AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Shepperton: How It Happens and How to Avoid It
Pause reading a minute if your diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Shepperton, finding it before the engine runs usually means draining and a thorough flush on the spot. If you're reading before it has happened, the rest of this page is about why it happens and how to make sure it does not.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel car
Plenty of modern diesels around Littleton, as well as Shepperton, run on two fluids; your engine takes only the diesel. The exhaust, not the motor, is where AdBlue ends up: sprayed into the gas to clean them, from its own tank.
Different tanks, different fillers. Under one flap, side by side: that is the layout on a lot of vehicles. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler sits under the bonnet or in your boot instead. At the petrol pump, your diesel side gets filled all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less often, usually from a bottle, and normally by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. It's in the gap that the error happens.
AdBlue in the diesel tank in Shepperton: how it happens
It's seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it runs out completely, your vehicle goes into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Green Lane before work, or in the car park at The Three Horseshoes on the way home.
Next, the hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old car — because a hire car, a new car or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one did not.
Lastly, the spout goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in just as readily, and once the tip begins, nothing halts it. It's seconds, be it out in Shepperton Green or right in the centre of Shepperton.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Check these first, on a forecourt in Shepperton or a driveway over in Charlton. A few seconds, that's all.
- Read the cap instead of going by where it sits: AdBlue ones are frequently blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel caps usually aren't.
- Look at the size: the smaller neck is, on plenty of vehicles, the AdBlue one.
- Open the flap and look for a label — plenty of cars mark which goes in each filler just there.
- Cannot see it next to the diesel filler? In that case look below the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual will say which.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at the nearest station, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever in Surrey that is.
- Not in a rush on the side of Laleham Road, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park and switch off properly.
- Find the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and speak the name "AdBlue" aloud as unscrewing it. It seems daft. It does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave it on.
- Finish once that tank fills or the bottle is empty; until then, pour gently through the own spout.
- Close the cap and check once more. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Skip stage five entirely.
Shepperton: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
What follows is a short order of things, beginning with not starting your motor. The fuel pump runs on many diesels as soon as the ignition is switched on — and so leave it off. Thinning it with extra diesel won't work, since AdBlue settles to the base instead of mixing — and that's where the fuel is pulled from.
The attendants at BP, Esso or any forecourt will normally lend a hand to push the vehicle away if asked. At home in Shepperton? Then the car remains put.
Where your motor has run already, stop somewhere safe then turn the car off. Shepperton lies under a mile from the M3; there, take the next exit. About how far did it go? Hopping across Shepperton is less work than a run of under 25 miles to Westminster, so tell us.
Shepperton: what occurs when we turn up
The van reaches your car anywhere it stopped — your own drive, near Shepperton Library, or by St Nicholas CofE Primary School. Those replies settle this work and our price, so our engineers ask what was put in, about how much, and whether it has run. During the phone call itself, you are told our quote — before dispatch.
Draining your tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the system. Much more than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals form, certain metals corrode, and nothing clears out on its own, however long it is left. After the fuel filter has been cleaned — or replaced, where required — fresh diesel is added, and finally your vehicle gets tested. We don't leave until it has been started and is running smoothly.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour visit from arrival. The kit is fine on a busy forecourt, and hushed enough for a residential street after dark. Payment is on the day, not upfront, and you are given the paperwork your insurer asks for: an engineer's report and a VAT invoice. Wrong-fuel cover is part of plenty of insurance policies — and so use the wait to check yours.
About Shepperton
Shepperton is a village in Surrey, situated on the River Thames at an elevation of around 14 metres. Shepperton has a mix of old and new housing, with detached homes being the predominant type, and is located near neighbouring communities such as Shepperton Green, Upper Halliford, and Lower Halliford. Shepperton is close to London, with Westminster approximately 15.7 miles away, making it a commuter-friendly location. Shepperton has a population of around 3310 residents.
AdBlue drains around Shepperton and across Surrey
As a village, Shepperton has the same vans as surrounding areas — Upper Halliford, Lower Halliford — right through TW postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. A postcode starting TW17 8 gets our van to you fastest.
The car remains put. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Shepperton Recreation Ground, a side street near Shepperton Village Hall: our technicians drain it where it sits. Guessing won't help at the back of Shepperton Youth Centre, on a boundary, or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Shepperton motorists: the short version
Tip nothing till you have read the cap. Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, anywhere around Surrey, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank all the same — and so leave the car off then ring 0333 366 0103.