AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lacey Green, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it went in. Out in Speen or right around Lacey Green, an unstarted motor should remain that way. Usually that means emptying and thoroughly rinsing it on the spot in Lacey Green — so leave the key and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Where the engine has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Buckinghamshire it happened.
Lacey Green forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you are stood at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It could be the Esso, or the Shell, or a different station in Lacey Green.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. Only your tank has AdBlue; no part beyond it has drawn it in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — so don't get back in. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
Lacey Green, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Houses just off Kiln Lane get hit as much as everywhere else.
In short: if your car hasn't been driven since, it's nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue settles to the base in your tank and waits. A night standing changes nothing.
Next: keys in the house, so nobody takes your vehicle off at breakfast. Then, phone. Darvillshill or Lacey Green: wherever your drive is, that is where it is cleared. Our pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
Lacey Green: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two beyond the fill. Main Road, say, or the route to Oxford — a trip of under 25 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has taken the AdBlue in. The injection pump and every injector get it too on a bigger trip, once the fuel filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Lacey Green sits under 5 miles from the M40; on it, come off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Let us hear the mileage covered as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've only had the car a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Across Buckinghamshire, nobody is immune.
Meaning? Whichever case above applies here — run or unrun — plus one extra step. Work on your vehicle frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our technicians arrive than after. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Saunderton, or near Lacey Green Village Hall? Keep your engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Lacey Green?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Maybe on a friend's driveway in Wardrobes, or rushing by St John's Church of England Primary School, Lacey Green on the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to the engine. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Assume it got in, and never start the key. Ring and give the details: we'd sooner confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one after your engine has run.
Lacey Green: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The work opens the same way, whatever the case. Three questions come when our technicians arrive — at a forecourt, a driveway, a street by Saint John The Evangelist or the car park at The Black Horse: the liquid, the quantity, and if it has been started. Those replies settle this work, and you hear our quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and some metals are attacked, and neither washes out unaided. Clean diesel goes in once the fuel filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is finally checked. If your engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Lastly, we fire it up. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we check it's running correctly, and then we head off. If it is noticed soon, the vehicle very seldom has lasting damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing in advance. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Lacey Green and where it is
Lacey Green is a small village in Buckinghamshire, situated in the Chiltern Hills at an elevation of 221 metres. Lacey Green lies approximately 19 miles from Oxford and 32 miles from London, with nearby villages including Darvillshill, Loosley Row, and Flowers Bottom. Lacey Green is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock and a population of around 578 residents. Lacey Green occupies a rural position, surrounded by the rolling countryside of the Chilterns.
AdBlue drains across Buckinghamshire, Lacey Green included
Over HP postcodes, the vans covering Lacey Green — a rural village — reach surrounding places as well, Loosley Row and Flowers Bottom among them. Fastest of all: a HP27 0 postcode for your location.
Centre of Lacey Green or a layby towards Lacey Green Tennis Club: wherever it sits, the car doesn't need to shift at all for the drain. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it stands. Awkward to pin down? Close to Speen Village Hall or a county line? Asking beats assuming, and so phone.
The one-line version
If it hasn't started, phone and keep it that way. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Lacey Green and anywhere around Buckinghamshire on 0333 366 0103.