What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Filton
All of it hinges on a single detail: whether the motor has started since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Wherever the car stands — Southmead, Filton — don't start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine both off. Across Filton, that is typically emptied and flushed where it stands. When the motor has been run, stop safely first, then turn the car off. A larger job, then, but the identical first step.
Wherever across Gloucestershire it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
On a Filton forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, nozzle still in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Anywhere in Filton, then — Esso, Sainsbury's, or anywhere else nearby.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to run it — so do not get back in. Get the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us right there. Stuck by the pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt sensible, and so we can drain it where it is.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Filton
Several days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Just off Station Road is no different from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops to the base in that tank and waits. A night standing alters nothing.
Put the keys in the house overnight — or someone may take it away at breakfast — and call us. Out in Newleaze or here around Filton, the drain happens on your driveway. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Filton: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and soon the engine was running unevenly, smoking, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Rectory Lane, say, or the route towards Bristol — a run of under 5 miles.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue through already. The injection pump and every injector get it too on a longer run, once your filter and pipework have had it. It travels deeper with every extra mile covered and every restart.
Next: pick a safe spot, stop, then switch your engine off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M5, under 3 miles from Filton. Restarting it to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone us and say how far you drove.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You have just driven this car for days. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets are side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or keeps it in another spot. Wherever you happen to be across Gloucestershire, any driver can be caught.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, which turn on if it has run. Any work on the car often requires the owner's approval under rental or company terms.
Sorting it before the van arrives is quicker, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Stuck near St Peter's Church or outside Filton Abbey Wood till someone answers, the car remains turned off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Filton?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia near your filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Maybe on a friend's drive in Stoke Gifford, or in a rush by Filton Hill Primary School on the school run.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to the motor. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in the tank would be pulled in by firing up the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it got in, and don't start your key. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain around Filton shares these stages
Whatever the situation, a single opening applies. Three things come once our engineers arrive — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Turner or the car park outside The Plough: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. Replies shape the work; the price follows on the call whilst nobody has set off yet.
Emptying that tank comes first, then a careful flush — more important after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Then comes the fuel filter — flushed, or replaced where necessary — then clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. If your engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
The last step is starting it. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it's running smoothly, and then we head off. When it is caught early, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Filton and where it is
Filton is a town in Gloucestershire, situated inland at an elevation of 81 metres, approximately 4.2 miles north of Bristol. Filton has a population of around 15660 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Filton is located near several other communities, including Newleaze, Northville, and Harry Stoke, and is about 105.1 miles west of London.
Filton and Gloucestershire: AdBlue drains across the area
Northville and Harry Stoke get the identical vans as Filton, a town, along with further places over BS postcodes. Your whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode beginning BS34 7.
Stopped heading to Elm Park, or right in the heart of Filton, your car remains where it is — there is no need to shift it anywhere. Wherever it stands, that's where it is emptied. Assuming doesn't help beside Aeolus, on a county line or somewhere hard to describe; ring and ask.
The one-line version
Motor not started: phone, leaving it switched off. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Filton and anywhere around Gloucestershire on 0333 366 0103.