What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hartley
Everything hinges on a single detail: if your motor has started after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Not run yet? Then keep the vehicle that way, wherever the car sits — Hartley or Higher Compton. Normally that is draining and thoroughly cleaning it right there around Hartley — and so leave your key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Stop the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. It is a bigger job, though stage one doesn't change.
Compare what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever in Devon you happen to be.
On a Hartley forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you're at the Esso, maybe at the Texaco, maybe somewhere else around Hartley.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it gets. Still in that tank, with no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — and so do not get back in. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
Hartley, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. Bought a container, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap a second time, too late. Houses just off Mannamead Road get caught out as much as everywhere else.
The upshot: no driving since makes this nearly as good to spotting it at the pump. At the bottom of the tank is where AdBlue stays, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then ring. We drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Hartley or out in Hartley Vale. Late-night clears beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Hartley: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Plymouth, under 3 miles away, or just along Bainbridge Avenue.
What it means: your fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. Past your filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: stop anywhere safe, then turn the engine off. Hartley sits under 50 miles from the M5; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. Let us hear the mileage driven as you ring.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a motor you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or somewhere else. On this one, the cap is right by your diesel cap — a surprise to you. Throughout Devon, nobody is immune.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts here — run or unrun — and one further stage. Plenty of rental and fleet agreements need the owner's sign-off for work.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Hanging on for a reply in the car park at Plymouth, or near Trinity? Keep your engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Hartley?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. Maybe at a friend's drive in Lower Compton, or in a rush by Compton CofE Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to your motor. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Assume it got in, and never turn your key. Ring and give the details: we would sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one once your motor has run.
The common ground in every Hartley AdBlue drain
No matter the case, one opening is used. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Golden Hind or a side street close to St Edward the Confessor's Church, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether the engine has run. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told the quote, and those answers shape the job too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it won't wash out on its own; that's why a full flush, after this drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Last come the fuel filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a test of the car. If your motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Our test that it runs properly on clean diesel comes before our engineers head off. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is noticed early, long-term damage is very uncommon. Paying comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About Hartley
Hartley is a suburban area located on the coast of Devon, sitting approximately 98 metres above sea level and just 1.8 miles from Plymouth. Hartley is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock and is situated near other residential areas such as Hartley Vale, Peverell, and Mannamead. Hartley is home to around 5805 residents and is part of the larger Plymouth urban area. Hartley benefits from its proximity to the city while maintaining a distinct local identity.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Hartley included
Being a residential suburb, Hartley shares its vans with the nearby places — Mannamead, Peverell — right through PL postcodes. Your location comes clearest from a postcode that starts PL3 5.
Centre of Hartley or a lay-by near Hill Lane Juniors Tennis Club: either way it is, the vehicle never needs to move at all for us. We drain it where it is. Assuming doesn't help beside St Edward's Hall, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
The one-line version
If it hasn't started, phone and keep it that way. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Devon and in Hartley — after you pull over, switch off and phone, if it's run.