AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Radford, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it was put in. Not started so far? Then keep the vehicle like that, whether the car is — Radford or Forest Fields. Leave your engine and the ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Radford. Pull over the minute you safely can then switch off, if it has already run. It's a bigger job, yet step one does not change.
Below: the situations our technicians see, wherever in Nottinghamshire. Choose yours.
At the petrol pump around Radford: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you are stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Perhaps you are at the BP, perhaps at the Asda, possibly somewhere else in Radford.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, this is the best. No pump has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays just inside your tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — so don't get back in. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the staff assisting, the receipt kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. If it can't be moved, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Radford with AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. A bottle from the shop, emptied in at the drive — and it was just by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. It occurs on driveways just off Garfield Road as often as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your car has not been driven since, it is second to the forecourt case. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue drops low in your tank and stays. One night parked alters nothing.
Next: prevent an early move by keeping your keys indoors, then phone us. Hyson Green or Radford: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it gets cleared. Late-night clears beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Radford?
A short way after topping up, your engine started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Wilton Road, say, or the route towards Nottingham — a run of under 3 miles.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through your fuel system. The injection pump and each injector get it too on a bigger trip, after the fuel filter and pipework have had it. It travels further with every extra mile driven and each restart.
Do this: stop anywhere safe, then turn your engine off. Leave by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M1, under 5 miles from Radford. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, and say how far the vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a motor you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is just next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Across Nottinghamshire, no one is immune.
The point: just as above, split by whether it ran, but with one added step. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, because settling it beforehand saves time. Keep the car switched off while the reply comes, even if you are parked at Nottingham or near St. Peter's Radford.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Radford
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. What cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by your filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Mellers Primary School, or a call to a friend in The Park: both fit.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler don't touch your engine at all. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Starting your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would pull it in.
Next: act as though it went in, then keep the motor off. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain around Radford shares these stages
No matter the case, one start is used. Three things come when we arrive — at a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji or the car park at The Pheasant Inn: the fluid, the quantity, and if the motor has run. Answers shape the work; the quote follows by phone whilst nobody has left yet.
Then your tank is emptied and the system flushed 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. Clean diesel goes in after the fuel filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is finally checked. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit from the moment our technicians turn up.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Our test that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before our technicians leave. If it's spotted soon, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About Radford itself
Radford is a suburban area in Nottinghamshire, situated on the River Leen, with a mix of residential and commercial properties. Radford sits at an elevation of 46 metres, close to the city centre of Nottingham, and is characterised by a high proportion of flat dwellings. Radford is located near other Nottingham suburbs, including Hyson Green and Bobbers Mill, and is connected to the wider region by its proximity to Nottingham city. Radford has a population of approximately 17,322 people, making it a significant residential area in the East Midlands.
AdBlue drains about Radford and across Nottinghamshire
Throughout NG postcodes, the teams covering Radford — a residential suburb — work nearby places as well, Bobbers Mill and New Lenton among them. Quickest of all: a NG7 3 postcode for where you stand.
Stopped en route to Wallan Street Playground, or right in the heart of Radford, the car remains where it is — there's no need to shift it at all. Draining happens on the spot. Assuming doesn't help near Masjid Umar, close to a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
Your situation, summed up
Still unrun? Leave the vehicle that way and phone. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Radford or wherever in Nottinghamshire.