AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Eton Wick: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your motor has been run since it was put in. Anywhere your car stands — Dedworth, Eton Wick — never run a motor that hasn't been started yet. Leave your engine and your ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Eton Wick. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It is a larger job, though step one doesn't change.
Wherever in Berkshire it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
Eton Wick forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you are standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Perhaps you are at the Asda, possibly at the BP, maybe somewhere else around Eton Wick.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, this is the best. Just the tank has AdBlue; no component past it has taken any in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Get the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us from there. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Eton Wick drive?
On your dash, a reminder had shown all week. A bottle bought at the garage, emptied in on the driveway — and it was only at the bin that the cap got a second look. Just off Eton Wick Road is no less likely from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the floor of that tank sits where AdBlue stays, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Next: prevent an early move by keeping your keys indoors, then phone us. In Boveney or here around Eton Wick, the draining is done at your drive. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Eton Wick with AdBlue in a diesel
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 heading for St Albans, under 25 miles away, or just along Bell Lane.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. It travels further with every extra mile covered and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Eton Wick sits under a mile from the M4; there, come off at the next junction rather than pressing on for the services. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Ring us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a motor you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you happen to be in Berkshire, every driver could slip up.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those depend on if it's run. Work on your vehicle frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or company terms.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our technicians turn up than after. If you're stranded in the car park outside Windsor & Eton Riverside, or by Eton Wick Village Hall, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Eton Wick: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. Which cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle weighs less than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Eton Wick CofE First School, or on a friend's drive in Cippenham.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves the motor unharmed. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Next: assume it went in, and keep your motor off. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean beats draining one once it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
Eton Wick: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Wherever the car stands — Eton Wick Football & Social Club's car park, a street by Redeemed Christian Church of God, a drive, a forecourt — the van arrives and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and whether the engine has turned over. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the work.
Then that tank is emptied and the system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally are your filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the car. If the engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
We fire it up at the end. Before our engineers head off, it's checked to make sure it runs correctly on new diesel. Permanent damage is very uncommon if it's noticed early, and the entire job is done where the car is. 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 cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Eton Wick itself
Eton Wick is a village situated on the banks of the River Thames in Berkshire, with Boveney and Dorney nearby. Eton Wick has a relatively low elevation of around 20 metres above sea level, and its riverside setting has influenced its development. Eton Wick is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock, which reflects the typical residential architecture of the region. Eton Wick is located approximately 21.9 miles west of London, making it a commuter base for those working in the capital.
AdBlue drains round Eton Wick and across Berkshire
Dorney and Clewer Village get the identical vans as Eton Wick, a village, plus other places throughout SL postcodes. A postcode starting SL4 6 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Eton Wick Recreational Ground or in a car park in the middle of Eton Wick, it doesn't need to shift. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it sits. Phone and ask rather than guess when you're close to Saint John the Baptist, near a border, or somewhere tricky to explain.
Your situation, in one line
Engine never started: ring, leaving it alone. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Eton Wick and anywhere across Berkshire on 0333 366 0103.