AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hemdean Bottom: What Now?
Has the engine run since the AdBlue went in? That one question settles almost everything about what comes next. Not run so far? Then keep the car like that, wherever your vehicle sits — Hemdean Bottom or Lower Caversham. Usually this means emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Hemdean Bottom — and so leave the key and engine off and call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A larger job, then, but the identical first move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across Berkshire it happened.
At the petrol pump around Hemdean Bottom: AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle still in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Be it Esso, BP or somewhere else in Hemdean Bottom, the case is identical.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it can be. Still in your tank, and nothing drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking spot, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is possible when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Hemdean Bottom
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the garage, tipped in on the drive — and it's just at the bin that the cap caught your eye. Just off Brill Close is no less likely from any other place.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of the tank and remains put, no matter how long it waits.
Next: the keys in the house, and so no one drives the car off first thing. Then, phone. In Caversham Heights or right here around Hemdean Bottom, the draining is done at your driveway. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Hemdean Bottom?
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. Oakley Road, perhaps, or the way to Oxford — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. Past your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: stop somewhere sensible, then switch your motor off. Hemdean Bottom sits under 5 miles from the M4; on it, pull off at the next junction rather than pressing on for the services. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Let us hear the distance driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
A week ago, the car was new to you. Your own car either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap was right next to the diesel. Across Berkshire, no one is immune.
The upshot: just as above, split by if it ran, but with one added stage. Many rental and company contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we arrive than after. If you're stranded in the car park outside Reading, or by St. Andrew's Church, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Hemdean Bottom
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. A faint ammonia whiff lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Tokers Green, or in a rush outside Caversham Primary School on the school run.
In short: a spill near the filler does your motor unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the car will draw it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn your engine. Phone and give what you saw: we would rather confirm a clean tank than empty one once your engine has run.
Each AdBlue drain around Hemdean Bottom shares these stages
Whatever the situation, one start applies. Forecourt, driveway, The Last Crumb's car park or a road by The Holy Well of Saint Anne — our van reaches the vehicle, and three questions come next: which liquid, which amount, and whether it ran. Those answers decide this work, and you get our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Draining that tank comes first, then a careful flush — more important after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long it sits. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With clean diesel in, it runs while we check it is running smoothly, and then we leave. If it's caught soon, the vehicle very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of policies include misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Hemdean Bottom
Hemdean Bottom is a suburban area in Berkshire, situated near the town of Caversham and close to the city of Oxford. Hemdean Bottom lies in a relatively low-lying area, with an elevation of around 56 metres, and is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock. Hemdean Bottom is part of the wider Reading urban area, but retains a distinct identity, with nearby neighbourhoods including Caversham Heights and Emmer Green.
AdBlue drains across Berkshire, Hemdean Bottom included
Caversham and Emmer Green have the same vans as Hemdean Bottom, a residential suburb, along with further towns over RG postcodes. Your location comes quickest from a postcode that starts RG4 7.
No moving is required, whether parked centrally in Hemdean Bottom or in a lay-by heading to Balmore Walk, and so leave it where it is. Draining happens right there. Tricky to pin down? By Caversham Heights Methodist Church or a county line? Asking is better than assuming, so ring.
Your situation, in one line
If it has not run, phone and keep it that way. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Hemdean Bottom and anywhere across Berkshire on 0333 366 0103.