AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in West Parley: Why It Occurs and How to Stop It
Keep the engine and ignition off then call 0333 366 0103 now — reading can wait if AdBlue is already in your diesel tank. In West Parley, catching it before your motor turns normally leaves draining and a thorough flush where it stands. The remainder of this page covers why it happens and how to ensure it does not — useful if you are reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the motor — but plenty of modern diesels seen around West Parley and Ferndown hold a second liquid too. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Different tanks, different fillers. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. Diesel goes in at every filling station call-out, week in, week out. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less commonly, normally from a bottle, and normally by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. It's in that gap that the slip lives.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank happens around West Parley
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
Hurry comes from the warning. The car tells you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts the vehicle into limp mode — so the top-up gets done in a rush, before work on a drive off Dudsbury Road, or on the way home in the car park at Horns Inn.
Then, your hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old car — because a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one didn't.
Third, the bottle goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in as easily, and after the pour starts, no part stops it. Dudsbury or the middle of West Parley: it is the same few seconds either way.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Look at these first, on a forecourt around West Parley or a driveway out in Kinson. A few seconds, no more.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is often blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap usually isn't. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- Plenty of cars fit AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: plenty of vehicles carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If your filler isn't by your diesel cap, it's in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at Bournemouth, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Dorset that is.
- Stop on level, motor off, with time to spare — not rushing on the side of Christchurch Road.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it works.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave it on.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start your car: close the cap, check again, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Never go on to step five.
Already put AdBlue in your diesel tank in West Parley?
Brief list, then. Top of that: your engine stays off. On many diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch it on. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
If you are on a forecourt, whether it's the Tesco or the Texaco, ask the attendants to help roll the car clear of the petrol pump. If you are on your own driveway around West Parley, leave it where it stands.
Already started? Stop once it's sensible, then turn off. Leave the M27 — under 25 miles out of West Parley — at the first junction. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Salisbury, under 25 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across West Parley.
West Parley: what takes place when our technicians get there
Outside Parley First School, near Dudsbury Girl Guide Camp or on your own drive: wherever your car has stopped, we come to it. The replies determine the work and our quote, so our technicians ask what was put in, about how much, and whether it's run. That quote is given on the call, ahead of any van leaving.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a full flush of the system. Not like petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and eats at some fuel-system metals, and neither clears out unaided. Hence it matters more. Filter cleaned or, where needed, replaced; clean diesel in; and then a check of the vehicle. The engine is started next and checked to confirm it runs correctly, all before our technicians go.
Using pumps safe on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night, most jobs in which the motor has not run need about half an hour after we arrive. Nothing in advance; you settle up that day. Afterwards, the VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for the insurer. It's worth looking at your insurance as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover comes with plenty of policies.
About West Parley and where it is
West Parley is a village situated on the River Stour in Dorset, with a low elevation of around 34 metres. West Parley lies near the villages of Dudsbury, Longham, and Ensbury, and is approximately 20 miles from Salisbury. West Parley has a population of around 880 people, predominantly living in detached houses. West Parley is located in the South West region, about 91 miles from London.
AdBlue drains round West Parley, and Dorset beyond
Throughout BH postcodes, our vans that cover West Parley — a village — work the surrounding spots too, Ensbury and Longham included. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting BH22 8.
The car does not need to shift. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Poor Common, a side street near Saint Mark's Church: our engineers drain the vehicle where it is. Awkward to explain, like the back of Longham United Reformed Church? By a border? Checking beats assuming, so phone.
West Parley motorists: the short version
Always, the cap; after that, the tip. AdBlue in your diesel tank regardless? Keep the vehicle off and phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it on the spot, across Dorset.