AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Meadowhill: What Now?
One thing matters above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the motor has been started afterwards. Over in Raploch or here in Meadowhill, an unstarted engine should stay unrun. Usually this means emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Meadowhill — and so keep your key and engine off then phone 0333 366 0103. Already started? Stop when safe, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Match what happened to one of the list below, wherever across South Lanarkshire you are.
Meadowhill forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the pump, holding the bottle, you realise the filler you opened was not the correct one. Perhaps you're at the Shell, perhaps at the Asda, possibly somewhere else in Meadowhill.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it can be. Still in the tank, with no fuel pulled through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up only to move away from the pump. Ring us from the forecourt after the car is in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — then save the bottle. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed clear gets drained right at the pump.
At home in Meadowhill with AdBlue in the diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had been lit all week. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Houses just off Drygate Street are caught out as much as everywhere else.
In short: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it's almost as good as spotting it at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and remains put, however long it waits.
Keep your keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone might take it away first thing — then call us. In Larkhall or here in Meadowhill, the draining is done on your drive. Our pumping kit works quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Meadowhill?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way after the fill. Matthew McWhirter Place, perhaps, or the way towards Glasgow — a trip of under 15 miles.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into your fuel system. Mileage decides how far it goes: filter and lines to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. More driving, more starts: further it goes.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M74, under a mile from Meadowhill. It will not have cleared, and so there is no sense restarting to find out. Let us hear the distance driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've just had this car a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right next to your diesel inlet — news to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across South Lanarkshire.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, but with one added step. Any work on your car frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or fleet terms.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Keep the car switched off as the answer arrives, whether you are parked at Larkhall or near Larkhall Community Centre.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Meadowhill?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. A slight ammonia whiff lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. A rushed stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Glengowan: either fit.
In short: a spill near the filler leaves your engine unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be drawn in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it was put in, and never start your key. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one after it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
Every AdBlue drain around Meadowhill shares these steps
The job begins identically, whichever the case. Our engineers come to your car, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Ranch or a side street near Larkhall Kingdom Hall Of Jehovah's Witnesses, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has been run. Those answers decide this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
Then that tank is cleared and the system cleaned 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. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Not started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to make sure it runs properly on new diesel. Permanent damage is very rare if it is caught early, and the whole job is done where your car is. Payment is on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your policy as we travel is worthwhile.
About Meadowhill, for a moment
Meadowhill is a suburban area situated on the riverside in South Lanarkshire, with a mix of terraced housing and local amenities. Meadowhill sits at an elevation of around 105 metres, near the towns of Larkhall and Machan, and is approximately 13 miles from Glasgow. Meadowhill is part of the wider Glasgow urban area, yet retains a distinct local character. Meadowhill has a population of around 3862 residents, living in a variety of housing types, predominantly terraced.
Meadowhill and South Lanarkshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Meadowhill is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the towns around it too, Burnhead and Machan among them, across the ML postcode area. Telling us a ML9 2 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Parked en route to Skellyton Wood, or right in the centre of Meadowhill, the vehicle stays where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. We drain the vehicle where it stands. Tricky to pin down? By Larkhall Library or a border? Asking is better than guessing, and so ring.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across South Lanarkshire and within Meadowhill — once you pull over, switch off and ring, if it has run.