AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Allington, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the motor has run since it went in. Anywhere your vehicle stands — Royal British Legion Village, Allington — don't start an engine that has not run yet. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush after a drain, carried out just where the car sits in Allington. Where the motor has run, stop somewhere safe straight away, then turn the car off. A larger job, yes, but the same opening move.
Further down: the situations we see, anywhere in Kent. Choose yours.
On a Allington forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Maybe you're at the BP, possibly at the Esso, maybe somewhere else around Allington.
Put simply: no better spot exists to discover it. Only that tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has drawn it in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Have the staff to lend a hand pushing it to a bay, save the receipt, then ring us from there. Stuck by the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Allington drive?
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Driveways close to Odiham Drive see it as much as any other street.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's almost as good as finding out at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of the tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. We drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that's around Allington or out in Ringlestone. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Allington: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way beyond the top-up. Possibly it was on Newbury Avenue, possibly on the way out towards Southend-on-Sea, under 25 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. It's been through your filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Stop safely — that's the first job — then turn everything off. On the M20, under a mile from Allington, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet was just beside the diesel. Wherever you are around Kent, every driver could slip up.
The point: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, only with an added stage. Work on the vehicle often needs the owner's approval under hire or company agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our engineers turn up than after. Waiting for an answer at the car park at Barming, or near Allington Library? Keep your engine off meanwhile.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Allington
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. Which cap came off, you cannot recall; but the bottle feels less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. The gates of Allington Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway over in Cherry Orchard.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your engine. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Starting the vehicle won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would pull it in.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and don't start the engine. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain around Allington shares these steps
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Filling station, drive, The Fields's car park or a road by St. Nicholas' Church — the van comes to the car, and three answers come next: what liquid, which quantity, and whether it has run. Those answers determine this work, and you hear the price by phone, before anyone sets off.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Last are the filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of your car. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour job after the moment our technicians turn up.
Firing it up comes last. Before our engineers leave, it is tested to be sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and permanent damage is very unusual if it has been noticed soon. Payment comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy as you wait pays.
About Allington, briefly
Allington is a suburban area in Kent, situated inland at an elevation of 48 metres, and forms part of the wider residential area surrounding Maidstone. Allington is located near several other communities, including Ringlestone, Fant, and Forstal, and is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock. Allington sits approximately 30.9 miles from London and 19.8 miles from Southend-on-Sea, making it a commuter-friendly location.
Allington and Kent: AdBlue drains across the area
Fant and Forstal get the same teams as Allington, a residential suburb, along with further towns throughout ME postcodes. Fastest of all: a ME16 0 postcode to show where you stand.
Central Allington or a layby near Midley Close Play Area: either way it sits, the vehicle never needs to shift at all for the drain. We drain the vehicle where it is. Ring and ask rather than guess when you are close to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on a border, or somewhere tricky to explain.
Your situation, summed up
Motor never started: ring, leaving it switched off. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Kent and in Allington — after you pull over, switch off then phone, if it has run.