AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Daventry, and What to Do Next
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue was put in? This single point settles nearly everything else from here. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Daventry itself or out in Welton. Normally this is emptying and thoroughly purging it on the spot around Daventry — and so keep the ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Where the motor has run, stop safely straight away, then turn the vehicle off. A bigger job, then, but the identical opening step.
Wherever across Northamptonshire it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
Daventry forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're 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. Anywhere around Daventry, then — Esso, Gulf, or somewhere else close by.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it can be. No pump has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue stays only inside the tank.
Do this: keep out of the car, however much the queue needs clearing. Have the attendants to help rolling it to a space, save the receipt, then phone us right there. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed away is drained right at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Daventry drive?
Several days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Houses just off Abbey Street are hit as often as anywhere else.
The upshot: no miles since makes it nearly as good to spotting it at the petrol pump. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops low in the tank and waits. A night standing changes none of that.
Next: keys in the house, and so no one drives your car anywhere first thing. Then, ring. Drayton or Daventry: whichever your drive sits, that's where it is drained. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Daventry with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way after topping up, your engine started playing up: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. It might have been driving for Coventry, under 25 miles away, or just along New Street.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It's been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. More driving, more starts: further it goes.
Your move: stop anywhere sensible, then turn your engine off. Daventry lies under 3 miles from the M1; on it, come off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Restarting it to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Call, and say what distance the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, the car was new to you. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so no one told you the AdBlue cap was just next to your diesel. Any driver, anywhere around Northamptonshire, might make it.
The point: just as above, split by if it ran, only with an added step. Work on your vehicle frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under rental or fleet terms.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. Waiting for a reply in the car park outside Long Buckby, or near Daventry Museum? Leave the engine off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Daventry?
At times, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? A rushed stop by the gates of Abbey CofE Academy, or a call to a friend in Badby: either fit.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves your engine no harm. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be pulled in by turning on the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, then keep the motor off. Tell us what you saw on the phone. A clean tank checked counts as a better result than an already-run one emptied.
What every AdBlue drain around Daventry has in common
Every situation has the same opening to the job. Three questions are asked once we reach the car — at a forecourt, a drive, a road beside The Abbey or the car park outside The Lion: the fluid, the amount, and whether the motor has run. Those replies decide this work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that is why the flush, after this drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Next comes the fuel filter — cleaned, or swapped when needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. Most unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers turn up.
Our technicians start the car at the end. Before we head off, it is checked to be sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's noticed quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies include misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Daventry and where it is
Daventry is a town in Northamptonshire, situated on the shores of Daventry Reservoir, a lakeside setting that provides recreational opportunities for residents. Daventry sits at an elevation of around 150 metres, approximately 68 miles northwest of London, and is close to nearby places such as Drayton, Newnham, and Norton. Daventry has a population of around 18,760 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Daventry is located near the city of Coventry, which is about 18 miles away.
Daventry and Northamptonshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over NN postcodes, the teams serving Daventry — a town — reach surrounding places too, Newnham and Norton included. Quickest of all: a NN11 4 postcode to show where you stand.
Centre of Daventry or a lay-by towards Eastern Way Playing Field: either way it is, the vehicle doesn't need to shift an inch for the drain. The drain happens right there. Guessing won't help beside Daventry Library, on a county line or anywhere hard to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run by now: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Daventry or anywhere in Northamptonshire.