AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Durrington, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it was put in. Over in Bulford or here in Durrington, an unrun engine must stay unrun. Leave the engine and your ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Durrington. Where your engine has been run, pull in somewhere safe straight away, then turn it off. A bigger job, then, but the identical opening step.
Compare what happened to one of the ones below, anywhere in Wiltshire you happen to be.
Durrington forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Whether Esso, Murco or anywhere else around Durrington, the situation is the same.
The upshot: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue needs clearing. Ring us from the forecourt once the vehicle is in a bay — the staff will help push it — then keep the bottle. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Durrington, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. 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 Meads Road are hit as much as everywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the car has not been driven since, it's second to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and remains there, no matter how long the night.
Next: stop an early-morning move by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, whether in Durrington or Hackthorn. The pumping kit runs quiet enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Durrington: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and before long your motor was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up your dash. It might have been driving to Salisbury, under 10 miles away, or just down High Street.
The point: the system has pulled AdBlue through by now. Past the fuel filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and each injector. Every restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Services farther along can wait: on the M27, under 25 miles out of Durrington, take the next junction. No test starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. About how far did it go? Tell us as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Wiltshire.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or not — and one further step. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stranded in the car park outside Grateley, or by Durrington Village Hall, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Durrington: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Durrington All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants' School, or a call to a friend in Milston: both fits.
The point: your engine isn't hurt by a little AdBlue splashed on the filler. In your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Your move: behave as though it did, and never start the engine. Inspecting a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats draining one after it has been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
What every AdBlue drain in Durrington has in common
The job opens identically, whichever the situation. Wherever the vehicle stands — The Plough's car park, a road by All Saints Church, a driveway, a forecourt — the van gets there and asks for the fluid, the quantity, plus whether your engine has turned over. Those answers determine this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and some metals are attacked, and none of that washes out unaided. Finally are your filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the car. If the motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Last, we start the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been caught quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Durrington and where it is
Durrington is a village situated on the banks of the River Avon in Wiltshire, with an elevation of around 84 metres. Durrington lies approximately 8.9 miles from the city of Salisbury and 74.3 miles from London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Durrington has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are the most predominant. Durrington is surrounded by nearby places such as Hackthorn, Brigmerston, and Strangways, which are all part of the wider rural landscape.
AdBlue drains across Wiltshire, Durrington included
Durrington is a village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, Brigmerston and Strangways among them, across the SP postcode area. Giving us a SP4 8 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No towing is required, whether stopped in the centre of Durrington or on a layby en route to Millennium Park, and so leave it where it is. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Durrington Swimming and Fitness Centre or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Wiltshire and within Durrington — once you pull over, switch off then phone, if it's run.