Why It Happens and How to Prevent It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Whitfield
Leave the engine and ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103 first — the rest can wait when AdBlue is already in the diesel tank. Caught before the engine runs, it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Whitfield. The remainder of this page explains why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you are reading before it has happened.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel motor
Not one fluid but two: that is what plenty of modern diesels near Whitfield and South Powrie run, with diesel for your engine. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. 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. Diesel gets filled on every forecourt call-out, again and again. Seldom filled, AdBlue normally comes out of a bottle, tipped by a driver who must stop and think which cap to use. The mistake grows in the gap between them.
Whitfield: how AdBlue in your diesel tank happens
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
On a driveway off Dunbar Park before work, or in the car park outside The Dolphin on the way home: that's where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the vehicle tells you, and if it is gone, limp mode follows.
New-to-you cars come second, as well. Rentals, new cars and company motors put their fillers in new places, and the hand goes for the cap used on the old one.
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 pour after it has started. It takes seconds, whether out in Ballumbie or bang in the heart of Whitfield.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Whether a Whitfield forecourt or a driveway out in Fintry, spend a few seconds on these before any goes in.
- Read the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue ones are often blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones usually aren't.
- Look at the size: the smaller filler neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- Lift the filler flap and check for a label — plenty of motors mark which goes in each filler right there.
- Can't find it beside the diesel filler? Then check beneath the bonnet or in the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park outside Broughty Ferry? Check with the person who drove it last before leaving, not when the light comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching the diesel tank
Wherever in Dundee City the light comes on, this is a routine for the day.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with the motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Dunbar Terrace.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap works — once you've found your filler and read it.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the vehicle on.
- Finish once the tank fills or the bottle runs dry; before that, tip slowly using its built-in spout.
- Close the cap, and look once more — making sure the diesel filler stayed shut throughout. Only then, start the vehicle.
Find at stage two or three that it has already gone into the diesel side? So stop just there. Leave out stage five altogether.
Whitfield: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
The short order of things, starting with not starting your engine. The fuel pump starts on plenty of diesels as soon as your ignition is switched on — so leave it off. Filling up with diesel will not weaken it: instead, AdBlue drops to the base of that tank, right where fuel is drawn from.
Ask the staff to help roll your car clear of the petrol pump if you're at a forecourt — the Asda, the JET or anywhere else. Your own driveway around Whitfield is where it should stay.
Already run? Pull over when it's safe, then switch off. The next junction means the place to leave if you are on the M90, under 25 miles from Whitfield. A short hop across Whitfield is a smaller job than a run towards Dundee, under 5 miles away, so tell us roughly how far it went.
What takes place when our technicians turn up around Whitfield
We come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside the local primary school, near Whitfield Community Library or on your own driveway. We ask what was put in, roughly how much, and if it's run, since the replies decide the work and our quote. On the phone call itself, you hear the price — ahead of anything else.
Your system is then rinsed thoroughly, once the tank is drained. Much more than with petrol, it matters here: crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and nothing washes away unaided, no matter how long it sits. A test comes last: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the fuel filter is cleaned or changed as needed. After that our engineers fire it up and check it runs properly before we go.
With pumps fine on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night, most jobs in which the engine hasn't run need about half an hour once our technicians are there. The insurer usually wants the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and both are yours at the end. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Before we get there, take a look at your policy; many include cover for misfuelling.
About Whitfield and where it is
Whitfield is a suburban area located on the outskirts of Dundee, situated near the coast in eastern Scotland. Whitfield sits at an elevation of 64 metres, with views out to the North Sea, and is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock. Whitfield is close to nearby places such as Ballumbie and Burnside of Duntrune, and is a short distance from the city centre of Dundee.
AdBlue drains across Dundee City, Whitfield included
Whitfield is a residential suburb, and the vans that cover it also work the towns near it, Burnside of Duntrune and Middleton among them, across the DD postcode area. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting DD4 0.
Your car doesn't need to move. Our technicians drain it where it is — a side street close to The Crescent Community Centre, a lay-by on the way to Whitfield Community Garden, a drive. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're near a border, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Metal Tree.
In short, for Whitfield drivers
Always, the cap; then, the pour. AdBlue in the diesel tank regardless? Leave the car off and phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, throughout Dundee City.