What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Cadley
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it went in. Anywhere your vehicle stands — Maudlands, Cadley — never run a motor that has not been started yet. Leave your motor and your ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Cadley. Where the engine has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. It's a bigger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Match your case to one of the list below, wherever in Lancashire you are.
On a Cadley forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You are 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 Hillcrest Service Station, Shell or somewhere else around Cadley, the case is the same.
Put simply: there is no better spot exists to spot it. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Ask the staff to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear gets drained right at the pump.
Cadley, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had shown all week. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the driveway — and it's only by the recycling that the cap caught a second look. Driveways close to Rossall Road see it as much as any other street.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Your move: the keys indoors, so nobody drives the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. After that, phone. Out in Nooklands or right here around Cadley, the drain happens at your drive. Night-time drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
On the road in Cadley with AdBlue in a diesel
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two beyond the fill. It might have been heading to Preston, under 3 miles away, or simply down Beechwood Avenue.
What it means: your fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M55, under 3 miles from Cadley. No test starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. Tell us know the mileage covered as you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days back, the car was unknown to you. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, its cap is right next to the diesel inlet — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Lancashire.
The upshot: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with an added step. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Your move: rental firm or fleet manager first, us next, because settling it beforehand saves time. Stranded by Church of St Anthony of Padua or outside Preston until someone answers, your vehicle stays switched off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Cadley?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest as it gets. Lighter, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, Preston, or on a friend's drive in Tanterton.
Put simply: a spill round your filler leaves the motor unharmed. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. Any AdBlue in that tank will be sucked in by turning on your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it got in, and never turn your engine. Phone and give what you saw: we would sooner find a clean tank than empty one after the engine has been run.
Every AdBlue drain around Cadley shares these steps
No matter the case, a single start applies. Three things are asked once our technicians arrive — at a filling station, a drive, a road by St Anthony's Social Club or the car park outside The Plungington: the fluid, the amount, and if it has been started. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear our quote, and those replies shape the work too.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and certain metals corrode, and none of that rinses out unaided. Finally come your filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your car. Where your engine has not run, allow about half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. Before we head off, it's tested to confirm it runs correctly on new diesel. Long-term damage is very rare if it's noticed early, and the whole job is done where the car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover is built into many policies.
About Cadley, for a moment
Cadley is a suburban area located on the riverside in Lancashire, with a relatively low elevation of 28 metres. Cadley sits close to the city of Preston, being only 1.7 miles away, and is near other places such as Nooklands and Ingol. Cadley has a population of approximately 5251 people and predominantly consists of semi-detached housing. Cadley is situated in the North West region of England, about 191 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about Cadley and across Lancashire
Ingol and Ashton-on-Ribble have the same teams as Cadley, a residential suburb, along with further towns over PR postcodes. A postcode starting PR2 3 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Mill Lane Park or in a car park in the middle of Cadley, it does not need to shift. Wherever it sits, that is where it is emptied. Assuming won't help near Playfootball Preston, close to a border or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
Your situation, in one line
Motor never started: ring, and leave it alone. Run already: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Cadley or anywhere across Lancashire.