AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Cottingham: What Now?
One thing matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the engine has run afterwards. Not run so far? Then keep it like that, wherever the car sits — Cottingham or Drayton. Leave the motor and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Cottingham. Where your motor has been run, stop safely first, then turn it off. It's a larger job, yet stage one does not change.
Wherever around Northamptonshire it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Cottingham forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, nozzle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. Be it BP, Shell or anywhere else around Cottingham, the case is the same.
Meaning? Finding out here is as good as it can be. Still in the tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
Your move: stay out of the car, even if the queue wants clearing. Ring us from the forecourt once your vehicle sits in a bay — the staff will help roll it — and keep the receipt. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Cottingham
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Picked up a container, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, after the fact. Just off School Lane is not different from any other place.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. At the floor of the tank is where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Keep the keys indoors overnight — otherwise a person might take it away first thing — then call us. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, be it around Cottingham or Middleton. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Cottingham with AdBlue in a diesel
Topped up, drove away, and before long the motor was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up the dash. Church Street, say, or the route to Leicester — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. Mileage decides how deep it goes: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Services farther on are too far: from the M1, under 25 miles out of Cottingham, use the first junction. No test restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. About how far had it go? Say so when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It is a motor you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Northamptonshire.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies here — run or unrun — plus one further step. Many rental and fleet contracts need the owner's approval for repairs.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers turn up than after. Keep the vehicle off as the answer comes, whether you're parked at Corby or near Cottingham/Middleton Village Hall.
Cottingham: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think so. A faint ammonia-like smell lingers near the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. It might have been on a friend's driveway in Carlton Purlieus, or in a rush by Cottingham Church of England Primary School on the school run.
The point: the motor is not harmed by a little AdBlue splashed on the outside. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. Any AdBlue in that tank will be sucked in by turning on the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not fire it up. Call us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain around Cottingham has in common
No matter the situation, one opening is used. Three things come once our engineers reach your car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a street by Methodist Chapel or the car park outside The Spread Eagle: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has been started. Those answers decide this work, and you hear the price on the phone, before anyone sets off.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, so it does not wash out on its own; that is why a full flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your car. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment we get there.
Starting it comes at the end. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running smoothly, and then we go. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it's caught early, long-term damage is very uncommon. Payment comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy while we travel pays.
About Cottingham and where it is
Cottingham is a village in Northamptonshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 86 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Cottingham lies near several other small villages, including Middleton, East Carlton, and Bringhurst, and is approximately 18 miles from Leicester. Cottingham has a population of around 1036 residents and is located in a rural area, relatively close to major cities but still maintaining its village character. Cottingham is also within commuting distance to London, being around 73 miles away.
Cottingham and Northamptonshire: AdBlue drains across the area
As a village, Cottingham shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Bringhurst, East Carlton — all the way through LE postcodes. Quickest of all: a LE16 8 postcode for your location.
Stopped heading to East Carlton Countryside Park, or bang in the centre of Cottingham, your vehicle remains put — there is no need to shift it anywhere. The drain is done right there. Phone and check instead of guessing when you are by St Mary Magdalene, near a boundary, or somewhere awkward to explain.
In one line: your scenario
If it hasn't started, phone and leave it off. Run by now: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Cottingham or anywhere in Northamptonshire.