AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lilliput: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is around Lilliput itself or out in Branksome Park. Usually this is emptying and properly cleaning it on the spot in Lilliput — so keep your key and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over when safe, then switch it off. It's a bigger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Further down: the situations we meet, anywhere across Dorset. Pick the one that fits.
At the pump in Lilliput: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere around Lilliput, then — Texaco, Fuel Berth, or somewhere else nearby.
Put simply: no better spot to be to discover it. Still inside the tank, and nothing pulled through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it only to move away from the pump. Three things: a push into a space with the attendants helping, the bottle kept, and a call to us from where you stand. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is drained right at the petrol pump.
Lilliput, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Picked up a bottle, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, too late. It occurs on driveways just off Sandbanks Road as often as anywhere.
The point: zero driving since leaves this almost equal to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and stays put, no matter how long it waits.
Keep the keys indoors overnight — or a person might drive it away at breakfast — then phone us. In Canford Cliffs or right here in Lilliput, the draining happens on your drive. The equipment runs quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Lilliput?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a short way beyond the fill. It might have been heading to Salisbury, under 50 miles away, or simply down Avalon.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. The injection pump and each injector see it too on a longer trip, after the fuel filter and pipework have it. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next step — then turn everything off. Services farther on are too far: on the M27, under 25 miles out of Lilliput, use the next junction. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You've only driven the vehicle a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you are around Dorset, every driver could be caught.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those depend on whether it's run. The owner often needs to sign off any work, under many hire and company agreements.
Sorting it before the van turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stranded near Evening Hill or at Parkstone (Dorset) till someone answers, your car stays turned off the whole time.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Lilliput
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe on a friend's drive in Upper Parkstone, or in a rush by Lilliput Church of England Infant School at the school run.
Meaning? Spills around the filler don't reach your engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. Turning on the vehicle won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would suck it in.
Do this: act as though it did, and don't start the motor. Ring and give what you saw: we would rather find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once the engine has run.
Every AdBlue drain in Lilliput shares these stages
Whatever the case, one start applies. Wherever the car stands — the pub in the village's car park, a road by Church of The Holy Angels, a driveway, a forecourt — the van gets there and asks for the liquid, the amount, plus if your motor has been run. Those answers decide this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anyone sets off.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, since deposits form and some metals corrode, and neither washes out unaided. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Where your motor hasn't run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Finally, our engineers fire it up. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it's running smoothly, and then we leave. If it's caught quickly, the car very seldom has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a check of your policy while you wait is worthwhile.
About Lilliput
Lilliput is a coastal suburban area in Dorset, situated near the popular beaches of Poole Bay. Lilliput lies close to the neighbouring areas of Canford Cliffs and Parkstone, and is also near the renowned Sandbanks peninsula. Lilliput has a population of around 2094 people, predominantly living in detached houses, and is located at a low elevation of 12 metres above sea level.
AdBlue drains across Dorset, Lilliput included
Parkstone and Sandbanks get the same teams as Lilliput, a residential suburb, plus further places throughout BH postcodes. Giving us a BH14 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Central Lilliput or a lay-by near Luscombe Valley Nature Reserve: either way it sits, the car never needs to shift at all for us. Draining is done right there. Phone and check rather than guess when you're close to Blake Hill Viewpoint, near a boundary, or anywhere awkward to explain.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: ring, leaving it switched off. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Dorset and within Lilliput — after you stop, switch off and ring, if it's run.