AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hilton: What Now?
All of it turns on one detail: if the motor has been run since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Anywhere your car is — Haugh, Hilton — don't run a motor that hasn't run yet. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and engine both off. Across Hilton, such a case is generally drained and flushed where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. It is a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Match what happened to a situation from the list below, wherever across Highland you are.
At the petrol pump in Hilton: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. Somewhere in Hilton, then — Asda, Shell, or somewhere else close by.
In short: no better spot to be to spot it. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one component beyond it has drawn any in.
Do this: keep out of the car, even if the queue wants freeing. Have the staff to help pushing it to a bay, hold on to the receipt, then ring us from there. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is fine when it cannot be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Hilton with AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in at the drive — and it's only at the bin that the cap got your eye. Houses just off Cauldeen Road get hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Upper Drummond or Hilton: whichever your drive is, that is where it is emptied. Late-night drains outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Hilton: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe driving to Inverness, under 3 miles away, or just along Burn Road.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. Distance decides how far it gets: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next step — then turn everything off. Hilton lies over 50 miles from the M90; there, come off at the next junction rather than pushing on for the services. No trial starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Let us know the mileage driven when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've just driven this car a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or stores it in another spot. Anyone, anywhere across Highland, might make the same.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Any work on the car often needs the owner's approval under rental or company agreements.
Your move: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, because settling it early cuts time. Keep the vehicle off while the reply arrives, whether you're parked at Inverness or close to Hilton Parish Church.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Hilton
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you can't recall; but the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway out in Lochardil.
The point: the motor isn't harmed by some AdBlue splashed on the filler. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, it does. Turning on your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would suck it in.
Assume it went in, and don't turn the key. Ring with the details: we would rather find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the engine has run.
Each AdBlue drain around Hilton shares these stages
The work opens the same way, whichever the case. Wherever the vehicle stands — Dows's car park, a street by Hilton Community Centre, a drive, a filling station — our van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, plus if your motor has been run. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers shape the work.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after the drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Then comes the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped where necessary — then fresh diesel, and a test of the car. If your motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
The final step is starting the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it is running properly, and then we head off. If it is spotted soon, the car very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Check your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in many policies.
About Hilton itself
Hilton is a suburban area located on the coast of the Moray Firth in Highland, Scotland, with a mix of terraced housing and other residential properties. Hilton sits at an elevation of 34 metres, close to the city of Inverness, and is near other local places such as Upper Drummond and Lower Drummond. Hilton is part of the larger Inverness urban area, with the city centre just over a mile away. Hilton has a population of around 5210 people, making it a sizable residential community in the region.
AdBlue drains in Hilton, and across Highland too
Over IV postcodes, the teams serving Hilton — a residential suburb — reach surrounding places as well, Lower Drummond and Ballifeary among them. Quickest of all: a IV2 4 postcode for your location.
Centre of Hilton or a lay-by near Castle Heather Park: wherever it sits, your vehicle never needs to move an inch for us. We drain it where it sits. Ring and check instead of guessing if you are by Greyfriars, on a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Run by now: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Hilton or wherever in Highland.