AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bath, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the engine has run since. Anywhere the vehicle stands — Lyncombe Hill, Bath — never start a motor that has not been started yet. Leave the motor and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Bath. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A bigger job, then, yet the identical first move.
Below: the situations our technicians meet, wherever across Somerset. Pick the one that fits.
Bath forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Be it Esso, Sainsbury's or somewhere else around Bath, the situation is identical.
In short: no better spot to be to discover it. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump wants clearing. Ask the staff to help you roll the car into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
At home in Bath with AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had shown all week. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it's just by the recycling that the cap got a second look. Houses just off Upper Borough Walls are caught out as much as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's second to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop any early-morning move by keeping your keys in the house, then phone us. Your drive is where it gets drained, whether around Bath or Kingsmead. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Bath: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. High Street, perhaps, or the route to Bristol — a trip of under 15 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. It's been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. It travels deeper with each mile driven and every restart.
Do this: stop somewhere sensible, then switch the motor off. Service stations farther on are too far: from the M4, under 10 miles out of Bath, take the first junction. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you drove.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
A week ago, it was new to you. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, so no one told you the AdBlue inlet sits right next to the diesel. Wherever you are around Somerset, every driver can be caught.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, and those depend on whether it has run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. Keep it switched off as the reply comes, even if you are parked outside Bath Spa or close to TK Maxx.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Bath?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? The gates of Widcombe Infant School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway out in Walcot.
The upshot: your engine isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled on the filler. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Starting your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would suck it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not start it. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank checked is a better outcome than an already-run one emptied.
Every AdBlue drain in Bath shares these stages
Each case gets the same start to the work. Forecourt, driveway, Coeur De Lion's car park or a road beside Victoria Art Gallery — our van reaches the car, and three questions follow: what liquid, which amount, and whether it has run. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the work.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out on its own; that is why a full flush, after the drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in after your filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is finally checked. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we make sure it's running properly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and lasting damage is very rare when it has been caught early. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Bath
Bath is a city located in the south west of England, situated on the River Avon in Somerset. Bath sits at an elevation of around 35 metres, with the city's riverside setting contributing to its historic and architectural significance. Bath is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing stock, with nearby areas including Kingsmead, Dolemeads, and Bathwick. Bath is also close to the city of Bristol, which lies approximately 11.5 miles to the west.
AdBlue drains around Bath, and across Somerset too
Dolemeads and Bathwick have the identical vans as Bath, a spa town, along with other towns throughout BA postcodes. A postcode starting BA2 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Bath or a layby towards Beazer Garden Maze: either way it sits, your car doesn't need to shift an inch for us. The van drains it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to The Nail or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The one-line version
If it has not run, ring then leave it off. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Somerset and within Bath — once you stop, turn off and phone, if it's run.