AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Itchen, and What to Do Next
Has your engine run since the AdBlue got in? That single point decides nearly everything about what comes next. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Itchen itself or out in Merry Oak. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a proper flush after a drain, carried out just where the car stands in Itchen. Where the motor has run, stop somewhere safe straight away, then turn it off. It is a larger job, though step one does not change.
Further down: the situations we see, wherever in Hampshire. Choose yours.
Itchen forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It might be the BP, or the Esso, or another forecourt in Itchen.
What it means: this is the ideal spot to find out. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up just to free up the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed clear is cleared right at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Itchen drive?
Several days had passed with the warning light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened on the drive. Just off Radstock Road is no less likely from any other place.
The upshot: zero driving since makes it almost as good to finding it at the petrol pump. At the bottom of the tank is where AdBlue stays, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Put the keys indoors overnight — or a person may take it away at breakfast — and call us. Woolston or Itchen: whichever your driveway is, that's where it gets emptied. Late-night drains beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
On the road in Itchen with AdBlue in a diesel
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. Possibly it was on Norton Close, perhaps on the way out towards Southampton, under 3 miles away.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue in by now. It's been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. It travels deeper with every extra mile covered and each restart.
Pull in safely — that is the next step — then turn it off. Exit by the next junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M27, under 3 miles from Itchen. No trial restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Roughly how far did it gone? Say so as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across Hampshire, no one is safe from it.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, but with one added step. The owner often has to approve the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. If you are stranded in the car park at Woolston, or by Woolston Masonic Hall, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Itchen?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. A slight ammonia-like whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A hurried stop by the gates of St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Chapel: both fits.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to the motor. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and never start the motor. Tell us what you saw on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a better result than a run one drained.
Itchen: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Forecourt, driveway, The Manor's car park or a road beside St Patrick's Church Hall — the van reaches the vehicle, and three answers come next: what liquid, what amount, and whether it has run. Those replies settle this work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anyone sets off.
Then your tank is cleared and your system flushed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. Finally are your filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of the vehicle. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
We start it at the end. Before our engineers head off, it's tested to confirm it runs correctly on new diesel. Lasting damage is very rare if it's noticed quickly, and the whole job is done where your car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Itchen and where it is
Itchen is a suburban area located on the coast of Hampshire, near the city of Southampton. Itchen sits at an elevation of 24 metres, with many of its residents living in flats. Itchen is close to nearby places such as Woolston, Peartree Green, and Crosshouse, and is situated approximately 68 miles from London. Itchen has a population of around 8973 people.
AdBlue drains around Itchen and across Hampshire
Peartree Green and Crosshouse get the identical vans as Itchen, a residential suburb, along with other places throughout SO postcodes. The whereabouts is quickest from a postcode beginning SO19 2.
Stopped heading to Woolston Millenium Garden, or right in the centre of Itchen, your car stays where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. We drain it where it is. Phone and check rather than guess when you're close to St Patrick's Church, near a boundary, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Run by now: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Itchen or anywhere across Hampshire.