What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lydd
One fact counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has run afterwards. Anywhere your vehicle stands — New Romney, Lydd — don't start a motor that hasn't run yet. Leave the motor and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Lydd. Already started? Pull over once you safely can, then switch it off. Stage one remains unchanged, even if the job grows.
Wherever around Kent it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
At the pump in Lydd: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the filler you took off was not the right one. Maybe you're at the Usher Motors, perhaps at the Esso, perhaps somewhere else in Lydd.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. Just your tank holds AdBlue; no part beyond it has taken any in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Have the staff to help pushing it to a bay, save the bottle, then phone us right there. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed clear gets cleared where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Lydd
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Picked up a bottle, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. Driveways close to Cannon Street see it as much as any other street.
In short: if your vehicle has not been driven since, it's almost as good as finding out at the pump. On the bottom of that tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves your car in the morning. Then ring. We drain it on your driveway, whether that's in Lydd or out in Lade. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Lydd: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two after topping up, the engine started playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. Anywhere along Skinner Road or else heading to Canterbury — under 25 miles away.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in by now. Past the filter, through the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. More miles, more restarts: further it goes.
Pull in somewhere safe — that's the next job — then switch everything off. Lydd lies under 15 miles from the M20; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Call, saying how far your car was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have only had the vehicle for days. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you are across Kent, every motorist could slip up.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which turn on whether it has run. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Settling it before we turn up is faster, and so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Keep it off as the reply comes, even if you're waiting at Appledore (Kent) or near Lydd Town Hall.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Lydd?
Honestly, the best answer might be that you think it did. A slight ammonia smell lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. The gates of Lydd Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or someone's driveway over in Lydd-on-Sea.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet don't touch your motor at all. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Starting the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
Do this: act as if it did, and never start the engine. Tell us what you saw on the phone. A clean tank checked is a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
Each AdBlue drain in Lydd shares these steps
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Filling station, driveway, The George Hotel's car park or a street beside Hardy Hall — the van reaches your vehicle, and three answers come next: which fluid, what amount, and if it has run. Replies set the job; the price follows by phone whilst no one has left yet.
Then that tank is cleared and the fuel system purged thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Last are the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your car. If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
The final step is starting the engine. Before we go, it's tested to make sure it runs correctly on new diesel. When it is caught soon, the vehicle very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Lydd
Lydd is a small coastal town in Kent, situated on the Dungeness headland at an elevation of around 5 metres. Lydd lies near the villages of Lade, Greatstone-on-Sea, and Old Romney, and is approximately 23.9 miles from Canterbury. Lydd has a population of around 3911 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Lydd is also about 59 miles from London, making it a relatively remote town in the South East region.
AdBlue drains across Kent, Lydd included
Throughout TN postcodes, the teams serving Lydd — a coastal town — reach nearby towns as well, Greatstone-on-Sea and Old Romney included. A postcode starting TN29 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Lydd or a layby near Ketchley Copse: either way it sits, the vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. Our van drains it where it stands. Guessing doesn't help beside Church of All Saints, on a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
The one-line version
Where it has not started, phone and keep it that way. Run already: pull over, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Lydd or anywhere in Kent.