AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ash, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it went in. Not started yet? Then keep the vehicle that way, wherever the vehicle is — Ash or Witcombe. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and count on a proper flush after a drain, carried out just where the vehicle sits in Ash. Stop the minute it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. A larger job, then, but the same opening move.
Match your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere around Somerset you are.
Ash forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the bottle, you realise the filler you took off wasn't the right one. Whether Texaco, BP or somewhere else around Ash, the situation is the same.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. Only that tank holds AdBlue; not one part beyond it has taken any in.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Ring us from the forecourt once your vehicle sits in a bay — the staff will help roll it — then keep the bottle. Stuck by the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain it in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Ash
The warning light had been on for days. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap a second time, after the fact. Houses just off Main Street are hit as often as everywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is close to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and stays put, however long it waits.
Next: stop an early move by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Highway or Ash: whichever your drive sits, that is where it is cleared. Late-night empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Ash?
Topped up, drove away, and soon your engine was running roughly, smoking, losing power, or lighting up your dash. Martock Lane, say, or the way towards Wells — a trip of under 25 miles.
What it means: the system has pulled the AdBlue in. Distance decides how deep it gets: filter and lines to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next step — then switch everything off. Leave at the next junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M5, under 15 miles from Ash. Starting it again to test achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About what distance had it gone? Tell us as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You've just driven the vehicle for days. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. Anywhere you happen to be around Somerset, every motorist can slip up.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Any work on your car often needs the owner's approval under hire or company agreements.
Settling it before we arrives is faster, and so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you're stuck in the car park at Yeovil Pen Mill, or by Ash Village Hall, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Ash
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of Ash Church of England Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway out in Martock.
Meaning? Spills around the filler don't touch your motor at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Turning on your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would suck it in.
Next: assume it got in, then leave the motor off. Call us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Ash AdBlue drain
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Bell Inn or a side street close to Holy Trinity, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if the motor has run. Your price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and the answers set the job.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's essential, since crystals form and some metals corrode, and neither washes away unaided. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. If the motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Starting it comes last. Our check that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before we head off. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it is spotted early, and the whole job is done where your car is. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as we travel is worthwhile.
About Ash
Ash is a small village in inland Somerset, situated approximately 60 metres above sea level. Ash sits near the villages of Highway, Stapleton, and Milton, and is located about 16 miles from the city of Wells. Ash has a population of around 619 people, predominantly living in detached houses.
AdBlue drains about Ash and across Somerset
As a rural village, Ash has the same vans as the nearby towns — Milton, Stapleton — all the way through TA postcodes. Quickest of all: a TA12 6 postcode to show your location.
Stopped en route to Ash Village Recreation Ground, or right in the heart of Ash, the car stays where it is — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Our engineers drain the car where it stands. Phone and check rather than guess when you're by Martock Library, on a border, or anywhere awkward to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Run by now? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever case, in Ash and Somerset, on 0333 366 0103.