AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Mereside: What Now?
Has the engine run since the AdBlue was put in? This single question settles almost everything about what comes next. Not run yet? Then leave it like that, whether the car is — Mereside or Little Marton. Leave the motor and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Mereside. Pull over the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has already run. A larger job, yes, yet the same opening move.
Below: the situations our technicians meet, anywhere across Lancashire. Pick yours.
Mereside forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Anywhere in Mereside, then — Tesco, Shell, or anywhere else close by.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Still inside the tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up just to free up the pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand pushing it to a space, hold on to the bottle, then phone us from there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a car that can't be pushed clear gets drained right at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Mereside drive?
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used at the drive. Homes just off Deepdale Road are hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops low inside the tank and stays. One night standing alters none of that.
Next: keys indoors, and so no one drives the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, phone. Little Marton Moss Side or Mereside: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it gets emptied. Late-night empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Mereside?
Topped up, drove away, and before long your motor was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Possibly it was on Clifton Road, maybe on the way out towards Preston, under 15 miles away.
What it means: the system has pulled the AdBlue in. Through the filter, through the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Mereside sits under a mile from the M55; on it, come off at the next junction instead of pressing on to the services. No trial starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Phone, and say what distance the car was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had the vehicle barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or stores it in another spot. Wherever you are across Lancashire, every driver can slip up.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added step. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. Keep the car switched off while the answer arrives, even if you're waiting outside Blackpool South or close to Tarnside Community Centre.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Mereside?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Mereside Primary Academy in a rush, say, or someone's drive out in Walkers Hill.
The point: your engine is not harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another matter. Firing up the vehicle won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't start it. Phone with what you saw: we would sooner find a clean tank than drain one once your motor has been run.
The common ground in each Mereside AdBlue drain
Each case gets the same opening to the work. Three things are asked once we arrive — at a filling station, a drive, a street by Freedom Centre or the car park outside The Cherry Tree: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told the quote, and those replies decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's crucial, because deposits build up and certain metals are attacked, and none of that rinses away unaided. Last come the fuel filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of your vehicle. If the motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Lastly, we fire it up. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Our engineers do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very rare when it has been caught soon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: cover for misfuelling is built into plenty of policies.
About Mereside itself
Mereside is a coastal suburban area in Lancashire, situated near the cities of Preston and Blackpool. Mereside sits at a low elevation of around 12 metres, and its proximity to the coast has influenced its development. Mereside is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing stock, which reflects the area's history of residential growth. Mereside is located near other local places such as Little Marton Moss Side and Marton Moss Side.
AdBlue drains across Lancashire, Mereside included
As a residential suburb, Mereside has the same vans as the surrounding places — Marton Moss Side, Sandhams Green — all the way through FY postcodes. Fastest of all: a FY4 4 postcode for your location.
Parked heading to Mereside Park, or bang in the centre of Mereside, your car stays where it is — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it sits. Phone and check rather than guess if you are close to Langdale Library and Laundry Room, on a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
In one line: your scenario
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Lancashire and in Mereside — once you pull over, switch off then phone, if it has run.