Shilburn: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Prevent It?

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

Diesel goes to your motor — but plenty of modern diesels seen around Shilburn and Wooley carry another liquid as well. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.

Separate tanks, different fillers. 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. Diesel gets filled on every forecourt call-out, week in, week out. The AdBlue side is filled far less frequently, normally from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. The mistake lives in that gap.

Telling the AdBlue filler from your diesel filler

Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Catton or a forecourt in Shilburn, check these. They take a couple of seconds.

• Where it sits misleads; the cap doesn't. AdBlue ones are often blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel caps usually don't.
• Check the size: the smaller neck is, on plenty of vehicles, the AdBlue one.
• Check inside your fuel flap: many motors have a label there saying which fuel goes where.
• Cannot see it beside your diesel filler? In that case look beneath the bonnet or in the boot — the owner's manual says which.
• Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Haydon Bridge? Ask the person who drove the car last before leaving, rather than once the light goes on.

What takes place when our engineers arrive around Shilburn

The van comes to your car wherever it has come to rest — your own drive, beside Allendale Village Hall, or by Allendale Primary School. We ask what got in, about how much, and whether it's run, since those answers determine this work and the quote. On the call itself, you are told our quote — before dispatch.

After that: draining, then a full flush of the entire system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why the flush matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. The motor is started next and tested to confirm it runs correctly, all before we head off.

Using pumps safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night, most jobs where your engine hasn't run need roughly half an hour after our engineers arrive. Paying is on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents an insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Misfuelling cover is included in plenty of insurance policies — and so use the wait to check yours.