AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in California, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it got in. Not started yet? Then keep the car that way, wherever your vehicle is — California or Teesville. Leave the motor and your ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around California. When the engine has been run, stop safely first, then turn the vehicle off. Step one remains unchanged, even if the job is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in North Yorkshire it happened.
At the pump in California: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it while you are stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. It might be the Shell, or the another forecourt nearby, or a different forecourt in California.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
What to do: do not get back in and start the vehicle to clear the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the petrol pump is possible if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a California drive?
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Just off Cleveland Street is no different from any other place.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's almost as good as spotting it at the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Your move: the keys indoors, and so nobody takes the car anywhere first thing. Then, ring. Our engineers drain the car on your driveway, whether that is in California or out in Eston. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
California: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and soon the engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up your dash. Maybe it was on Guisborough Street, possibly on the way out towards Durham, under 25 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: stop anywhere sensible, then switch the motor off. California sits under 25 miles from the A1(M); there, pull off at the next junction instead of pressing on for the services. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Tell us know the mileage driven when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've only had this vehicle a week. On your own car, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is just next to the diesel inlet — news to you. Across North Yorkshire, no one is immune.
In short: an extra stage on top of the cases above, which depend on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. If you're stranded in the car park at South Bank, or by Cleveland Ironstone Eston Mines Obelisk, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in California?
At times, "I think so" is all anyone can truthfully say. A faint ammonia-like smell lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. A rushed stop by the gates of Whale Hill Primary School, or a call to a friend in Lazenby: both fits.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves your engine no harm. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. Firing up your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
Your move: behave as if it did, and never start your motor. Tell us what you saw on your phone. A clear tank looked at is a happier outcome than an already-run one emptied.
Each AdBlue drain around California shares these steps
Whatever the case, one start applies. Three questions come when our technicians reach the car — on a filling station, a driveway, a road by Eston Congregational Church or the car park at Cleveland Inn: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has been started. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the work.
Draining your tank comes first, then a careful flush — more vital with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long you wait. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Never started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Our technicians start the engine at the end. Before our technicians head off, it's tested to make sure it runs properly on clean diesel. Our engineers do the entire job where the car is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been caught soon. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you get what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About California, briefly
California is a suburban area in North Yorkshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 48 metres. California is located near the towns of Eston, Lackenby, and Normanby, and is approximately 23 miles from the city of Durham. California has a population of around 6090 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. California is also relatively distant from London, at a distance of 215 miles.
AdBlue drains around California, and across North Yorkshire too
Lackenby and Normanby have the identical vans as California, a residential suburb, plus further towns throughout TS postcodes. Your whereabouts is quickest from a postcode that starts TS6 9.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Lackenby Bank Wood or in a car park in the middle of California, it doesn't need to move. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it is. Awkward to pin down? Close to Christ Church or a border? Asking is better than guessing, so phone.
In one line: your scenario
Where it hasn't started, ring then leave it that way. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around California and anywhere in North Yorkshire on 0333 366 0103.