What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bournemouth
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the motor has been started since. Not started so far? Then leave it like that, whether your car is — Bournemouth or East Cliff. Leave the engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Bournemouth. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, yes, but the same first move.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Dorset it happened.
Bournemouth forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Perhaps you are at the Esso, perhaps at the Asda, possibly somewhere else around Bournemouth.
Put simply: no better place exists to discover it. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Do this: keep out of the car, however much the queue wants freeing. A few jobs: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. Stuck beside the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Bournemouth
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the garage, tipped in on the drive — and it was just at the recycling that the cap caught a second look. Houses just off Beale Place are caught out as often as everywhere else.
The point: zero driving since makes it almost equal to finding it at the petrol pump. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops to the base inside that tank and waits. A night standing changes none of that.
Your move: the keys in the house, and so no one takes the car off at breakfast. Then, phone. Your driveway is where it is drained, whether in Bournemouth or Dean Park. Our pumping kit works quiet enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Bournemouth?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Yelverton Road, say, or the way to Southampton — a run of under 25 miles.
The point: the system has drawn AdBlue in already. It's been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. More driving, more restarts: further it goes.
Stop safely — that's the first job — then switch it off. Exit at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M27, under 25 miles from Bournemouth. It won't have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to find out. About how far had it go? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've only driven the vehicle a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was just next to your diesel. Anywhere you happen to be across Dorset, every driver could be caught.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies here — run or not — and one further step. Many rental and fleet contracts need the owner's approval for work.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. Leave the car off while the reply comes, even if you're parked at the nearest station or near TK Maxx.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Bournemouth
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of St Michael's Church of England Primary School in a rush, say, or a friend's drive out in Westbourne.
In short: spillage near the filler leaves the motor unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by turning on the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it got in, and never turn the key. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than emptying one once it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
Bournemouth: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three things come once our technicians arrive — on a forecourt, a drive, a street by Burlington Arcade or the car park at The Mary Shelley: the fluid, the quantity, and whether the motor has been started. Answers set the job; the quote follows on the call whilst no one has set off yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, so it does not wash out on its own; that is why a full flush, after the drain, matters much more here than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in after the filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is finally checked. Never started? In that case about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
The last step is firing it up. Our engineers confirm it runs properly on clean diesel before we go. We do the entire job where the car is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been spotted quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait is worthwhile.
About Bournemouth and where it is
Bournemouth is a seaside town located on England's southern coast, within the county of Dorset. It is situated in a unitary authority area that also includes Christchurch and Poole. Bournemouth is known for its coastal setting and is the largest town in Dorset. The town has a significant presence in the region, making it a notable destination.
AdBlue drains around Bournemouth and across Dorset
West Cliff and Meyrick Park get the identical vans as Bournemouth, a coastal town, along with further towns over BH postcodes. The whereabouts is clearest from a postcode that starts BH1 1.
Central Bournemouth or a layby towards Lower Gardens: either way it is, your vehicle never needs to move at all for us. Our engineers drain it where it is. Tricky to explain? By Trove or a border? Asking is better than guessing, and so ring.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave the car that way and ring. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Bournemouth or wherever across Dorset.