AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bristol, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your engine has been run since it went in. Wherever the vehicle is — Clifton Wood, Bristol — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Usually this is draining and thoroughly rinsing it right there in Bristol — so keep your ignition and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A bigger job, then, but the identical opening step.
Further down: the situations our engineers meet, anywhere in Bristol. Choose yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Bristol forecourt
Imagine it: standing by the pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the cap you opened was not the right one. Somewhere around Bristol, then — Esso, Asda, or somewhere else close by.
Put simply: no better place exists to discover it. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: resist the temptation to start it only to move away from the petrol pump. Ring us from the forecourt once the vehicle is in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — and keep the bottle. If it cannot be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
At home in Bristol with AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had gone by with the warning light on. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used at the drive. Right off College Green is no less likely from anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's close to the pump case. At the floor of that tank is where AdBlue waits, since it will not blend with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — or someone might take it away first thing — and phone us. Canons Marsh or Bristol: wherever your driveway is, that's where it is cleared. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Bristol: drove off 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. Somewhere along Unity Street or on the road towards Bath — under 15 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M32, under 3 miles from Bristol. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to find out. Tell us hear the mileage driven as you ring.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days back, the car was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you are across Bristol, every driver can slip up.
The upshot: just as above, divided by if it ran, but with an added stage. The owner often has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and company contracts.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we get there than after. If you are stranded in the car park at Bristol Temple Meads, or by Well Hung Lover, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Bristol?
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think it did. Which cap was taken off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs less than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Cathedral Primary School, or a call to a friend in Kingsdown: either fit.
Put simply: spillage near your filler leaves the engine no harm. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, it does. Firing up the vehicle won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will suck it in.
Your move: behave as if it got in, and never start your motor. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than empty one after the motor has run.
Each AdBlue drain around Bristol shares these stages
Whatever the case, one start is used. We come to the vehicle, whether it's on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Hatchet Inn or a side street near Weapon of Choice Gallery, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if your motor has run. Replies set the work; the price comes by phone while nobody has set off yet.
Then your tank is drained and the system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Fresh diesel goes in once the filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is then checked. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Starting the car comes at the end. Before our technicians go, it is checked to make sure it runs properly on new diesel. When it's spotted early, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy as we travel pays.
About Bristol itself
Bristol is a city located in the South West of England, situated on the River Avon and with a diverse range of architectural styles. Bristol sits at a relatively low elevation of around 22 metres above sea level, and its riverside setting has played a significant role in its development. Bristol is a major urban centre, with nearby places such as Canons Marsh, Tyndalls Park, and Victoria Park contributing to its vibrant character. Bristol has a population of approximately 174,684 people, predominantly living in flats.
AdBlue drains around Bristol, and across Bristol too
Throughout BS postcodes, the teams covering Bristol — a cathedral city — reach nearby towns as well, Tyndalls Park and Victoria Park included. Giving us a BS1 5 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No moving is required, whether stopped in the centre of Bristol or in a lay-by en route to College Green, and so leave it put. The drain is done right there. Guessing doesn't help beside Lord Mayor's Chapel, on a border or anywhere hard to describe; ring and check.
In one line: your scenario
Not run yet: keep it off then call. Run by now: pull over, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Bristol or wherever in Bristol.