AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Eastern Town, and What to Do Next
All of it hinges on one detail: if your motor has been run since the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Over in Land Part or right around Eastern Town, an unrun motor should remain that way. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and motor both off. Across Eastern Town, such a case is typically drained and flushed on the spot. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Match your case to one of the list below, anywhere around Devon you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Eastern Town forecourt
Only at this point, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. It might be the the nearest petrol station, or the East Budleigh Garage, or a different forecourt in Eastern Town.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Have the staff to help pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us from there. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Eastern Town, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the drive. Right off York Street is not less likely from any other place.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and stays there, however long the night.
Your move: keys in the house, so no one drives the car anywhere first thing. Then, ring. Your driveway is where it is drained, be it in Eastern Town or New Town. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Eastern Town?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a short way after the top-up. Perhaps it was on East Street, possibly on the way out towards Exeter, under 15 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Exit by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M5, under 15 miles from Eastern Town. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying what distance the car went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had this vehicle barely a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right beside the diesel. Across Devon, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Work on your vehicle frequently requires the owner's approval under hire or company agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our engineers arrive than after. Waiting for a reply at the car park at Feniton, or beside Sidmouth Sailing and Sea Angling Club? Keep the engine off meanwhile.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Eastern Town
Occasionally the honest answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by the filler. A rushed stop by the gates of Sidmouth Church of England (VA) Primary School, or a call to a friend in Cotmaton: either fits.
Meaning? Drips around the filler don't reach your motor at all. If it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Take it that it was put in, and never start the engine. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats draining one after it's been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
What every AdBlue drain in Eastern Town has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Our engineers come to the car, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside Swan Inn or a side street close to Ludgate Gallery, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if the engine has been run. Answers set the work; the price follows by phone whilst nobody has set off yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If your engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Starting the car comes at the end. Our technicians confirm it runs properly on clean diesel before we leave. If it's spotted quickly, the car very rarely has permanent damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what your insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About Eastern Town
Eastern Town is a coastal suburban area in Devon, situated near the city of Exeter and close to other nearby places such as New Town and Western Town. Eastern Town has a low elevation of around 5 metres, reflecting its seaside location. Eastern Town is characterised by a predominance of flat housing, which is typical of many coastal areas in the South West region.
AdBlue drains about Eastern Town and across Devon
Eastern Town is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Western Town and Sidmouth among them, across the EX postcode area. A postcode starting EX10 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No moving is required, whether stopped in the centre of Eastern Town or on a lay-by en route to The Ham, so leave it put. The van drains it where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to Frans Liszt played here or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep it off and call. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Devon and within Eastern Town — after you stop, turn off and ring, if it's run.