What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Edlesborough
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it was put in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Edlesborough itself or out in Northall. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the key and motor both off. In Edlesborough, that is typically drained and flushed where it stands. Where your engine has been run, stop somewhere safe straight away, then switch the vehicle off. A bigger job, then, but the same first step.
Match your case to a situation from the ones below, wherever in Buckinghamshire you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Edlesborough forecourt
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. It might be the BP, or perhaps the Esso, or another forecourt around Edlesborough.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it can be. No pump has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so do not get back in. Ring us from the forecourt after the car sits in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — then keep the receipt. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible when it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Edlesborough drive?
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. A bottle from the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it was just at the recycling that the cap got your eye. Homes just off High Street get hit as much as everywhere else.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not been driven since, it is close to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of that tank and stays there, however long it waits.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Your driveway is where it is emptied, be it around Edlesborough or Church End. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road around Edlesborough with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the fill. Maybe driving to St Albans, under 15 miles away, or just along Pebblemoor.
Meaning? The fuel pump has taken the AdBlue up. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a safe place, pull in, and switch the engine off. Edlesborough lies under 10 miles from the M1; there, pull off at the first junction instead of pushing on for the services. No test starts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Roughly what distance had it go? Tell us when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week ago, it was unknown to you. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right by the diesel inlet — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Buckinghamshire.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or not — plus one further step. The owner often has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Next: ring the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. If you are stranded in the car park outside Cheddington, or by Saint Mary's, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Edlesborough?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. Which cap was taken off, you cannot say; meanwhile the bottle feels lighter than expected, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Edlesborough Primary Academy, or on a friend's drive in Honeywick.
The upshot: the motor isn't harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the vehicle will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, then leave your engine off. Describe what you saw on your phone. A clear tank checked counts as a better outcome than an already-run one emptied.
Edlesborough: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the situation, one start applies. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Swan or a side street close to Eaton Bray Village Hall, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether the motor has been run. Answers set the job; the price comes on the call whilst no one has set off yet.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals form and certain metals are attacked, and neither rinses out unaided. Clean diesel goes in once the fuel filter is cleaned or replaced, and your car is then checked. If your motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is starting the car. We confirm it runs properly on fresh diesel before we leave. Permanent damage is very uncommon if it's noticed early, and the entire job is done where your car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while we travel pays.
About Edlesborough
Edlesborough is a village in Buckinghamshire, situated on the banks of a river at an elevation of around 100 metres. Edlesborough lies approximately 31.6 miles northwest of London and 13.2 miles southwest of St Albans, with nearby villages including Church End and Moor End. Edlesborough has a population of around 1740 people, predominantly living in detached houses.
AdBlue drains in Edlesborough, and across Buckinghamshire too
As a village, Edlesborough has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Eaton Bray, Moor End — all the way across LU postcodes. Giving us a LU6 2 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to The Green or in a car park in the middle of Edlesborough, it does not need to move. The van empties it where it stands. Awkward to pin down? Close to Saint Mary the Virgin or a border? Asking beats guessing, so ring.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then ring. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Edlesborough or wherever across Buckinghamshire.