What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Chilbolton
Has the motor run since the AdBlue got in? This single point decides nearly everything else from here. Not started so far? Then leave the vehicle that way, whether your vehicle sits — Chilbolton or Newton Stacey. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine both off. Across Chilbolton, that is typically emptied and flushed on the spot. When your motor has run, stop safely first, then switch it off. A bigger job, then, but the same opening move.
Wherever across Hampshire it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
Chilbolton forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
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 BP, Esso or anywhere else around Chilbolton, the case is the same.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. Just that tank has AdBlue; not one part beyond it has drawn any in.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — so don't get back in. A few jobs: a shove into a bay with the staff assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from where you stand. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Chilbolton with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Just off Village Street is not different from any other place.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of your tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Next: stop an early drive by putting the keys in the house, then phone us. Wherwell or Chilbolton: wherever your driveway is, that is where it gets emptied. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Chilbolton with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Joy's Lane, perhaps, or the route to Winchester — a trip of under 10 miles.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue through by now. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it too on a bigger trip, after the filter and lines have had it. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Chilbolton sits under 10 miles from the M3; there, come off at the first junction instead of pressing on to the services. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Phone us and say how far you drove.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just had the car for days. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you are around Hampshire, every motorist could slip up.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies too — run or unrun — and one further step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Hanging on for a reply at the car park outside Andover, or beside Saint Mary the Less? Leave the engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Chilbolton?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Wherwell Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or a friend's drive over in Leckford.
The point: your engine isn't hurt by some AdBlue spilled on the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. Turning on the vehicle will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will suck it in.
Next: assume it got in, then keep the motor off. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather find a clean tank than drain one after your engine has run.
Chilbolton: what every AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the situation, a single opening applies. Anywhere the car stands — Abbots Mitre's car park, a street by Chilbolton Village Hall, a drive, a forecourt — our van gets there and asks for the fluid, the amount, and whether the motor has turned over. Answers shape the job; the price comes by phone whilst no one has left yet.
Then your tank is emptied and your 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 doesn't rinse out on its own. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
The final step is starting the engine. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Long-term damage is very unusual when it's noticed early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Chilbolton
Chilbolton is a small village in Hampshire, situated on the banks of the River Test at an elevation of around 45 metres. Chilbolton has a population of approximately 570 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. Chilbolton is located near the cities of Winchester and Southampton, and is close to nearby villages such as Wherwell and Fullerton. Chilbolton sits in a rural area, with the city of London around 61 miles to the east.
AdBlue drains around Chilbolton and across Hampshire
Cottonworth and Fullerton have the identical vans as Chilbolton, a village, along with further places over SO postcodes. Quickest of all: a SO20 6 postcode for where you stand.
No towing is needed, be it stopped centrally in Chilbolton or on a lay-by heading to Sports Field, and so leave it where it is. The van drains it in place. Phone and check rather than guess when you're close to Manor House (Chilbolton), on a boundary, or anywhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off and ring. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever it is, in Chilbolton and Hampshire, on 0333 366 0103.