What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Northcourt
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has run since it went in. Out in Lodge Hill or here around Northcourt, an unrun engine should remain that way. Leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Northcourt. Stop the moment it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. It is a larger job, yet step one does not change.
Further down: the cases our technicians meet, wherever around Oxfordshire. Choose yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Northcourt forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Anywhere around Northcourt, then — BP, Marcham Road Service Station, or anywhere else close by.
The point: of every spot to find out, this is the best. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt once your car sits in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — and keep the bottle. Emptying it there at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Northcourt, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened at the drive. Just off Northcourt Road is no less likely from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then call. In Wildmoor or here around Northcourt, the draining happens at your drive. The equipment works quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Northcourt?
A mile or two after topping up, your engine started playing up: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on your dash. Possibly it was on Northcourt Lane, perhaps on the way out towards Oxford, under 5 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. Mileage sets how deep it goes: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and every injector. Every restart, like each mile, pushes it on.
Pull in safely — that is the first step — then switch everything off. Exit at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the Wheatley Spur, under 10 miles from Northcourt. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Roughly what distance did it gone? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
Seven days ago, the car was new to you. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across Oxfordshire, no one is immune.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies here — run or not — and one further stage. Work on the vehicle frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or company terms.
Sorting it before the van arrives is quicker, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. If you are stranded in the car park outside Radley, or by Christ Church, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Northcourt: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Sound familiar? The gates of Dunmore Primary School in a hurry, say, or a friend's driveway over in Radley Park.
In short: spillage near the filler does your motor unharmed. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't fire it up. Ring and give what you saw: we'd rather find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one once the motor has been run.
What each AdBlue drain around Northcourt has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Spread Eagle or a side street near The Northcourt, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if your motor has been run. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told our quote, and those replies shape the job too.
Then your tank is emptied and the system rinsed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Next is your filter — cleaned, or replaced where necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Most unrun cars are a half-hour job from the moment our technicians turn up.
The last step is starting it. Before our engineers leave, it's tested to make sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. The entire job is done where the car is, and when it is spotted quickly, permanent damage is very rare. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Northcourt, briefly
Northcourt is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Oxfordshire, with an elevation of 61 metres and located approximately 4.9 miles from Oxford. Northcourt is characterized by its semi-detached housing and is part of the wider Abingdon-on-Thames area, which includes nearby places such as Wildmoor and Peachcroft. Northcourt has a population of around 6361 residents and is within commuting distance to London, being about 50.7 miles away.
AdBlue drains about Northcourt and across Oxfordshire
As a residential suburb, Northcourt shares its vans with the surrounding places — Abingdon-on-Thames, Peachcroft — right across OX postcodes. Giving us a OX14 1 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Stopped heading to Chilton Park, or bang in the heart of Northcourt, your vehicle remains where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. The drain happens right there. Phone and ask rather than guess if you are close to All Saints Methodist Church, on a border, or somewhere tricky to pin down.
Your situation, summed up
Where it hasn't started, phone then leave it off. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Oxfordshire and in Northcourt — once you pull over, turn off and phone, if it's run.