Why It Occurs and How to Avoid It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Wearde
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? In that case put this page aside for now, keep the ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Wearde, finding it before the motor turns usually leaves a drain and a thorough flush on the spot. Nothing happened yet? Below, the page covers the why it occurs and the how to prevent it altogether.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel motor need its own filler?
Many newer diesels around Riverside, as well as Wearde, run on two fluids; the motor takes only the diesel. Its own tank keeps it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, and there a spray cleans the gas.
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 your boot or under the bonnet. Topping up your diesel side at the pump goes on constantly. A driver who has to stop and think where it goes normally tops up the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less regularly. That gap is where the error lives.
AdBlue in the diesel tank in Wearde: how it takes place
It's seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Lynher Drive before work, or in the car park at Brunel Inn heading home: that's where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the vehicle tells you, and if it's empty, limp mode kicks in.
Then the vehicle is new. A hire car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't, and your hand gets to for the cap it would have used on the old one.
Lastly, the spout goes in: diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in just as readily, and after the pour starts, no part halts it. Saltash or the middle of Wearde: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you pour anything, whether on a drive in Trematon Castle or a forecourt in Wearde, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- Where it sits can mislead; the cap does not. AdBlue ones are often blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally do not.
- Plenty of motors give AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Plenty of cars say there which fuel goes where.
- In the boot or under the bonnet: that is where the filler sits if it is not by your diesel cap, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Saltash, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach the diesel tank
For the day the warning comes on — wherever it is around Cornwall — a simple routine to follow.
- Not in a rush on the side of The Bridges, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park and switch off properly.
- Silly as it sounds, speaking "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap works — once you have found the filler and read it.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the vehicle on.
- Gently is best, through the bottle's own spout, till it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Before you start the car, shut the cap and check again that your diesel cap never came off.
Spot at stage two or three that it has already gone into the diesel side? Then stop just there. Never carry on to stage five.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Wearde?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start your engine. On plenty of diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch the car on. Don't top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
The attendants at Shell, BP or any forecourt will normally help to push your car clear when asked. If you are on your own drive in Wearde, leave the car where it stands.
Where the motor has been run already, pull over somewhere safe then switch the vehicle off. On the M5, under 50 miles from Wearde, that means the next junction. Distance counts — a quick hop across Wearde makes a smaller job than driving under 5 miles to Plymouth — so say about how far it went.
What happens when our technicians get there around Wearde
Wherever your car has stopped, be it by Bishop Cornish CofE VA Primary School, beside Saltash Baptist Church or at home, the van travels to it. Our technicians ask what got in, roughly how much, and whether it has run, because those answers settle the work and our quote. You get that quote by phone, before anyone sets off.
Then that tank is drained and the system cleaned thoroughly. With AdBlue that matters more than with petrol: it crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own. Testing comes last: before that, clean diesel goes in, and the fuel filter is flushed or changed as needed. We don't leave until it has been started and is running correctly.
Most jobs are finished in about half an hour once we get there, as long as your engine has not run — and the pumps our technicians use are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet at night beside a house. No money upfront; you settle up that day. At the end, a VAT invoice and the report from the engineer are handed to you for your insurer. It's worth looking at your insurance as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover comes with plenty of policies.
About Wearde
Wearde is a suburban area in Cornwall, situated near the coast and approximately 4 miles from Plymouth. Wearde sits at an elevation of around 67 metres, overlooking the surrounding landscape. Wearde is characterised by its predominantly terraced housing stock, reflecting its development as a residential area. Wearde is close to nearby places such as Saltash and St Stephens, and is part of the larger urban area surrounding Plymouth.
AdBlue drains across Cornwall, Wearde included
As a residential suburb, Wearde has the same vans as surrounding areas — St Stephens, South Pill — all the way across PL postcodes and the surrounding area around them. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting PL12 4.
The car remains where it is. The drain takes place right there, whether a driveway, a road near Saltash Wesley Church, or a layby on the way to Playing Field. Assuming won't help behind The Original Factory Shop, close to a border, or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
For Wearde drivers, the short version
Tip no AdBlue till you've read the cap. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Keep the vehicle switched off and ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it on the spot, across Cornwall.