Cobb: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue went in? That one point settles almost everything about what comes next. Out in Uplyme or right in Cobb, an unstarted engine must remain that way. Usually that means emptying and properly cleaning it right there around Cobb — and so leave the key and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. When the motor has been run, pull in somewhere safe first, then turn the vehicle off. It's a larger job, yet stage one does not change.
Anywhere around Dorset it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
On a Cobb forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, nozzle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. Whether Murco, Gulf or anywhere else in Cobb, the case is the same.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: do not get back in and start the vehicle to clear the pump. A few jobs: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. Emptying it there at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Cobb drive?
For days the dash had been warning you. Bought a container, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, after the fact. Right off Marine Parade is no less likely from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Keep the keys in the house overnight — or a person may drive it away first thing — then phone us. Out in Lyme Regis or right here around Cobb, the draining happens at your drive. Night-time empties beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Cobb?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard started a short way after the fill. Anywhere along Ozone Terrace or heading towards Exeter — under 50 miles away.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Distance sets how far it goes: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. It goes deeper with every extra mile covered and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Cobb sits under 25 miles from the M5; on it, come off at the first junction rather than pushing on for the services. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Call, and say how far the car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
A week ago, the car was new to you. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so no one told you the AdBlue inlet sits right beside the diesel. Across Dorset, nobody is immune.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, and those turn on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company agreements need the owner's sign-off before work.
Sorting it before the van arrives is faster, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Axminster, or near The Cobb? Keep the car off throughout.
Cobb: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; a hazy memory of the cap. Sound familiar? A rushed stop by the gates of St Michael's CofE Primary School, Lyme Regis, or a visit to a friend in Holcombe: both fit.
In short: a spill near your filler leaves your motor no harm. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on the vehicle will suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, then keep your engine off. Tell us what you noticed on your phone. A clean tank checked counts as a happier outcome than an already-run one emptied.
What each AdBlue drain in Cobb has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Wherever the vehicle stands — The Cobb Arms's car park, a road beside Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the amount, plus whether the motor has turned over. Those answers decide the work, and you get our price on the phone, before anybody heads out.
Then the tank is cleared and your system rinsed thoroughly, which counts 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. Finally are the filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of your vehicle. Never started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Lastly, our technicians fire it up. Our technicians confirm it runs correctly on fresh diesel before we leave. Long-term damage is very uncommon when it is caught soon, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Cobb itself
Cobb is a small coastal suburban area in Dorset, situated near the towns of Lyme Regis and Ware. Cobb lies close to the sea, at a low elevation of around 6 metres, and is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock. Cobb is part of a larger residential area that has developed along the South West coast of England, with nearby landmarks including Dragons Hill.
AdBlue drains across Dorset, Cobb included
Ware and Dragons Hill get the identical teams as Cobb, a residential suburb, along with other places throughout DT postcodes. A postcode starting DT7 3 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Cobb or a layby near The Jane Austen Gardens: wherever it sits, your vehicle never needs to move at all for the drain. Where it stands, that's where it is emptied. Guessing doesn't help near Admiral Sir George Somers, close to a county line or anywhere hard to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Where it has not run, ring and leave it off. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Dorset and in Cobb — once you stop, switch off and phone, if it has run.