AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Coombe: What Now?
All of it hinges on one fact: whether your engine has started since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Out in Each End or here in Coombe, an unrun engine should stay that way. Usually that is draining and thoroughly rinsing it right there in Coombe — so keep your key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A larger job, then, but the same opening move.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Kent it happened.
On a Coombe forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Be it Gulf, Shell or anywhere else in Coombe, the situation is the same.
Put simply: there is no better place to be to discover it. The AdBlue is in that 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. Get the attendants to help rolling it into a space, save the bottle, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear gets emptied where it is at the pump.
At home in Coombe with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened on the driveway. Drives close to Coombe Lane get it as much as any other street.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and remains there, no matter how long it waits.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then ring. Our engineers drain the car on your drive, whether that is in Coombe or out in Marshborough. Our equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Coombe?
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. Anywhere along New Street or heading towards Canterbury — under 10 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue up. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a longer run, after the filter and pipework have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the first step — then turn everything off. On the M20, under 15 miles from Coombe, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have only had this vehicle for days. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you happen to be around Kent, any motorist can be caught.
The upshot: just as above, divided by if it ran, but with one added stage. Work on your vehicle frequently needs the owner's approval under hire or company terms.
Your move: rental firm or fleet manager first, us next, because sorting it early cuts time. If you're stranded in the car park at Sandwich, or by St Nicholas, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Coombe: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. A faint ammonia-like whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Woodnesborough.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to the motor. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Next: act as though it got in, then keep your motor off. Checking a tank that proves clean is better than emptying one once it's been run — so ring and describe to us what you saw.
Every AdBlue drain around Coombe shares these stages
The work begins identically, whatever the case. Filling station, drive, The Chequer Inn's car park or a street by St Mary The Blessed Virgin Church — our van comes to the car, and three questions follow: which liquid, which amount, and if it has run. Those replies decide this work, and you hear our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Then that tank is cleared 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. Finally come the filter, flushed or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it's running correctly, and then we head off. The entire job is done where your car is, and if it is spotted soon, permanent damage is very uncommon. Payment is on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while we travel pays.
About Coombe itself
Coombe is a small hamlet situated on the riverside in Kent, with a low elevation of around 23 metres. Coombe lies near the cities of Canterbury and the surrounding villages of Marshborough, Flemings, and Ash. Coombe is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock and is located approximately 63 miles from London. Coombe has a small population of around 555 residents.
AdBlue drains across Kent, Coombe included
Being a rural hamlet, Coombe shares its vans with the surrounding places — Ash, Flemings — right through CT postcodes. Giving us a CT13 0 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Parked heading to Eastry Picnic Site, or right in the heart of Coombe, the vehicle stays where it is — there is no need to move it at all. The drain happens on the spot. Ring and check rather than guess when you are by Woodnesborough Village Hall, near a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, in one line
If it hasn't started, phone then leave it off. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Coombe and anywhere in Kent on 0333 366 0103.