: the crystals build up, certain metals are attacked, and nothing washes away unaided, however long it is left. Filter cleaned or, if needed, swapped; clean diesel in; and then a test of the car. Then our technicians start the engine and make sure it runs properly before leaving. Unrun vehicles mostly need a half-hour visit after arrival. The equipment is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. Your insurer will ask for the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and you get both at the end. Payment comes on the day, with no deposit. Wrong-fuel cover is part of plenty of insurance policies — and so make use of the wait to check yours. ## About North Common itself North Common is a suburban area in Gloucestershire, situated near the River Avon and close to the city of Bristol. North Common has a mix of semi-detached housing and local amenities, with nearby landmarks including Warmley Tower and Cowhorn Hill. North Common is located at an elevation of 51 metres, providing views of the surrounding countryside. North Common is also within commuting distance of Bristol, making it a popular residential area. ## AdBlue drains around North Common, and Gloucestershire beyond As a residential suburb, North Common shares its vans nearby areas — Oldland, Cowhorn Hill — all the way across BS postcodes and the wider area beyond. Fastest of all: quote a BS30 5 postcode for our van. The vehicle doesn't need to move. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Sir Bernard Lovell School Playing Field, a side street near Mill Lane Independent Methodist Church: we drain it where it stands. Tricky to explain, like the back of St Barnabas Church Hall? Close to a border? Asking is better than guessing, so ring. ## In short, for North Common motorists Read the cap before you pour. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank anyway, leave the vehicle off then phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere around Gloucestershire.