AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Cuiken: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your motor has run since it got in. Out in Eastfield or right around Cuiken, an unrun engine must stay that way. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then count on a proper flush plus a drain, done just where your car stands in Cuiken. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Midlothian it happened.
Cuiken forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just now, bottle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the Tesco, possibly at the Asda, possibly somewhere else in Cuiken.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it gets. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll the vehicle into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Can't move the vehicle by the pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt sensible, and so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Cuiken drive?
The warning light had been on 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. Houses just off Queensway are hit as much as everywhere else.
The upshot: zero driving since leaves it almost equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: keys in the house, so nobody takes the vehicle off at breakfast. Then, ring. In Deanburn or right here in Cuiken, the drain is done at your driveway. Late-night drains outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
On the road in Cuiken with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running roughly, smoking, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Lawrie Drive, perhaps, or the route to Edinburgh — a trip of under 10 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger trip, once your filter and lines have had it. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Next: find a safe place, stop, and switch your motor off. On the M8, under 10 miles from Cuiken, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, and so there's no point starting it again to check. Roughly what distance had it go? Say so when you phone.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
A week ago, the car was new to you. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Midlothian.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. The owner often needs to approve any work, under plenty of hire and company contracts.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians turn up than after. Stuck by Mauricewood Colliery Disaster Memorial or outside Curriehill until the firm answers, your vehicle remains turned off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Cuiken
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; a hazy memory of which cap. Sound familiar? Maybe at a friend's driveway in Loanburn, or in a rush outside the local primary school at the school run.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler never reach your engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on your car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't fire it up. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Cuiken AdBlue drain
The job begins identically, whatever the case. Filling station, driveway, The Cuiken Inn's car park or a street by The Penicuik Centre — the van comes to the car, and three answers come next: which liquid, which quantity, and if it ran. The price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies set the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not rinse out on its own; that's why the flush, after this drain, matters much more here than with petrol. Last come the filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of the car. Where your engine hasn't run, expect about half an hour on site, in most cases.
The last step is starting it. Before we head off, it is checked to make sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. Our engineers do the entire job where the car is, and long-term damage is very uncommon when it has been spotted early. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover comes built into many policies.
About Cuiken
Cuiken is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Midlothian, with a mix of terraced housing and a population of around 4877 residents. Cuiken sits near the outskirts of Edinburgh, approximately 8 miles from the city centre, and is close to nearby places such as Deanburn and Mauricewood. Cuiken's elevation is around 203 metres, and it is located in a scenic area with views of the surrounding countryside. Cuiken is part of the wider Edinburgh urban area, with the city's amenities and services within easy reach.
AdBlue drains across Midlothian, Cuiken included
Mauricewood and Greenlaw Mains have the identical vans as Cuiken, a residential suburb, plus further places over EH postcodes. A postcode starting EH26 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Cuiken Glen or in a car park in the middle of Cuiken, it doesn't need to shift. Our engineers drain it where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Ladywood Leisure Centre or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off then call. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Midlothian and within Cuiken — after you stop, switch off and phone, if it's run.