AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in East Cliff, and What to Do Next
One fact matters above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether your motor has been started afterwards. Anywhere your car is — Boscombe, East Cliff — never start a motor that has not run yet. Switch nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, then count on a thorough flush plus a drain, done just where your vehicle sits in East Cliff. Stop the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. It is a larger job, though stage one does not change.
Compare your case to one of the ones below, anywhere across Dorset you happen to be.
On a East Cliff forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you spot the filler you opened wasn't the right one. It might be the Asda, or perhaps the Esso, or another station in East Cliff.
The point: of all places to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to move away from the pump. Have the attendants to help pushing it into a bay, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a East Cliff drive?
Several days had passed with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened on the driveway. Drives near Grove Road get it as much as any other street.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Next: prevent any early drive by putting the keys indoors, then phone us. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, whether around East Cliff or Springbourne. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in East Cliff?
Filled up, pulled away, and before long your engine was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Gervis Road, say, or the route to Southampton — a trip of under 25 miles.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the fuel system. Mileage sets how far it goes: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that's the first job — then turn it off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M27, under 25 miles from East Cliff. No trial restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Call, and say how far your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
A week back, it was new to you. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever in Dorset, might do the same.
The upshot: just as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. Waiting for a reply at the car park outside Bournemouth, or beside St Swithun's Tudor Hall? Leave your engine off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around East Cliff?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Which cap was taken off, you cannot recall; but the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by your filler. A hurried top-up by the gates of Bethany Church of England Junior School, or a call to a friend in Meyrick Park: both fits.
The upshot: your motor is not harmed by a little AdBlue splashed around the filler. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, turning on the car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not crank it. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around East Cliff has in common
Each case has the same opening to the job. We come to the vehicle, whether it's on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Inn on the Cliff or a side street near St Swithun's Church, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has run. Replies set the work; the quote comes on the call whilst nobody has set off yet.
Then that tank is cleared and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Last come your filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Most unrun vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment our technicians arrive.
Starting the engine comes last. Our check that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before we head off. If it is spotted soon, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About East Cliff itself
East Cliff is a coastal suburban area in Dorset, situated near the towns of Bournemouth and Poole. East Cliff sits at an elevation of around 40 metres, overlooking the sea and forming part of Bournemouth's residential area. East Cliff is characterized by its predominant flat housing, which is typical of many coastal towns in the South West of England. East Cliff is close to nearby places such as Springbourne and Dean Park, and is within commuting distance of Southampton.
AdBlue drains across Dorset, East Cliff included
Over BH postcodes, the vans serving East Cliff — a residential suburb — reach surrounding places too, Dean Park and Bournemouth among them. Quickest of all: a BH1 3 postcode for where you stand.
Central East Cliff or a layby near Knyveton Gardens: wherever it is, the car never needs to shift at all for the drain. We drain it where it is. Tricky to pin down? Close to Bournemouth Natural Science Museum or a border? Asking beats assuming, and so phone.
Your scenario, in one line
Still unrun? Leave the car off then ring. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in East Cliff and anywhere in Dorset on 0333 366 0103.