What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Burghclere
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the motor has been started afterwards. Over in Horris Hill or here around Burghclere, an unstarted engine must stay unrun. Usually this is emptying and thoroughly flushing it on the spot around Burghclere — and so keep the key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Where the motor has run, stop safely first, then switch the vehicle off. Step one stays unchanged, even though the work is bigger.
Below: the situations our engineers see, wherever around Hampshire. Pick the one that fits.
On a Burghclere forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you are stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Possibly you are at the Shell, maybe at the Sainsbury's, perhaps somewhere else around Burghclere.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Only the tank holds AdBlue; no component beyond it has taken it in.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — and so do not get back in. Have the attendants to help rolling it to a space, hold on to the bottle, then ring us from there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed clear is emptied where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Burghclere
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Picked up a container, tipped it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. Driveways close to Church Lane get it as much as any other street.
Meaning? As long as your car has not been driven since, it's close to the pump case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Your move: keys indoors, so nobody drives your vehicle off first thing. Then, phone. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that is around Burghclere or out in Earlstone Common. The pumping kit runs quiet enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Burghclere?
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. Breachfield, perhaps, or the route to Winchester — a trip of under 25 miles.
The point: the system has drawn AdBlue through already. Distance sets how far it goes: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
Pull in safely — that is the next job — then turn everything off. On the M4, under 10 miles from Burghclere, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
Seven days ago, the car was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Hampshire.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Plenty of hire and fleet contracts need the owner's sign-off for repairs.
Sorting it before we turn up is faster, so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. If you're stuck in the car park outside Newbury, or by Church of the Ascension, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Burghclere?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A faint ammonia-like smell lingers near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. The gates of Burghclere Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's drive over in Newtown Common.
What it means: a little spilled around your filler does no damage to your engine. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Firing up the car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
Assume it went in, and never start your engine. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one once it's been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
Burghclere: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The work opens identically, whatever your case. Filling station, driveway, Carpenters Arms's car park or a road by a street just off the centre — our van reaches the car, and three questions follow: what liquid, what amount, and if it ran. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the work.
Then your tank is emptied and your system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Clean diesel goes in after your filter is cleaned or changed, and your car is finally checked. If the motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Lastly, we fire it up. Before our technicians head off, it is checked to confirm it runs correctly on new diesel. When it is noticed early, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Payment is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling is built into many policies.
About Burghclere itself
Burghclere is a small village in Hampshire, situated in an inland area of the South East region, with an elevation of around 141 metres. Burghclere lies near the North Wessex Downs, close to Earlstone Common and Tot Hill, and is characterized by its detached housing stock. Burghclere is located approximately 52.9 miles from London and 19.7 miles from the city of Winchester, making it a rural community with a relatively small population of around 596 residents.
Burghclere and Hampshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Burghclere is a rural village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Tot Hill and Burghclere Common among them, across the RG postcode area. Telling us a RG20 9 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Gardenground Copse or in a car park in the middle of Burghclere, it doesn't need to move. Draining happens right there. Assuming doesn't help beside St Mary the Virgin, on a border or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and check.
Your situation, in one line
Engine never started: phone, and leave it alone. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Burghclere or anywhere in Hampshire.