Why It Happens and How to Avoid It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Widley
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103. In Widley, catching it before the motor runs usually means draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Nothing happened yet? Further down, the page covers the why it happens and the how to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel car: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to the motor — but many newer diesels seen around Widley and Drayton carry another liquid too. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Every tank comes with a filler of its own. Plenty of cars have a single flap for the two, while others move the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. Diesel gets filled on each filling station call-out, week in, week out. Far less frequently, the AdBlue side gets topped up — mostly from a bottle, by a person working out where it goes. That gap is where the slip lives.
AdBlue in your diesel tank in Widley: how it takes place
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and if it runs out altogether, the vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Downside Road before work, or in the car park outside The Hampshire Rose on the way home.
Unfamiliar vehicles are next, as well. Rentals, new vehicles and company vehicles put their fillers in new places, and habit reaches for the cap it used on the old one.
Third, the spout fits: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in just as readily, and after the tip starts, no part halts it. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of Widley or out in Purbrook Heath.
Telling the AdBlue filler from your diesel filler
Check these first, on a forecourt in Widley or a drive out in Farlington. A few seconds, that's all.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- The size. On many vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Check inside the fuel flap: many cars carry a label there saying which fuel goes where.
- The handbook says which it lives if your filler isn't next to your diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- Picking up a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park outside Cosham? Check with the person who drove the vehicle last before leaving, rather than once the light goes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
The day the light comes on, anywhere in Hampshire, use this routine.
- Switch off once parked — flat ground, motor stopped, and never in a rush by Blossom Drive at the roadside.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft and it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave it on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check again. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the vehicle.
Find at the second or third stage that AdBlue went into the wrong tank? That's where you stop. Never go on to step five.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, around Widley?
The short order of things, starting with not starting your engine. On plenty of diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, and so do not switch the car on. Filling up with diesel won't thin it: rather than mixing, AdBlue drops to the bottom of the tank, right where the fuel is taken from.
The attendants at Shell, Sainsbury's or any forecourt will normally lend a hand pushing your car away when you ask. If you're on your own driveway in Widley, leave it where it stands.
When your motor has been run already, pull over somewhere safe and switch the car off. Widley sits under 3 miles from the A3(M); on it, use the next junction. A short hop across Widley is a smaller job than a run towards Portsmouth, under 5 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
Our arrival around Widley, and what happens next
We come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Purbrook Infant School, near Christ Church or on your own drive. What fluid went in, the quantity, and whether it ran: our engineers ask since those replies decide both work and quote. No one heads out until you have had our price over the phone.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a thorough flush of the system. More than with petrol, it counts here: crystals build up, some metals corrode, and nothing washes away on its own, no matter how long it is left. A test comes at the end: before that, fresh diesel is added, and your filter is flushed or replaced as needed. Before we go, our engineers fire it up and make sure that it's running properly.
Unstarted vehicles usually need a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The kit is safe on a busy forecourt, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. Your insurer usually wants an engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. It is worth looking at your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with many policies.
About Widley itself
Widley is a suburban area located on the southern coast of England, in Hampshire, with an elevation of 51 metres above sea level. Widley sits near the city of Portsmouth, approximately 4.8 miles away, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Purbrook Heath, Crookhorn, and Purbrook. Widley has a population of around 3397 people and predominantly consists of semi-detached housing. Widley is also situated within commuting distance to London, being around 59.9 miles away.
AdBlue drains round Widley, and Hampshire beyond
Widley is a residential suburb, and the vans that cover it also work the places near it, Crookhorn and Purbrook among them, across the PO postcode area. A postcode starting PO7 5 gets our van to you fastest.
The car remains where it is. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Penjar Pond, a side street close to Purbrook Centre: we drain the vehicle where it is. Tricky to explain, like the back of Gobs Barrow? Close to a county line? Checking is better than guessing, and so phone.
In short, for Widley people
First, the cap; after that, the pour. If AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank all the same, leave the car off then ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere across Hampshire.