AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Fulwood, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it got in. Over in Hilcote or right in Fulwood, an unstarted motor must remain that way. Usually this means emptying and thoroughly purging it right there around Fulwood — and so keep the ignition and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over when safe, then turn it off. Stage one remains unchanged, even if the job grows.
Match what happened to one of the list below, anywhere in Nottinghamshire you are.
Fulwood forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you are stood at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Whether Shell, The Co-operative or somewhere else in Fulwood, the situation is the same.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. Only your tank has AdBlue; not one component beyond it has drawn any in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Get the attendants to help rolling it into a space, hold on to the receipt, then ring us right there. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed away is drained where it is at the petrol pump.
Fulwood, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Picked up a bottle, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, too late. It happens on driveways just off Fonton Hall Drive as frequently as anywhere.
The point: no miles since makes it almost as good to spotting it at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves your car in the morning. Then call. Our technicians drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that is around Fulwood or out in Huthwaite. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Fulwood?
A short way beyond filling up, your motor started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Alfreton Road, say, or the way to Nottingham — a run of under 15 miles.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it as well on a longer trip, after the fuel filter and pipework have had it. Every restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M1, under 3 miles from Fulwood. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Let us hear the mileage covered when you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
You have just driven this vehicle for days. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so no one warned you the AdBlue inlet was right beside the diesel. Anywhere you happen to be across Nottinghamshire, every motorist could be caught.
Meaning? Whatever applies above applies here — run or not — and one further stage. The owner often has to sign off the work, under many hire and company contracts.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Stranded by Magdelene Centre or at Kirkby in Ashfield until the firm replies, your vehicle stays turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Fulwood?
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think it did. A faint ammonia whiff lingers near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A rushed stop by the gates of Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School, or a call to a friend in Sutton in Ashfield: both fit.
In short: a spill round the filler does your engine no harm. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. Starting your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would draw it in.
Do this: act as if it got in, and don't start the engine. Checking a tank that turns out clean beats emptying one after it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
The common ground in each Fulwood AdBlue drain
Every situation has the same opening to the job. Filling station, drive, Duke of Sussex's car park or a street by Church of St Mary Magdalene — our van reaches the car, and three questions come next: which liquid, what amount, and whether it has run. On the phone, before anything else, you are told the price, and those replies decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, because deposits form and certain metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour job after the moment our engineers arrive.
We start the engine last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running smoothly, and then we leave. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's caught quickly, long-term damage is very unusual. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth knowing: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait pays.
About Fulwood
Fulwood is a suburban area in Nottinghamshire, situated approximately 12 miles north of Nottingham city centre. Fulwood sits in a relatively elevated position at around 178 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. Fulwood is located near other local places such as Huthwaite and Commonside, and is part of the wider Nottingham urban area.
AdBlue drains about Fulwood and across Nottinghamshire
Throughout NG postcodes, the teams covering Fulwood — a residential suburb — work surrounding places as well, Commonside and Bentinck Town among them. A postcode starting NG17 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Fulwood or a lay-by towards Rookery Park: either way it sits, the car never needs to shift at all for the drain. We drain it where it is. Assuming doesn't help beside St Johns Methodist Church, on a county line or somewhere hard to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Where it hasn't started, ring then leave it off. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Fulwood or wherever in Nottinghamshire.