AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Burnside, and What to Do Next
Everything turns on a single detail: if your motor has been run after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Burnside itself or out in Alness. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where the vehicle sits in Burnside. Already run? Stop when safe, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Highland it happened.
On a Burnside forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the correct one. Perhaps you're at the Morrisons, possibly at the Gleaner, maybe somewhere else around Burnside.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it can be. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up just to move away from the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking spot, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed clear is cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
At home around Burnside with AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had passed with the dash light on. Bought a bottle, tipped it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. It happens on drives just off Alness Distributor Road as frequently as anywhere.
The point: no driving since leaves it nearly equal to finding it at the pump. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops to the base inside your tank and waits. One night standing alters none of that.
Put your keys indoors overnight — otherwise someone might drive it off first thing — then phone us. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, whether around Burnside or Westford. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Burnside?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two after the top-up. Burnside, perhaps, or the route towards Inverness — a run of under 25 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. Mileage decides how deep it goes: filter and lines to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. It goes deeper with every extra mile driven and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Services further along are too far: on the M90, over 50 miles out of Burnside, use the next junction. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to check. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us as you phone.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have only had the car a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet sits right beside your diesel. Any driver, anywhere across Highland, might make it.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or unrun — plus one further step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. If you are stranded in the car park outside Alness, or by Alness Parish, Church of Scotland, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Burnside?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". Which cap was taken off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. The gates of the local primary school in a rush, say, or someone's drive out in Dalmore.
Put simply: spillage round your filler leaves the engine unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Do this: behave as though it got in, and don't start your engine. Phone with the details: we would rather find a clean tank than empty one after the engine has been run.
Burnside: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The job opens identically, whatever your situation. Three things come once our engineers arrive — on a filling station, a drive, a street beside Alness Old Parish Church (ruin) or the car park at the pub in the village: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has run. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told the price, and those replies decide the job too.
Then that tank is cleared and the fuel system flushed thoroughly, which matters 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. Finally are the fuel filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. Never started? Then about half an hour on site is most jobs.
We start the engine last. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to be sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. Permanent damage is very rare when it's caught quickly, and the whole job is done where your car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while we travel pays.
About Burnside and where it is
Burnside is a coastal suburban area in the Scottish Highlands, situated approximately 15 miles from Inverness. Burnside sits at an elevation of around 35 metres, overlooking the surrounding coastline. Burnside is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing and is located near other small communities such as Westford and Firhill.
AdBlue drains in Burnside, and across Highland too
Over IV postcodes, the vans serving Burnside — a residential suburb — work nearby places too, Firhill and Shillinghill among them. A postcode starting IV17 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Burnside or a lay-by towards Coulhill Wood: wherever it is, the vehicle never needs to move an inch for us. We drain the vehicle where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near West End Community Centre or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In one line: your situation
Unstarted? Leave it off then ring. Run by now? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever it is, across Burnside and Highland, on 0333 366 0103.