Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Packington: Why It Happens
Stop here for a moment when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, and call 0333 366 0103. Usually, when the motor hasn't turned, it is drained and fully flushed where your car sits in Packington. The rest of this page covers why it happens and how to ensure it does not — handy if you're reading before it has happened.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the motor — but plenty of current diesels driven around Packington and Shellbrook hold another fluid too. Your exhaust, not your motor, is where AdBlue ends up: sprayed into the gas to clean it, from a separate tank.
Each tank has its own filler. On a lot of cars 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. Seldom topped up, AdBlue normally comes out of a bottle, poured by someone who must stop and think which filler to use. It is in the gap that the mistake happens.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank happens in Packington
Seldom is it carelessness: usually three things coincide.
Haste comes from the warning. Your car tells you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts it into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off Hall Farm Close, or on the way home in the car park outside Bull & Lion.
The old car's filler is where the hand reaches — but a rental car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers somewhere else. That is a second thing: an unfamiliar motor.
Lastly, the bottle goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in just as readily, and once the pour starts, nothing stops it. Whether it happens in Ashby-de-la-Zouch or the middle of Packington, it is the same few seconds.
The AdBlue filler and the diesel filler: telling them apart
Check these first, on a forecourt in Packington or a drive out in Farm Town. Seconds, no more.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is commonly blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap usually isn't. Read it rather than going by position.
- On plenty of vehicles, size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- Check inside the fuel flap: many vehicles carry a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- In the boot or under the bonnet: that's where your filler sits if it's not by your diesel cap, and the handbook says which.
- 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 Burton-On-Trent.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Leicestershire that is.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with your motor running, and not in a rush on the side of High Street.
- Locate the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and say the word "AdBlue" aloud while unscrewing it. It sounds silly. It does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave it on.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only then, start your car: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
Spot at stage two or three that it has already gone into your diesel side? So stop just there. Leave out step five entirely.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, around Packington?
What follows is a short order of things, beginning with no starting your engine. The fuel pump runs on many diesels the moment the ignition is switched on — so keep it off. Don't top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is pulled from.
The attendants at Esso, Tesco or any forecourt will usually lend a hand pushing the vehicle clear if you ask. Your own driveway around Packington is where it should stay.
When the engine has run by now, stop safely then switch the vehicle off. On the M42, under 5 miles from Packington, that means the next exit. About how far did it go? Crossing Packington is smaller work than a run of under 15 miles towards Derby, and so say.
What occurs when our engineers arrive around Packington
Our van comes to the car anywhere it stopped — your own driveway, near Packington Memorial Hall, or outside Packington Church of England Primary School. What fluid went in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask since those answers decide both work and quote. During the call itself, you hear the price — ahead of dispatch.
After that: a drain, then a full flush of the entire system. More than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and nothing clears away on its own, no matter how long it sits. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Before we leave, our technicians fire it up and check that it is running properly.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour job from arrival. The kit is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. Your insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. It is worth checking your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with plenty of policies.
About Packington and where it is
Packington is a village in Leicestershire, situated on the riverside in the East Midlands region. Packington sits at an elevation of around 120 metres, with the nearby cities of Derby and Ashby-de-la-Zouch providing larger town amenities. Packington has a population of approximately 851 residents, predominantly living in detached housing. Packington is located about 13.5 miles from Derby and 101.7 miles from London.
AdBlue drains across Leicestershire, Packington included
Packington is a village, and the vans that cover it also work the places around it, Church Yard and Normanton le Heath among them, across the LE postcode area. Quickest of all: quote a LE65 1 postcode to the van.
Shifting your car is not necessary. Wherever it sits — beside The Holy Rood, in a layby heading to Packington Recreation Park, at home — that's where it is cleared. Awkward to pin down, like the back of Ashby de la Zouch Castle? By a county line? Checking is better than guessing, and so phone.
Packington people: the short version
Tip no AdBlue till you've read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank anyway, leave the vehicle off then call 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere around Leicestershire.