Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Shothole: Why It Happens
Stop reading for a moment when your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, and call 0333 366 0103. Around Shothole, finding it before your motor runs usually leaves a drain and a thorough flush on the spot. The remainder of this page covers why it occurs and how to ensure it does not — useful if you are reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the motor — but many current diesels seen around Shothole and The Folly carry a second liquid as well. Your exhaust, not your engine, is where AdBlue ends up: sprayed into the fumes to clean it, from a separate tank.
Each tank has a filler of its own. Some cars keep the AdBlue filler in your boot or under the bonnet; a lot of others have both together under one flap. At the petrol pump, your diesel side is topped up constantly. The AdBlue side is filled far less commonly, usually from a bottle, and usually by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. The mistake lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank happen around Shothole?
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the vehicle, and running dry means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, perhaps before work off Fair Mile Road, perhaps outside the pub in the village on the way home after work.
The old car's cap is where the hand reaches — but a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That is a second thing: a strange motor.
Lastly, the spout goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in just as easily, and once the tip starts, no part stops it. It takes a few seconds, whether in Quarleston or right in the heart of Shothole.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
A couple of seconds is all these take — so run through them before you tip anything, on a driveway in Winterborne Stickland or a forecourt around Shothole.
- Where it sits can mislead; the cap doesn't. AdBlue caps tend to be blue or carry the name "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally do not.
- The size. On plenty of cars the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- A label inside your fuel flap often shows which fuel goes where, on many vehicles. Check for it.
- 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 the car last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at Holton Heath, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Dorset that is.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with the engine running, and not in a rush on the side of Milton Lane.
- Daft as it sounds, speaking "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — once you have found the filler and read it.
- The diesel cap remains on. When both share a flap, make sure it is closed before lifting the bottle.
- Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before you start the vehicle, shut the cap and look a second time that your diesel cap was never came off.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Never carry on to stage five.
Put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Shothole already?
Do not start your engine: that is how the short order of things starts. On plenty of diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, and so don't switch it on. Thinning it with more diesel fails, because AdBlue settles to the base rather than mixing — and that's where your fuel is sucked from.
If you are on a forecourt, whether it's the Tesco or the Esso, ask the staff to help roll the vehicle clear of the petrol pump. If you are on your own driveway in Shothole, leave the car where it is.
If the engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Come off the M27 — under 50 miles out of Shothole — at the first exit. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing Shothole is smaller a job than a trip of under 25 miles to Salisbury, so tell us.
Shothole: what takes place when our technicians turn up
Anywhere the vehicle has stopped, whether outside Durweston Church of England Primary School, near Bryanston Club or on your own drive, the van travels to it. What liquid got in, the quantity, and whether it ran: we ask because those answers decide the work and quote. The quote is given over the phone, ahead of any van leaving.
Next: draining, then a full flush of the whole system. With AdBlue that matters more than with petrol: it crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not wash out on its own. Once the fuel filter has been cleaned — or renewed, if required — fresh diesel goes in, and finally the car is tested. Then we start the engine and confirm it runs correctly before leaving.
Unstarted vehicles usually need a half-hour visit after arrival. The kit is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. Paying happens on the day, not upfront, and you receive the paperwork your insurer asks for: an engineer's report and a VAT invoice. It's worth checking your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with many policies.
About Shothole, briefly
Shothole is a small hamlet in Dorset, situated inland at an elevation of 122 metres, and is located near the villages of Quarleston and Bryanston. Shothole lies approximately 23 miles from Salisbury and 100 miles from London, placing it in a rural setting within the South West region. Shothole has a population of around 999 residents, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type in the area. Shothole is surrounded by rolling countryside, with nearby Durweston also being a neighbouring settlement.
AdBlue drains in Shothole and across Dorset
Shothole is a rural hamlet, and our teams that cover it also work the places around it, Bryanston and Durweston among them, across the DT postcode area. Give a postcode beginning DT11 0, and the van arrives fastest.
The vehicle stays put. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street close to St Martin's Church, a lay-by on the way to Old Park Wood, a drive. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're close to a border, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of The Coade Theatre.
Shothole people: the short version
Pour no AdBlue till you have read the cap. AdBlue in the diesel tank after all? Leave the vehicle off then call 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, throughout Dorset.