Aviemore: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? That single point decides almost everything else from here. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is around Aviemore itself or out in Granish. Usually this is draining and thoroughly flushing it on the spot around Aviemore — and so leave the key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. It is a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Anywhere around Highland it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Aviemore forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Somewhere in Aviemore, then — BP, another forecourt nearby, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. Still in your tank, with nothing pulled through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, however much the pump needs clearing. Have the staff to lend a hand pushing it to a bay, save the bottle, then phone us right there. Can't move it by the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt sensible, and so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Aviemore drive?
For days the dash had been warning you. Bought a bottle, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Driveways close to Grampian Road see it as much as any other street.
In short: if the vehicle has not moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the pump. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Keep the keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone might take it away first thing — and call us. Out in Dalfaber or right here in Aviemore, the drain happens at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
On the road in Aviemore with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Santa Claus Drive, say, or the route to Inverness — a trip of under 25 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Your move: pull up somewhere safe, then switch the engine off. Service stations further along are too far: from the M90, over 50 miles out of Aviemore, take the first junction. No test starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Roughly what distance did it gone? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
Seven days ago, the car was unknown to you. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap sits just next to your diesel. Anyone, wherever in Highland, might make it.
Meaning? Whatever applies above applies here — run or unrun — and one extra step. Many rental and fleet contracts require the owner's sign-off for work.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. If you are stuck in the car park outside the nearest station, or by St Andrew's Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Aviemore
At times the honest answer is "I think so". Which cap was taken off, you can't say; but the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by your filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Coylumbridge.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to the motor. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't crank it. Tell us what you noticed on your phone. A clean tank checked is a better result than a run one drained.
The common ground in every Aviemore AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked when we arrive — at a forecourt, a drive, a road beside Strathspey Steam Railway or the car park at The Winking Owl: the liquid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the work.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out on its own; that's why the flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in once the fuel filter has been flushed or changed, and the car is then tested. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour job after the moment our technicians arrive.
The final step is firing it up. Our test that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before our technicians head off. Our engineers do the whole job where the car is, and permanent damage is very rare if it has been caught early. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Aviemore itself
Aviemore is a town situated in the Scottish Highlands, on the banks of the River Spey at an elevation of 216 metres. Aviemore is located near several smaller communities, including Dalfaber, Dell, and Inverdruie, and is approximately 24.8 miles south of Inverness. Aviemore has a population of around 2861 people, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Aviemore is also a significant distance from London, at around 419.9 miles away.
Aviemore and Highland: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout PH postcodes, the vans serving Aviemore — a riverside town — reach surrounding places too, Dell and Inverdruie included. Quickest of all: a PH22 1 postcode to show your location.
No moving is needed, be it stopped in the centre of Aviemore or on a layby heading to Scandinavian Village, and so keep it put. The van drains it in place. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Aviemore and Rothiemurchus War Memorial or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Engine not started: ring, leaving it alone. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Aviemore or anywhere across Highland.