AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Leagrave, and What to Do Next
Everything turns on one detail: whether the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Not started yet? Then keep it like that, wherever the car sits — Leagrave or Sundon Park. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush after a drain, done right where your vehicle sits in Leagrave. Where your engine has run, pull in safely first, then turn it off. It is a larger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Below: the situations we see, anywhere in Bedfordshire. Choose the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Leagrave forecourt
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you're stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Anywhere around Leagrave, then — JET, BP, or anywhere else nearby.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: don't get back in and start it to clear the pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your car is in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — and save the bottle. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Leagrave
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Bought a bottle, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, after the fact. It happens on driveways just off Filmer Road as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. On the floor of your tank sits where AdBlue waits, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by changes no difference.
Your move: the keys indoors, so no one takes the car off at breakfast. After that, ring. Your drive is where it is drained, whether in Leagrave or Limbury. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Leagrave?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. It might have been heading for St Albans, under 15 miles away, or simply along School Lane.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has taken the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a bigger run, after the fuel filter and lines have it. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Pull in safely — that's the next step — then turn everything off. Services further along are too far: from the M1, under a mile out of Leagrave, take the next junction. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Call us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right by your diesel inlet — news to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Bedfordshire.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Any work on the car frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under rental or company agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our technicians get there than after. Leave it switched off while the reply arrives, whether you're parked outside the nearest station or close to Al Falah Community Centre.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Leagrave
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can honestly say. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Beechwood Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's drive out in Chaul End.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to your engine. In the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in that tank would be pulled in by starting the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not fire it up. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats emptying one after it has been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
What each AdBlue drain around Leagrave has in common
Whatever the situation, a single opening applies. Forecourt, drive, The Leicester Arms's car park or a street beside St Luke's Parish Church — our van reaches your car, and three questions follow: what fluid, what amount, and if it ran. Replies set the job; the quote follows by phone while no one has left yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Then comes your filter — cleaned, or replaced where necessary — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment we get there.
Lastly, our engineers fire it up. We check it runs smoothly on clean diesel before we go. Permanent damage is very unusual if it's caught quickly, and the whole job is done where the car is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Leagrave
Leagrave is a suburban area in Bedfordshire, situated on the banks of the River Lea at an elevation of around 128 metres. Leagrave lies approximately 30 miles north of London and 12 miles south of St Albans, with nearby neighbourhoods including Limbury, Marsh Farm, and Lewsey Farm. Leagrave has a population of around 10,868 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing.
AdBlue drains across Bedfordshire, Leagrave included
Leagrave is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Marsh Farm and Lewsey Farm among them, across the LU postcode area. A postcode starting LU4 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Leagrave Park or in a car park in the middle of Leagrave, it doesn't need to shift. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it stands. Tricky to pin down? By Faizan-e-Mushkil Kusha or a county line? Asking is better than assuming, so phone.
Your scenario, summed up
Still unrun? Leave the car that way and phone. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Leagrave or wherever in Bedfordshire.