AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Highcliffe: What Now?
One fact matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the engine has run afterwards. Not run so far? Then keep the car that way, wherever your vehicle sits — Highcliffe or Somerford. Leave your motor and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Highcliffe. Where the motor has been run, pull in safely first, then switch it off. Stage one stays the same, even though the work grows.
Below: the situations our engineers meet, anywhere across Dorset. Pick the one that fits.
Highcliffe forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just spot it as you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It might be the Esso, or perhaps the Shell, or another station in Highcliffe.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Still in that tank, and nothing pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Do this: keep out of the car, even if the queue needs freeing. Ask the staff to help you roll the car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. If it cannot be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Highcliffe drive?
On your dash, a reminder had shown for days. Picked up a container, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap a second time, after the fact. Drives close to Moonrakers Way get it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Being unable to mix, AdBlue settles to the base in your tank and stays. One night standing changes nothing.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Our technicians drain it on your driveway, whether that's around Highcliffe or out in Walkford. The pumping kit works quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Highcliffe?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Birchwood Close, perhaps, or the way to Southampton — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into the fuel system. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that is the first job — then switch everything off. On the M27, under 15 miles from Highcliffe, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, so there is no point restarting to find out. Phone, saying how far your vehicle went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had the vehicle barely a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anyone, anywhere around Dorset, might do the same.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the cases above, which depend on whether it has run. Any work on your car often requires the owner's approval under rental or company agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we get there than after. If you are stranded in the car park at Hinton Admiral, or by St Mark, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Highcliffe
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. A faint ammonia whiff hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. The gates of Highcliffe St Mark Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's drive out in Waterditch.
In short: spillage near the filler does the engine unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different story. Starting your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would draw it in.
Next: assume it went in, and leave the engine off. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one after it has been run — so ring then describe to us what you noticed.
Every AdBlue drain around Highcliffe shares these stages
The work begins the same way, whatever your case. Three questions are asked once our technicians arrive — at a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Holy Redeemer Church or the car park at The Amberwood: the fluid, the amount, and if it has been started. The price comes on the call, before a van leaves, and those replies shape the work.
Draining the tank comes first, followed by a full flush — more important with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, no matter how long it sits. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
We fire it up at the end. Before we go, it is checked to confirm it runs correctly on clean diesel. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been caught soon. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Highcliffe and where it is
Highcliffe is a coastal suburban area in Dorset, situated near the towns of Christchurch and Mudeford. Highcliffe has a population of around 3648 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. Highcliffe sits at an elevation of 16 metres, close to the nearby places of Walkford, Friars Cliff, and Hinton. Highcliffe is located approximately 17.4 miles from Southampton and 86.6 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about Highcliffe and across Dorset
As a residential suburb, Highcliffe has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Hinton, Friars Cliff — right across BH postcodes. A postcode starting BH23 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Parked heading to Nea Meadows Local Nature Reserve, or bang in the centre of Highcliffe, your vehicle remains where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. The van empties it where it stands. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you're by Highcliffe Castle, on a border, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
Your scenario, summed up
If it has not run, phone then leave it off. Run by now: stop, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Highcliffe or wherever across Dorset.