AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Porthill: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your motor has been run since it got in. Over in Longbridge Hayes or here around Porthill, an unstarted engine should remain unrun. Keep nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, and count on a proper flush plus a drain, carried out right where the car sits around Porthill. Pull over the minute it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. Stage one remains the same, even if the job is bigger.
Match your case to one of the ones below, wherever around Staffordshire you are.
At the petrol pump around Porthill: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. It could be the BP, or perhaps the Esso, or a different station in Porthill.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it can be. Still in that tank, with no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and start the vehicle to clear the petrol pump. A few things: a push into a bay with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear is emptied right at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Porthill drive?
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you had used on the drive. Homes just off Dorrington Grove are caught out as often as anywhere else.
The point: zero miles since makes this almost as good to finding it at the petrol pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and remains there, no matter how long it waits.
Next: prevent any early drive by keeping your keys in the house, then ring us. Out in Dimsdale or right here around Porthill, the drain is done on your drive. Late-night drains outside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Porthill: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Perhaps it was on Watlands View, maybe on the way out towards Stoke-on-Trent, under 3 miles away.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in by now. Distance decides how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. Every restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Your move: stop somewhere safe, then switch the motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M6, under 5 miles from Porthill. It won't have cleared, and so there's no sense restarting to find out. Call us and say how far you drove.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just had this car for days. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right next to your diesel cap — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Staffordshire.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. Waiting for a reply in the car park at Longport, or near Saint Andrew's Parish Church? Leave the car off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Porthill
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? A hurried top-up by the gates of Ellison Primary Academy, or a visit to a friend in Beasley: both fits.
Meaning? Spills outside the inlet never reach your motor at all. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up your car will draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, and keep the motor off. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than draining one after it has been run — so ring and describe to us what you saw.
What each AdBlue drain around Porthill has in common
No matter the case, one opening applies. We come to the vehicle, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Potters Wheel or a side street near Wolstanton United Reform Church, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and whether the engine has run. The price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. If the motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Finally, we start the engine. Before we leave, it is checked to be sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. Our engineers do the entire job where the car is, and long-term damage is very uncommon if it has been noticed quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Porthill itself
Porthill is a suburban area situated on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, with a riverside setting and an elevation of around 165 metres. Porthill is characterised by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock and is located near other local areas such as Dimsdale and Wolstanton. Porthill has a population of approximately 8475 residents and is close to the city centre of Stoke-on-Trent, being only 2.3 miles away. Porthill is also within commuting distance of larger cities, with London being around 137.8 miles to the south.
AdBlue drains around Porthill and across Staffordshire
Throughout ST postcodes, the teams serving Porthill — a residential suburb — reach nearby places as well, Wolstanton and Bradwell among them. Telling us a ST5 8 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Bradwell Lodge Park or in a car park in the middle of Porthill, it does not need to shift. We drain the vehicle where it stands. Guessing won't help near Wolstanton Methodist Church, on a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: phone, leaving it alone. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Porthill or wherever in Staffordshire.