Honiton: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it went in. Not run so far? Then leave the car that way, wherever the car sits — Honiton or Heathpark. Usually this means emptying and thoroughly cleaning it right there in Honiton — so leave the ignition and engine off and call 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute you safely can and switch off, if it has already run. A larger job, yes, yet the same opening move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Devon it happened.
At the petrol pump around Honiton: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you're standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Be it BP, Tesco or somewhere else in Honiton, the case is identical.
The point: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Still inside that tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Next: avoid the urge to start it just to free up the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. Can't move it beside the pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Honiton drive?
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had opened on the drive. It takes place on drives just off New Street as commonly as anywhere.
Put simply: if your vehicle has not been driven since, it's almost as good as finding out at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and stays put, however long it waits.
Next: keys in the house, so no one drives the vehicle off at breakfast. After that, phone. In Littletown or here around Honiton, the draining happens at your drive. The pumping kit runs quiet enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Honiton: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, drove away, and before long the motor was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Black Lion Shopping Court, say, or the way towards Exeter — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into the system. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and each injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. On the M5, under 10 miles from Honiton, that means the next exit, not the services further on. No test restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. Roughly how far did it go? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, it was unknown to you. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is just next to your diesel inlet — news to you. Across Devon, no one is immune.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or not — and one extra step. Work on the vehicle often requires the owner's approval under rental or fleet terms.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since settling it beforehand cuts time. Waiting for an answer in the car park at the nearest station, or near St Paul's? Leave the engine off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Honiton
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. A hurried stop by the gates of Honiton Primary School, or a call to a friend in Combe Raleigh: either fits.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to the motor. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and never start the engine. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue is better than emptying one after it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
Each AdBlue drain around Honiton shares these stages
Whatever the case, a single opening is used. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Three Tuns or a side street close to Allhallows Museum, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if your engine has been run. Replies set the work; the quote follows on the call while nobody has left yet.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, because crystals build up and certain metals corrode, and neither washes away unaided. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive.
The last step is firing it up. Our check that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before our engineers go. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and when it's spotted quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as we travel pays.
About Honiton and where it is
Honiton is a town in east Devon, situated on the River Otter and surrounded by rolling hills. Honiton sits at an elevation of around 115 metres, with the town centre close to the river and residential areas extending outward. Honiton has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are particularly prevalent, reflecting the town's growth as a commuter base for Exeter. Honiton is located near several smaller settlements, including Littletown and Heathfield Camp.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Honiton included
Throughout EX postcodes, the vans covering Honiton — a riverside town — reach surrounding places too, Heathfield Camp and Northcote included. A postcode starting EX14 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped en route to The Glen, or bang in the heart of Honiton, the vehicle remains where it is — there is no need to move it at all. Where it stands, that is where it gets drained. If you are somewhere hard to explain, near Honiton Library or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
Your scenario, summed up
Still unrun? Keep the car off and ring. Run by now: stop, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Honiton or anywhere in Devon.