Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Ridgeway: Why It Happens

Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?

Diesel feeds the motor — yet many modern diesels seen about Ridgeway and Clay Hill hold another liquid as well. Your exhaust, not the motor, is where AdBlue goes: sprayed into the gas to fresh it, from a separate tank.

Each tank comes with a filler of its own. Under one flap, side by side: that's the layout on a lot of cars. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler sits beneath the bonnet or in your boot instead. Topping up your diesel side at the petrol pump goes on constantly. The AdBlue side is topped up far less frequently, normally from a bottle, and normally by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. The error lives in that gap.

Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?

Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Clay Bottom or a forecourt around Ridgeway, check these. They take a couple of seconds.

• Where it sits can mislead; the cap doesn't. AdBlue caps are often blue or bear the word "AdBlue" — diesel caps normally don't.
• Many cars give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
• Look inside your fuel flap: plenty of cars have a label there saying which fuel goes where.
• The handbook says where it lives when your filler is not next to the diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
• Ask the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — when you collect a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at Stapleton Road.

What takes place when we get there in Ridgeway

The van comes to the vehicle anywhere it has come to rest — your own driveway, near Qur'an Academy, or by Chester Park Junior School. What fluid went in, the quantity, and whether it ran: our technicians ask because the answers decide the work and price. On the phone call itself, you hear our quote — before anything else.

Emptying your tank comes next, then a full flush of the fuel system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and neither washes away by itself. Hence it matters more. Filter cleaned or, if needed, swapped; clean diesel in; then a check of your car. The motor is started next and checked to be sure it runs correctly, all before our technicians leave.

With pumps safe on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night, most jobs in which your engine hasn't run need roughly half an hour after we arrive. The insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. It's worth looking at your policy as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover comes with many policies.