AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Parkside, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it got in. Not started so far? Then keep the vehicle like that, wherever your car is — Parkside or Deneside. Leave the motor and the ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Parkside. Pull over the minute it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. It's a bigger job, yet stage one does not change.
Match what happened to one of the ones below, wherever in Durham you happen to be.
On a Parkside forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Whether Jet, Esso or somewhere else in Parkside, the situation is identical.
In short: no better place exists to spot it. Nothing has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue sits just in your tank.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll your car into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
Parkside, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. It happens on driveways just off Heathway as commonly as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is close to the forecourt case. Being unable to blend, AdBlue settles low in your tank and stays. One night parked changes none of that.
Put your keys in the house tonight — otherwise a person may take it away first thing — then phone us. We drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that's in Parkside or out in Dawdon. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Parkside?
A mile or two after filling up, the engine started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Anywhere along Ash Crescent or else heading to Sunderland — under 10 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue up. Through the filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. More driving, more starts: further it goes.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn your engine off. Services further on can wait: from the A1(M), under 10 miles out of Parkside, take the first junction. It will not have cleared, so there is no sense starting it again to check. Let us know the distance covered when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It's a motor you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you are across Durham, every motorist could slip up.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Any work on your car frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or fleet agreements.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Seaham, or beside Dalden Tower? Keep your engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Parkside?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia smell lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. A hurried stop by the gates of Seaham Trinity Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Eastlea: both fits.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no damage to your motor. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by firing up the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not start the car. Ring and give the details: we would rather confirm a clean tank than drain one after the engine has run.
What every AdBlue drain in Parkside has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Forecourt, driveway, The Hat and Feathers's car park or a street by St Hild and St Helen Christian Fellowship — the van reaches the car, and three questions come next: what liquid, which amount, and whether it ran. Answers shape the work; the price comes by phone whilst no one has set off yet.
Then that tank is cleared and the 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. Next comes your filter — flushed, or swapped when necessary — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. Where your engine hasn't been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Our technicians fire it up last. With clean diesel in, it runs while we check it's running properly, and then we go. If it's noticed early, the car very rarely has permanent damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your policy while you wait pays.
About Parkside, for a moment
Parkside is a suburban area located on the coast of County Durham, near the city of Sunderland. Parkside sits at an elevation of 61 metres, with views out to the North Sea, and is situated close to nearby places such as Dawdon and Seaham. Parkside is characterised by its predominantly terraced housing stock, reflecting the area's history of development as a residential community. Parkside is also relatively close to the urban centre of Sunderland, being only 5.4 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Parkside and across Durham
Dalton-le-Dale and Seaham get the identical teams as Parkside, a residential suburb, plus further towns throughout SR postcodes. A postcode starting SR7 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped en route to Seaham Golf Club, or right in the centre of Parkside, the vehicle remains where it is — there's no need to move it at all. Our engineers drain it where it sits. Ring and check instead of guessing when you're by Seaham Library, near a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
Your situation, summed up
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Parkside or anywhere across Durham.