AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in West Bedfont: Why It Happens and How to Avoid It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your motor and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103. Caught before your engine runs, it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in West Bedfont. The remainder of this page explains why it occurs and how to make sure it does not — handy if you are reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Plenty of modern diesels in Chattern Hill, like those in West Bedfont, run on two liquids; the motor takes just your diesel. AdBlue's own tank keeps it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, where spraying cleans the fumes.
There is a filler on every tank. Some cars put the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; plenty more have the two together behind one flap. At the pump, the diesel side gets filled all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and usually by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. Mistakes happen in that gap between them.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank take place around West Bedfont?
It's seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
Hurry follows from the warning. Your car tells 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 drive off Short Lane, or heading home in the car park outside Sir John Gibson.
Next, your hand reaches for the cap it knew on the old vehicle — because a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car places the fillers where your last one did not.
A spout-topped bottle finds no resistance at a diesel filler no more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, once started, carries on. It takes a few seconds, be it out in Stanwell or bang in the heart of West Bedfont.
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 Stanwell Moor or a forecourt around West Bedfont.
- Where it sits misleads; the cap does not. AdBlue caps tend to be blue or carry the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones usually do not.
- The size. On plenty of motors the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Check inside the fuel flap: plenty of motors have a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- The handbook shows which it is when the filler is not next to the diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park outside Heathrow Terminal 4 Rail? Ask whoever drove the vehicle last before you set off, not when the light comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
Wherever around Surrey the light comes on, this is a routine for that day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Poole Lane, not on a slope, not with the engine running: park and switch off properly.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" out loud while you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you've located the filler and read it.
- Both behind one flap? So confirm the lid on your diesel side stays shut before lifting the bottle.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start the car: close the cap, check again, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
Find at the second or third stage that the bottle went in the diesel filler? That's where you stop. Do not go on to stage five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, in West Bedfont?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start the motor. The fuel pump runs on many diesels the moment the ignition goes on — so keep it off. Diluting 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 at a forecourt, whether it's the Esso or the Tesco, ask the staff to help push the car clear of the pump. If you are on your own driveway around West Bedfont, leave it where it stands.
Already run? Stop once it's sensible, then switch off. On the Terminal 5 Spur, under 3 miles from West Bedfont, that means the next junction. Tell us about how far it went: a run towards Westminster, under 15 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across West Bedfont.
West Bedfont: what takes place when our engineers get there
Wherever the car has stopped, whether outside Stanwell Fields CofE Primary School, beside Ashford & Staines Community Centre or on your own drive, the van comes to it. The replies determine the work and the price, so our technicians ask what was put in, roughly how much, and whether it's run. Nobody sets off until you've heard our price over the phone.
The system is then purged thoroughly, once your tank is emptied. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and eats at some fuel-system metals, and none of that clears away unaided. That is why it counts more. Once the filter has been flushed — or renewed, if needed — fresh diesel goes in, and finally the vehicle is tested. Next our engineers start it and check it runs correctly before we leave.
If your motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are safe on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About West Bedfont, briefly
West Bedfont is a village in Surrey, situated on the riverside at a low elevation of around 18 metres. West Bedfont lies close to the neighbouring villages of Stanwell and East Bedfont, and is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing. West Bedfont is located near Ashford and is within commuting distance of London, being approximately 15 miles from the city centre.
West Bedfont and Surrey: AdBlue drains across the area
East Bedfont and Ashford are among the places around West Bedfont, a village, that the same vans cover, over TW postcodes. Fastest of all: give a TW19 7 postcode to the van.
Moving your car isn't necessary. The drain takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a street near Stanwell Library, or a lay-by on the way to Long Lane Recreation Ground. If you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Saint Mary The Virgin, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The short version for West Bedfont drivers
Read the cap before you pour. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Leave it off and call 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, throughout Surrey.