What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Holdenhurst
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it went in. Not started so far? Then leave the car like that, whether your vehicle sits — Holdenhurst or Iford. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush after a drain, done just where your car sits in Holdenhurst. Stop the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has been run. Stage one remains unchanged, even though the job grows.
Compare what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever across Dorset you happen to be.
On a Holdenhurst forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you're at the Tesco, possibly at the Esso, possibly somewhere else in Holdenhurst.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still inside your tank, with nothing pulled through: that's where the AdBlue is.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants freeing. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Emptying it there at the petrol pump is fine if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Holdenhurst, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Homes just off Chaseside are hit as much as anywhere else.
Put simply: if the car has not moved since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves your car in the morning. Then ring. We drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Holdenhurst or out in Townsend. The pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road in Holdenhurst with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Deansleigh Road, perhaps, or the route towards Southampton — a run of under 25 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance decides how far it gets: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and each injector. More driving, more starts: further it travels.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Leave by the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M27, under 25 miles from Holdenhurst. No trial restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Phone, and say how far your car was driven.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week back, the car was new to you. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever around Dorset, might make the same.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, but with one added stage. Work on the vehicle often requires the owner's approval under rental or company terms.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Pokesdown, or near Bournemouth Combined Court Centre? Leave the car off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Holdenhurst?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". A slight ammonia-like smell hangs around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Jumpers Common, or rushing by Jewell Academy Bournemouth on the school run.
The point: your engine isn't harmed by some AdBlue spilled around the filler. In your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in your tank would be pulled in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not start the vehicle. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Holdenhurst has in common
No matter the situation, a single opening is used. Filling station, drive, The Victory's car park or a street by St Saviours — the van reaches the car, and three questions come next: which fluid, what quantity, and if it has run. The price comes on the call, before a van leaves, and the answers shape the job.
Then that tank is cleared and the system purged thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Clean diesel goes in once the filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is then tested. Where the engine has not been started, allow roughly half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The last step is firing it up. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to make sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it is spotted early, long-term damage is very rare. Payment is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Worth knowing: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy while you wait pays.
About Holdenhurst and where it is
Holdenhurst is a coastal suburban area in Dorset, situated near the towns of Bournemouth and Poole. Holdenhurst lies close to the sea, with an elevation of around 10 metres, and is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock. Holdenhurst is part of the larger Bournemouth conurbation, with nearby places including Townsend, Littledown, and Haddon Hill.
Holdenhurst and Dorset: AdBlue drains across the area
As a residential suburb, Holdenhurst has the same vans as the nearby towns — Haddon Hill, Littledown — right across BH postcodes. Your location is clearest from a postcode beginning BH7 7.
Centre of Holdenhurst or a lay-by near Littledown Centre: either way it sits, your vehicle never needs to move at all for us. The drain is done right there. Guessing won't help near Swanmore Gardens, on a border or somewhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
Your situation, summed up
If it has not started, phone then keep it off. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Dorset and within Holdenhurst — after you pull over, switch off then ring, if it's run.