What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Nairn
Everything hinges on one fact: whether the engine has been run after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Over in Moss-side or here around Nairn, an unrun engine must stay that way. Leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Nairn. Stop the minute it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. It's a larger job, though stage one does not change.
Anywhere across Highland it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
At the petrol pump in Nairn: AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, bottle still in hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Be it Gulf, Sainsbury's or somewhere else in Nairn, the situation is identical.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump wants freeing. Ask the attendants to help you push the vehicle into a parking spot, keep the receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Can't move the car beside the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt safe, so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Nairn drive?
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the driveway. Just off Church Street is no less likely from any other place.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is close to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of that tank and stays put, no matter how long it waits.
Next: the keys in the house, and so no one drives your vehicle off first thing. Then, ring. In Fishertown or here in Nairn, the drain is done at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Nairn?
A short way beyond topping up, your motor began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. High Street, perhaps, or the route to Inverness — a run of under 25 miles.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue through by now. Mileage sets how far it goes: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and every injector. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Next: pick a sensible spot, stop, then turn your engine off. On the M90, over 50 miles from Nairn, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, so there is no point starting it again to find out. Call us and say how far you went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had the car hardly a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers are next to each other here — not like your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Throughout Highland, nobody is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
Sorting it before the van turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you're stranded in the car park at the nearest station, or by Mercat Cross, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Nairn?
Occasionally the honest answer is "I think so". Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Maybe on a friend's driveway in Delnies, or rushing by the local primary school on the school run.
Put simply: a spill near the filler does the motor unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. Starting the vehicle will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not start the car. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain around Nairn shares these stages
Each case has the same start to the job. Our technicians come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Brackla Hotel or a side street near Nairn Library, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and whether the engine has run. The price is given on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the job.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, because deposits build up and certain metals corrode, and none of that washes out unaided. Fresh diesel is put in after the filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is finally checked. Where your motor hasn't run, allow about half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With clean diesel in, it runs while we make sure it's running correctly, and then we leave. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it is caught early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Paying is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Nairn
Nairn is a coastal town in the Highland region of Scotland, situated on the Moray Firth at a low elevation of around 16 metres. Nairn lies approximately 15 miles east of Inverness and is home to a population of around 7052 people, predominantly living in detached housing. Nairn has nearby neighbourhoods including Fishertown and Kingsteps, and is close to the village of Auldearn. Nairn is a significant urban centre in the area, with a range of local amenities and services.
AdBlue drains round Nairn and across Highland
Kingsteps and Auldearn have the same teams as Nairn, a coastal town, along with other towns throughout IV postcodes. Quickest of all: a IV12 4 postcode to show where you stand.
Parked heading to The Links, or right in the heart of Nairn, your car stays where it is — there is no need to move it at all. Draining happens right there. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Nairn Community & Arts Centre or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The one-line version
Where it has not started, ring and leave it off. Run by now: stop, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Nairn or wherever across Highland.