AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in St Judes: Why It Happens and How to Avoid It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave the engine and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103. Caught before the motor runs, it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in St Judes. Nothing happened yet? Below, the rest of the page explains the reasons it happens and the how to prevent it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel car: two tanks, two fillers
Not one liquid but two: that is what plenty of newer diesels around St Judes and Coxside run, with diesel for your motor. Kept in a tank of its own, AdBlue is fed into the exhaust stream to clean it.
Each tank has its own filler. Some motors keep the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; plenty of others place both together under one flap. Filling the diesel side at the petrol pump happens all the time. Rarely filled, AdBlue usually comes out of a bottle, tipped by a driver who has to stop and think which cap to use. That gap is where the error lives.
St Judes: how AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place
Carelessness seldom explains it. Instead is three things coming up together.
Hurry follows from the warning. The car warns you as AdBlue runs low, and an empty tank sends it into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off Egerton Place, or on the way home in the car park outside The Grenville.
Next, your hand goes for the cap it knew on the old vehicle — because a rental car, a new car or a company car places the fillers where your last one didn't.
Third, the bottle fits: a diesel filler or AdBlue filler, it slides in just as readily, and once the tip begins, no part stops it. It's a few seconds, whether out in Mount Gould or right in the centre of St Judes.
The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart
Whether a St Judes forecourt or a drive over in Barbican, spend a couple of seconds over these before anything is poured in.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap normally isn't. Read it rather than going by position.
- On plenty of vehicles, size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- Open the filler flap and check for a label — plenty of motors mark which goes in each filler right there.
- The handbook. If the filler isn't by the diesel cap, it is in the boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Plymouth, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
When the light goes on, anywhere across Devon, use this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Seymour Avenue, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park and switch off first.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Both under a single flap? Then confirm the lid on the diesel filler stays shut ahead of raising the bottle.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only then, start the vehicle: close the cap, check once more, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
Find at the second or third stage that AdBlue went into the diesel tank? That is where you stop. Leave out stage five altogether.
St Judes: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Short order, then. First: your engine stays off. The fuel pump runs on many diesels the moment the ignition goes on — so leave it off. Diluting it with more diesel won't work, because AdBlue sinks to the bottom instead of blending — and that's where the fuel is sucked from.
The attendants at Asda, Valero or any forecourt will usually help pushing the car clear if you ask. At home in St Judes? Then your car remains put.
Already run? Stop once it is safe, then switch off. On the M5, under 50 miles from St Judes, that means the next junction. Mileage counts — a short hop across St Judes is a smaller job than driving under a mile to Plymouth — so say about how far it went.
When our engineers turn up in St Judes, what occurs?
We come to the car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Salisbury Road Primary School, near Piety or on your own driveway. The replies settle this work and the price, and so our technicians ask what went in, about how much, and whether it's run. You get that price by phone, before anyone heads out.
Your system is then purged thoroughly, once the tank is emptied. Much more than with petrol, it counts with AdBlue: the crystals build up, certain metals are attacked, and none of it clears away on its own, however long it is left. The filter cleaned or, where needed, replaced; fresh diesel in; and then a test of the car. Your engine is started next and checked to make sure it runs properly, all before we head off.
Using pumps safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough for use outside a house at night, most jobs in which your motor has not run need about half an hour once our technicians arrive. Your insurer usually wants the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours at the end. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About St Judes, briefly
St Judes is a suburban area located on the coast of Devon, near the city of Plymouth. St Judes sits at a low elevation of around 14 metres, with nearby neighbourhoods including Mount Gould and Lipson. St Judes is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing stock, reflecting its history of residential development in the area. St Judes is close to local landmarks such as Prince Rock, and is situated within walking distance of Plymouth's city centre.
St Judes and Devon: AdBlue drains across the area
St Judes is a residential suburb, and our teams that cover it also work the places near it, Prince Rock and Lipson among them, across the PL postcode area. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting PL4 9.
Your car stays put. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Astor Playing Fields, a side street near St Jude's Church: our engineers drain the vehicle where it is. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you're near a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Tothill Community Centre Large Hall.
The short version for St Judes people
Before you pour, read the cap. Even so AdBlue in the diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will drain it where it stands, anywhere in Devon: keep the car off and call 0333 366 0103.