Thorpe: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Prevent It?
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? Then set this page aside for now, keep the ignition and motor off, and ring 0333 366 0103. Normally, if your motor hasn't run, it's emptied and fully rinsed where your car sits around Thorpe. If you are reading before it has happened, the rest of this page is about why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel car need its own filler?
Plenty of newer diesels around Thorpe Lea, as well as Thorpe, carry on two fluids; the motor takes only the diesel. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There is a filler for each tank. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. Diesel gets filled on every forecourt call-out, again and again. Seldom topped up, AdBlue usually comes from a bottle, tipped by a driver who must stop and think what filler to use. It is in that gap that the mistake lives.
Thorpe: how AdBlue in the diesel tank happens
It is seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Village Road before work, or in the car park at The Red Lion on the way home: that is where the hurried top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the car tells you, and once it is empty, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's filler is where your hand reaches — yet a hire car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That is a second thing: a new vehicle.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the tip once it has started. The same few seconds decide it, in the middle of Thorpe or out in Thorpe Green.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
Before you pour anything, whether on a driveway in St Anns Heath or a forecourt in Thorpe, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap usually is not. Read it instead of going by position.
- On many motors, the size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- A label inside the fuel flap often says which fuel goes where, on many vehicles. Check for it.
- The handbook shows where it lives when your filler is not next to your diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park outside Virginia Water? Check with whoever drove it last before you set off, rather than when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
When the light comes on, anywhere in Surrey, use this routine.
- Pull in on level, engine off, with time to spare — never hurried on the side of Mill Lane.
- Locate the AdBlue filler, read the cap, and speak the name "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew 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 — and leave it on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check once more. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
Discover at the second or third stage that AdBlue went in the diesel tank? That's where you stop. Step five stays off limits.
Put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Thorpe already?
Don't start the motor: that is where the short order of things begins. On plenty of diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch the car on. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is drawn from — so don't top up with diesel to dilute it.
If you're at a forecourt, whether it is the Shell or the Asda, ask the staff to help push the vehicle clear of the pump. Your own driveway in Thorpe is where it stays.
If the motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The next exit means where to come off when you're on the M25, under a mile from Thorpe. A short hop across Thorpe is a smaller job than a run towards Westminster, under 25 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
Our arrival around Thorpe, and what takes place next
Our technicians come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside Thorpe CofE Aided Primary School, close to St Mary or on your own drive. The answers settle the work and our price, and so our technicians ask what was put in, about how much, and whether it has run. No one sets off until you've had our price by phone.
Draining your tank comes next, then a full flush of your system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and none of it washes out unaided. Hence it matters more. Once your filter is flushed — or renewed, where needed — clean diesel is added, and then the car gets tested. Before we go, our engineers start the engine and check that it is running smoothly.
With pumps fine on a working forecourt and quiet enough for use outside a house at night, most jobs in which the motor hasn't run take about half an hour once our engineers are there. Paying is on the day, not upfront, and you receive the paperwork your insurer wants: an engineer's report and a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Thorpe itself
Thorpe is a village in Surrey, situated on the lakeside at an elevation of 16 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Thorpe lies approximately 18.8 miles from London and is close to nearby places such as Thorpe Green, St Anns Hill, and Stroude. Thorpe has a population of around 1226 residents and is located near the city of Westminster. Thorpe benefits from its scenic lakeside setting, which attracts visitors to the area.
AdBlue drains in Thorpe and across Surrey
As a village, Thorpe shares its vans nearby areas — St Anns Hill, Stroude — all the way across TW postcodes and the surrounding area around them. Give a postcode beginning TW20 8, and the van gets there fastest.
Your car stays where it is. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to The Fleming Garden, a side street close to Thorpe Village Hall: our technicians drain the vehicle where it is. If you're close to a border, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of St Ann's Chapel, ring and ask rather than guessing.
In short, for Thorpe drivers
Before you pour, read the cap. AdBlue in your diesel tank regardless? Keep it off and phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, across Surrey.