AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Greenbank: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it got in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is around Greenbank itself or out in Oxgangs. Leave your engine and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Greenbank. When your engine has run, stop somewhere safe first, then switch the car off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases we see, anywhere around City of Edinburgh. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Greenbank forecourt
Picture it: stood by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened wasn't the right one. Perhaps you're at the Shell, perhaps at the Tesco, possibly somewhere else around Greenbank.
In short: there is no better spot exists to spot it. Still inside your tank, and no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to free up the pump. Get the staff to help rolling it to a space, save the bottle, then ring us right there. Draining it right at the petrol pump is fine if it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Greenbank with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Picked up a container, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Right off Greenbank Park is no different from any other place.
Put simply: if the car has not been driven since, it's almost equal to finding out at the forecourt. Being unable to blend, AdBlue drops to the base in your tank and stays. One night parked changes nothing.
Next: prevent an early move by keeping your keys in the house, then phone us. In The Braids or right here in Greenbank, the drain happens at your driveway. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Greenbank with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Greenbank Crescent, perhaps, or the way towards Edinburgh — a run of under 3 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the fuel system. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Next: find a sensible place, stop, then switch your motor off. Greenbank sits under 5 miles from the M8; there, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on for the services. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Phone, and say what distance your vehicle went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
A week back, the car was unknown to you. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across City of Edinburgh.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Many hire and company contracts need the owner's sign-off before work.
Sorting it before the van arrives is faster, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you're stuck in the car park at Slateford, or by Open Air Theatre, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Greenbank
Occasionally the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A hurried stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Craiglockhart: both fits.
Meaning? Spills around the filler never reach the engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by firing up your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it went in, and don't start the key. Checking a tank that proves clean is better than emptying one after it's been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
The common ground in every Greenbank AdBlue drain
The job opens the same way, whatever your case. Wherever the car stands — The Hermitage's car park, a street by Mortonhall Tennis Club, a driveway, a filling station — our van gets there and asks for the liquid, the amount, plus whether your engine has been run. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the work.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, since deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and none of it rinses away unaided. Clean diesel goes in after the fuel filter is flushed or replaced, and the car is then tested. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers get there.
Starting the car comes last. Before we leave, it is tested to be sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel. The whole job is done where your car is, and if it is spotted soon, lasting damage is very rare. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Greenbank itself
Greenbank is a suburban area in the City of Edinburgh, situated near the River Almond and close to the Pentland Hills. Greenbank sits at an elevation of around 121 metres, with views of the surrounding countryside and the nearby city of Edinburgh. Greenbank is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing and its proximity to nearby places such as The Braids, Morningside, and Colinton Mains.
AdBlue drains around Greenbank, and across City of Edinburgh too
As a residential suburb, Greenbank shares its vans with the surrounding places — Colinton Mains, Morningside — all the way across EH postcodes. Fastest of all: a EH10 5 postcode for where you stand.
No towing is needed, be it parked centrally in Greenbank or on a layby en route to Braidburn Valley Park, and so leave it put. Wherever it sits, that is where it gets cleared. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Greenbank Church or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Run already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever case, across Greenbank and City of Edinburgh, on 0333 366 0103.