Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Sutton: Why It Happens
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103. In Sutton, catching it before your engine runs usually leaves draining and a thorough flush where it stands. If you are 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 motor
Plenty of modern diesels on the roads about Sutton and Poyle carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the engine. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. Under one flap, side by side: that's the layout on a lot of cars. On others, AdBlue's filler sits under the bonnet or in the boot instead. Topping up your diesel side at the petrol pump goes on constantly. Rarely filled, AdBlue usually comes from a bottle, poured by a driver who must stop and think which filler to use. It's in that gap that the slip lives.
Sutton: how AdBlue in your diesel tank takes place
Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it runs out completely, the vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Sutton Lane before work, or in the car park outside Shamrock's on the way home.
The old car's filler is where your hand reaches — but a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That's a second factor: a new car.
Third, the spout fits: diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in as readily, and after the tip begins, no part stops it. It's seconds, be it out in Brands Hill or right in the heart of Sutton.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Check these before pouring, at a forecourt in Sutton or a driveway over in Richings Park. A few seconds, no more.
- Blue and lettering: an AdBlue cap is often blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- On many motors, size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- Open the filler flap and check for a label — many vehicles mark what goes in each filler right there.
- Cannot see it next to your diesel inlet? Then check below the bonnet or in your boot — the handbook says where.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park outside Langley, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
When the light comes on, anywhere around Berkshire, follow this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Hurricane Way, not on a slope, not with your engine running: park and switch off properly.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have located the filler and read the cap.
- The two under one flap? Then confirm the cap on your diesel side stays closed before lifting the bottle.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Only then, start the vehicle: close the cap, check again, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Leave out step five entirely.
Sutton: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
What follows is a short order of things, starting with no starting the engine. The fuel pump starts on plenty of diesels as soon as the ignition is switched on — so leave it off. Thinning it with extra diesel won't work, because AdBlue sinks to the bottom instead of blending — and that is where your fuel is sucked from.
On a forecourt — BP, another forecourt nearby or another — the attendants will usually help push the car clear, if you ask. Leave it where it is if you're on your own driveway around Sutton.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the engine has already run. The next exit means the place to come off when you are on the M4, under a mile from Sutton. Distance matters — a short hop across Sutton makes a smaller job than driving under 25 miles to Westminster — so say roughly how far it went.
When our engineers turn up around Sutton, what occurs?
By Foxborough Primary School, near Faizan-e-Madinah or on your own drive: wherever your car has stopped, our engineers come to it. Both the work and the quote rest on three replies — what fluid, which amount, and whether it's run — so we ask. During the phone call itself, you hear our quote — ahead of anything else.
Draining your tank comes next, then a full flush of the system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that counts more here than with petrol. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Then we fire it up and confirm it runs properly before leaving.
Most jobs are finished in about half an hour once our technicians get there, provided your motor hasn't run — and the pumps we use are fine on a live forecourt yet quiet after dark beside a house. Paying happens on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Sutton and where it is
Sutton is a suburban area in Berkshire, situated inland at an elevation of 27 metres, and is located approximately 17 miles from London. Sutton forms part of the wider South East region, with nearby places including Brands Hill, Colnbrook, and Langley. Sutton has a population of around 4257 people, predominantly residing in terraced housing. Sutton is close to major urban centres, including Westminster, which is about 17 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Sutton and across Berkshire
As a residential suburb, Sutton shares its vans surrounding areas — Colnbrook, Langley — right across SL postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. A postcode starting SL3 8 gets our van to you fastest.
Your car does not need to move. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Harvey Park, a side street near Christ the Worker: our engineers drain the vehicle where it sits. Tricky to pin down, like the back of St Thomas? Close to a county line? Asking is better than assuming, and so phone.
For Sutton motorists, the short version
Always, the cap; then, the pour. Still AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will drain it wherever it is, anywhere across Berkshire: switch the car off and ring 0333 366 0103.