What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hillcross
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 was put in. Out in Sinfin or right around Hillcross, an unrun motor should stay unrun. Leave the motor and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Hillcross. Pull over the moment you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Below: the situations we see, anywhere in Derbyshire. Choose the one that fits.
On a Hillcross forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, bottle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Somewhere around Hillcross, then — TotalEnergies, Texaco, or somewhere else close by.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. Nothing has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue sits just in that tank.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the pump needs clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once the car sits in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — then save the receipt. Draining it right at the pump is fine when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Hillcross, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had gone by with the warning light on. Picked up a bottle, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point looked at the cap a second time, after the fact. Drives close to Richmond Avenue see it as much as any other street.
The point: zero miles since makes it almost equal to finding it at the petrol pump. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops low in your tank and stays. A night parked changes none of that.
Keep your keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone might drive it off first thing — and phone us. We drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that is in Hillcross or out in Sunny Hill. Late-night drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Hillcross: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, drove away, and soon the engine was running roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Regency Close, say, or the way to Derby — a trip of under 3 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and each injector. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Hillcross lies under 10 miles from the M1; there, pull off at the next junction instead of pressing on for the services. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About how far did it go? Tell us when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, the cap is just by your diesel inlet — news to you. Anyone, anywhere around Derbyshire, might do it.
The point: just as above, split by if it ran, only with an added stage. Plenty of hire and company agreements need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. Stranded by Derby Co-op Bowls Club or at Peartree till the firm replies, the vehicle stays switched off the whole time.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Hillcross
Truthfully, the only answer might be that you think so. A faint ammonia smell lingers near the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A rushed top-up by the gates of St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy, or a call to a friend in Pear Tree: either fit.
In short: a spill near the filler leaves your motor no harm. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Any AdBlue in the tank will be pulled in by firing up the vehicle, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't crank it. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one after it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
The common ground in every Hillcross AdBlue drain
Whatever the situation, one opening is used. Three questions are asked once we reach your car — on a filling station, a drive, a road by C.U.R.C. Tennis Club or the car park outside The White Swan: the liquid, the amount, and if it has been started. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the job.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after this drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where the engine has not run, allow roughly half an hour on site, in most jobs.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Our test that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before our engineers go. When it is spotted soon, the vehicle very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Hillcross and where it is
Hillcross is a locality situated on the riverside in Derbyshire, with an elevation of around 70 metres. Hillcross lies close to the city of Derby, approximately 2.1 miles away, and is near other places such as Sunny Hill, Normanton, and Littleover. Hillcross has a population of around 3043 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing.
AdBlue drains across Derbyshire, Hillcross included
Being a neighbourhood, Hillcross has the same vans as the nearby places — Littleover, Normanton — all the way through DE postcodes. The location comes quickest from a postcode that starts DE23 1.
No moving is needed, whether parked in the centre of Hillcross or in a layby en route to Sunnydale Park Local Nature Reserve, and so keep it put. The drain is done right there. Phone and ask rather than guess when you're close to C.U.R.C. Sports Field, near a boundary, or anywhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Hillcross and anywhere around Derbyshire on 0333 366 0103.