Whiteparish: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Avoid It?

AdBlue in a diesel vehicle: two tanks, two fillers

Many modern diesels in Cowesfield Gate, like those in Whiteparish, run on two fluids; your engine gets just the diesel. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into the exhaust stream to clean it.

Each tank has its own filler. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. At the petrol pump, the diesel side is topped up all the time. A driver who has to stop and work out where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and much less frequently. That gap is where the error lives.

Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?

A few seconds is all the checks take — so check them before you tip anything, on a driveway in West Dean or a forecourt around Whiteparish.

• Blue and marking: an AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Trust the cap, not where it sits.
• The size. On plenty of motors the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
• A label inside the fuel flap frequently shows which fuel goes where, on many vehicles. Look for it.
• Cannot find it beside your diesel inlet? In that case check beneath the bonnet or inside your boot — the handbook says which.
• Ask the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — when you pick up a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at Dean.

Our arrival in Whiteparish, and what happens next

Wherever the vehicle has stopped, be it by Whiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary School, near Whiteparish All Saints or at home, our van travels to it. What liquid went in, the quantity, and whether it ran: our engineers ask because those answers set both work and price. On the phone call itself, you are told our quote — before anything else.

Emptying your tank comes next, then a thorough flush of your system. Much more than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and nothing washes away unaided, however long it is left. The filter cleaned or, where it must be, swapped; clean diesel in; then a test of the car. Before we leave, our technicians fire it up and make sure that it is running properly.

Unrun cars usually need a half-hour visit after arrival. The kit is safe on a live filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. 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 is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.