What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hanley
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your motor has run since it went in. Out in Etruria or here in Hanley, an unrun engine must remain that way. Leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Hanley. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases our engineers meet, wherever in Staffordshire. Choose the one that fits.
On a Hanley forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the cap you took off was not the correct one. Be it Tesco, Shell or anywhere else around Hanley, the situation is the same.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it gets. Just your tank holds AdBlue; no component beyond it has taken it in.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up only to move away from the pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your car is in a bay — the staff will help roll it — and save the receipt. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
At home around Hanley with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Driveways near Quadrant Road see it as much as anywhere.
Put simply: if your car hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue settles to the base inside the tank and stays. One night parked changes none of that.
Next: stop any early-morning drive by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. We drain the car on your driveway, whether that is around Hanley or out in Stoke-on-Trent. Late-night clears beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Hanley?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the fill. Maybe heading to Stoke-on-Trent, under a mile away, or just along Potteries Way.
Meaning? Your pump has taken the AdBlue in. Past the fuel filter, along the lines, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the first job — then switch everything off. Services further on can wait: on the M6, under 5 miles out of Hanley, take the next junction. Don't restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the mileage driven as you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, so no one warned you the AdBlue inlet was just beside your diesel. Anywhere you happen to be around Staffordshire, any motorist could be caught.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts here — run or not — and one further step. Many rental and fleet agreements require the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. Stuck by Cineworld or at Stoke-On-Trent until someone answers, the car remains turned off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Hanley?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of Co-op Academy Grove in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's drive out in The Potteries.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your engine. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another matter. Any AdBlue in your tank will be pulled in by firing up your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it went in, then leave the engine off. Phone and give the details: we would rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once your engine has run.
Hanley: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the situation, one start is used. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Golden Cup or a side street near Hanley Indoor Market, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether your engine has been run. Those replies settle the work, and you get our quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that is why a full flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Next is the filter — flushed, or replaced when necessary — then clean diesel, and a test of the car. Never started? In that case about half an hour on site is most jobs.
Firing it up comes last. Before our technicians head off, it's tested to make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel. Long-term damage is very unusual if it is spotted soon, and the whole job is done where the vehicle is. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes built into plenty of policies.
About Hanley, briefly
Hanley is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated near the city of Stoke-on-Trent, with which it is closely associated. Hanley sits at an elevation of 176 metres, in a region of inland West Midlands. Hanley is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing stock, reflecting its historical development as a residential area.
AdBlue drains around Hanley and across Staffordshire
Northwood and Cobridge have the identical vans as Hanley, a residential suburb, along with other towns over ST postcodes. The location is clearest from a postcode that starts ST1 2.
Parked en route to Northwood Park, or right in the heart of Hanley, the car stays put — there is no need to shift it at all. The drain is done right there. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to The Potteries Centre or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your situation, summed up
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle that way then ring. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout Staffordshire and within Hanley — after you stop, switch off then phone, if it has run.