What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hartpury
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it got in. Over in Longridge End or right around Hartpury, an unstarted engine must remain that way. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine still off. Across Hartpury, that is generally emptied and flushed where it stands. Already run? Pull over when you safely can, then switch it off. Step one stays the same, even if the work grows.
Compare what happened to a situation from the list below, anywhere around Gloucestershire you are.
Hartpury forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It could be the BP, or the Texaco, or a different forecourt in Hartpury.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Nothing has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits just inside that tank.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the pump needs freeing. Have the staff to help pushing it to a bay, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed away is cleared right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Hartpury
Days had gone by with the warning light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Homes just off Foley Rise get hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of that tank and stays put, no matter how long the night.
Next: the keys in the house, and so no one takes the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, phone. Out in Longridge or right here around Hartpury, the draining happens at your drive. Our equipment works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road around Hartpury with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way beyond topping up, your motor started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Somewhere on A417 or else heading to Gloucester — under 5 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the fuel system. It has been through your filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the next step — then switch everything off. Services further on are too far: from the M50, under 10 miles out of Hartpury, use the next junction. Restarting it to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Call, saying what distance the vehicle went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Gloucestershire.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies here — run or unrun — plus one further step. The owner often has to approve the work, under many rental and company contracts.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager first, us second, since sorting it early cuts time. Stranded by Hartpury Village Hall or at Gloucester until the firm replies, your vehicle remains turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Hartpury?
At times, "I think so" is all anyone can truthfully say. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; no clear memory of which cap. Look familiar? It might have been at a friend's driveway in Blackwells End Green, or in a rush outside Hartpury Church of England Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled around your filler does no harm to the motor. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in the tank would be pulled in by turning on the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not fire it up. Ring us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Hartpury: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every case has the same start to the work. Forecourt, drive, Royal Exchange's car park or a road by Hartpury Methodist Church — the van reaches the vehicle, and three questions come next: what fluid, which amount, and whether it ran. Answers set the work; the price follows by phone while no one has set off yet.
Emptying the tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear on their own, no matter how long you wait. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our engineers fire it up at the end. Before our engineers head off, it's checked to confirm it runs properly on fresh diesel. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and when it's caught soon, long-term damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Hartpury and where it is
Hartpury is a small village in Gloucestershire, situated near the city of Gloucester and surrounded by nearby places such as Longridge, Woolridge, and Ashleworth. Hartpury sits inland at an elevation of 46 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Hartpury is located approximately 97 miles west of London, and its rural setting is characteristic of the South West region. Hartpury has a population of around 611 residents, who live in a quiet, residential environment.
Hartpury and Gloucestershire: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout GL postcodes, the vans covering Hartpury — a rural village — reach nearby towns too, Woolridge and Ashleworth among them. Giving us your GL19 3 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Stopped en route to Carters Grove, or right in the centre of Hartpury, your vehicle stays where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. Where it sits, that is where it is cleared. Awkward to explain? Close to The Preaching Cross or a border? Asking beats guessing, so phone.
In one line: your scenario
Engine not started: phone, and leave it switched off. Started already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever case, in Hartpury and Gloucestershire, on 0333 366 0103.