AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lane End, and What to Do Next
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one question settles nearly everything about what comes next. Out in Wheeler End or here in Lane End, an unrun motor should remain that way. Normally this is emptying and properly flushing it right there around Lane End — and so leave your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Already run? Stop when safe, then switch it off. Stage one stays the same, even though the work is bigger.
Further down: the situations we see, anywhere around Buckinghamshire. Pick yours.
At the petrol pump around Lane End: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the filler you took off was not the correct one. It could be the Texaco, or perhaps the Murco, or another forecourt in Lane End.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. Only that tank has AdBlue; not one part past it has taken it in.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to free up the pump. A few things: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Lane End
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and only then checked the cap a second time, too late. Driveways near High Street get it as much as any other street.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and stays put, no matter how long it waits.
Your move: keys indoors, so nobody takes your car off at breakfast. After that, ring. Your driveway is where it gets drained, be it in Lane End or Ditchfield. Night-time drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Lane End?
A short way beyond topping up, your motor began playing up: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Anywhere on The Row or else on the road to Oxford — under 25 miles away.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a longer trip, once the fuel filter and lines have it. Every restart, like every mile, carries it on.
Pull in somewhere safe — that's the next step — then turn it off. On the M40, under a mile from Lane End, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Phone us and say how far you drove.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days ago, the car was unknown to you. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right next to your diesel. Any driver, wherever across Buckinghamshire, might do the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Work on the vehicle frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet agreements.
Settling it before the van turn up is quicker, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stuck by Holy Trinity or at High Wycombe till someone answers, your car remains turned off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Lane End?
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think it did. Which cap was taken off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Lane End Primary School, or a call to a friend in Moor End: either fits.
Put simply: spillage near your filler does the motor unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different story. Turning on the car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn the key. Call us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Lane End AdBlue drain
Each situation has the same opening to the job. Filling station, driveway, Grouse & Ale's car park or a road by St John the Evangelist — the van comes to the vehicle, and three questions follow: which fluid, which amount, and if it ran. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear the price, and those replies decide the work too.
Emptying that tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, however long you wait. Fresh diesel is put in once the filter is flushed or changed, and the car is finally checked. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour job from the moment we turn up.
Starting the car comes at the end. We confirm it runs correctly on fresh diesel before leaving. If it's noticed soon, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Many policies include misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Lane End
Lane End is a village in Buckinghamshire, situated inland at an elevation of 179 metres, with a mix of terraced housing and other residential properties. Lane End lies approximately 31 miles from London and 20 miles from Oxford, making it a commuter base for both cities. Lane End is surrounded by nearby places such as Ditchfield, Moor Common, and Bolter End, and has a population of around 2239 residents. Lane End retains a sense of community despite its proximity to larger urban areas.
AdBlue drains across Buckinghamshire, Lane End included
Being a rural village, Lane End has the same vans as the nearby towns — Bolter End, Moor Common — all the way across HP postcodes. Giving us your HP14 3 postcode finds you fastest of all.
No moving is required, be it stopped centrally in Lane End or on a lay-by en route to Bolter End Common, so leave it put. Draining is done on the spot. Awkward to pin down? By Frieth Village Hall or a county line? Checking is better than assuming, and so ring.
Your situation, summed up
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Run already: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Lane End or anywhere across Buckinghamshire.