AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dunbar, and What to Do Next
All of that hinges on a single detail: whether your engine has started after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is around Dunbar itself or out in Winterfield Mains. Normally that is emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there in Dunbar — and so keep the key and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Stop the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across East Lothian it happened.
On a Dunbar forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the JET, perhaps at the Asda, maybe somewhere else in Dunbar.
The point: of every spot to find out, this is the best. Still in your tank, and nothing pulled through: that's where the AdBlue is.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to start it — and so do not get back in. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking spot, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Can't move the car by the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained where it is.
Dunbar, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
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. Homes just off High Street are caught out as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of that tank and remains put, however long the night.
Put the keys indoors overnight — or someone might drive it away at breakfast — then call us. Our engineers drain the car on your drive, whether that is in Dunbar or out in Stanley Place. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Dunbar?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe it was on West Port, possibly on the way out towards Edinburgh, under 50 miles away.
Meaning? Your pump has taken the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it as well on a bigger run, after the fuel filter and lines have had it. Each restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
Pull in safely — that is the next step — then switch everything off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M8, under 50 miles from Dunbar. It will not have cleared, so there's no point starting it again to check. Let us hear the distance driven as you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had this vehicle hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right beside the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you happen to be in East Lothian, every motorist could be caught.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or not — plus one further step. Plenty of rental and fleet contracts require the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Stuck near Mercat Cross or outside the nearest station till someone answers, the car stays turned off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Dunbar?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". A slight ammonia smell lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. The gates of the local primary school in a rush, perhaps, or a friend's drive out in Broxburn.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to your engine. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. If there is AdBlue in your tank, starting the vehicle will draw it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Your move: act as if it got in, and don't start your engine. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than draining one after it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
Dunbar: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The work opens the same way, whatever your case. Three things come once our engineers reach the car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a road by Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery or the car park outside The Bear & Bull: the fluid, the amount, and if it has been started. The price comes on the call, before a van leaves, and those answers shape the job.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and some metals are attacked, and none of it washes out unaided. Next is your filter — flushed, or replaced where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. Where the motor hasn't run, expect roughly half an hour on site, in most jobs.
We fire it up last. We confirm it runs correctly on clean diesel before we leave. If it's caught quickly, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Dunbar
Dunbar is a coastal town in East Lothian, situated on the southeastern coast of Scotland, with a population of around 9404 people. Dunbar has a mix of housing types, but detached homes are predominant, and the town is located near several smaller communities, including Stanley Place and Belhaven. Dunbar sits at an elevation of 26 metres, looking out over the sea, and is approximately 26 miles from Edinburgh. Dunbar is also a significant distance from London, at around 325 miles away.
Dunbar and East Lothian: AdBlue drains across the area
Dunbar is a coastal town, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, Marine Court and Belhaven among them, across the EH postcode area. Your whereabouts is quickest from a postcode that starts EH42 1.
No moving is needed, be it parked in the centre of Dunbar or in a lay-by en route to Coast Guard Green, and so keep it put. Draining happens on the spot. Tricky to explain? Close to John Muir Statue or a border? Asking is better than assuming, so ring.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor not started: phone, leaving it switched off. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout East Lothian and within Dunbar — once you pull over, switch off then phone, if it has run.