AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hereford: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has been run since it was put in. Not run yet? Then keep the car that way, wherever your car sits — Hereford or Blackmarstone. Leave your engine and your ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Hereford. Stop the moment it is safe then switch off, if it has been run. Stage one stays the same, even though the work is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across Herefordshire it happened.
Hereford forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Picture it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the cap you opened was not the correct one. Somewhere in Hereford, then — Sainsbury's, Texaco, or somewhere else nearby.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it gets. No pump has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — so do not get back in. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it into a space, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. Draining it there at the pump is fine when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Hereford drive?
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in on the driveway — and it's only by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. It takes place on driveways just off Broad Street as frequently as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the vehicle has not been driven since, it is close to the forecourt case. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue drops to the base in that tank and waits. One night standing changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Our engineers drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Hereford or out in Moorfields. The equipment runs quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Hereford?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two after the top-up. Somewhere on West Street or heading to Worcester — under 25 miles away.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It travels deeper with each mile driven and each restart.
Do this: stop somewhere sensible, then switch your motor off. Service stations farther on can wait: on the M50, under 15 miles out of Hereford, take the next junction. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, and say what distance the car was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so no one told you the AdBlue cap was right next to the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Herefordshire.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts here — run or not — and one extra stage. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Do this: hire firm or your fleet manager first, us next, since settling it beforehand cuts time. Keep the vehicle off as the reply comes, whether you are waiting outside the nearest station or close to City Arms.
Hereford: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. What cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by the filler. Maybe on a friend's drive in Bartonsham, or in a rush by Lord Scudamore Primary Academy at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to the motor. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Your move: behave as though it did, and don't start your engine. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it's been run — so ring and describe to us what you saw.
The common ground in each Hereford AdBlue drain
The job begins the same way, whatever your situation. Filling station, driveway, Queens Arms's car park or a street by All Saints — the van reaches the car, and three answers come next: what liquid, which amount, and if it has run. Those answers decide this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, so it won't wash out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, matters much more here than with petrol. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Where the engine hasn't run, allow about half an hour on site, in most cases.
Firing it up comes at the end. Before we leave, it is checked to confirm it runs correctly on clean diesel. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it is caught quickly, and the entire job is done where your car is. Payment comes on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Hereford and where it is
Hereford is a city located in the west of England, situated on the River Wye in the county of Herefordshire. Hereford sits at an elevation of 63 metres, with the surrounding countryside dominated by rolling hills and fertile valleys. Hereford is a significant urban centre, with a population of approximately 61,662 people, and is characterised by its semi-detached housing stock. Hereford is also close to several nearby places, including Moorfields, Portfields, and Ryelands.
AdBlue drains across Herefordshire, Hereford included
Hereford is a cathedral city, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Portfields and Ryelands among them, across the HR postcode area. A postcode starting HR4 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Hereford or a layby near Cathedral Green: wherever it is, the vehicle doesn't need to shift an inch for us. Wherever it sits, that's where it is cleared. Guessing doesn't help near Marks & Spencer, on a county line or somewhere hard to describe; ring and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever it is, in Hereford and Herefordshire, on 0333 366 0103.